Veterans' fury as millionaire New Labour power couple lodge plans to build 'oppressive' 20

Release time：2024-05-21 16:55:37 Source：Culture Compass news portal

From the window of Room 190 of the Union Jack Club, D-Day veteran Peter Kent can take in all of South London and beyond to the Surrey Hills and Kent Downs.

Since 1976 millions of veterans like him have been coming to this military 'home from home' where they can soak up the finest views of the capital as a small token of their service.

But now a millionaire New Labour darling has lodged plans to build an 'oppressive' 20-storey office block just 15 metres from this refuge for British war heroes.

The project will further enrich Robert Bourne, 73, who partied with Peter Mandelson, is neighbours with Sir Mick Jagger in Chelsea and Phillip Green in Monaco, and was embroiled in a cronyism row with Sir Tony Blair over plans to buy the Millennium Dome in the noughties.

Sketches show how the huge development by Waterloo station will leave the Union Jack Club 'in the shadows', blocking daylight for 60 of the 261 rooms.

Plans submitted to Lambeth Council show how the new block would fit in to the area

Military veterans who are members of the Union Jack Club in Waterloo, south London, are alarmed by plans for a new 20-storey office block

Planning documents show the area as it currently appears 

Permission has been sought by Grandseal Ltd which is owned by millionaire Robert Bourne, pictured here with his wife Sally Greene at the Old Vic Theatre's summer gala in July 2016

'It's wrong, they ought to leave it be,' says Mr Kent, 98, one of the last survivors of the Normandy landings who has been coming here for over 30 years.

'This is a special place, it should be protected from development like this.'

The navy veteran who was an able seaman in June 1944 is not alone. 

Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew 'Vern' Stokes, who organised the King's Coronation, gave a rousing speech to Labour-run Lambeth council last October. 

He told the planning committee: 'Our people have been to the darkest places and deserve light.

'The UJC is the only charity dedicated to the wellbeing of the enlisted ranks - this isn't a privileged club for officers, it supports those from every walk of background and hardship.'

More than 2,500 people have written to the council objecting to the plans, while only 28 have written in support.

But the local authority, which along with the Greater London Authority stands to gain over £14million in financial obligations and levies from the deal, signalled they would wave it through last October.

D-Day veteran Peter Kent, seen here in one of the rooms at the Union Jack Club in Waterloo, has described it as a 'special place' which should be 'protected'

Peter Kent, pictured during his military days, took part in the Normandy landings in June 1944

The huge new skyscraper would stand just 15m from the Union Jack Club in Waterloo

Garrison Sergeant Major Andrew 'Vern' Stokes, who organised the King's Coronation, told Lambeth Council how veterans going to the Union Jack Club 'deserve light'

Regulars at the club include people who took part in the D-Day landings during the Second World War - British forces are pictured here on Sword beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944

London Mayor Sadiq Khan refused a request to call that decision in for review in February, before Housing Secretary Michael Gove rejected an appeal to central government last week.

It means that unless there is an extraordinary intervention from the Prime Minister, a change of heart on the council or a successful judicial review, the tower block will forever loom over Britain's only club for the rank and file of our armed forces which first opened nearby in 1907.

The victory would, however, add to the extraordinary wealth of Mr Bourne, who ultimately owns the applicant Grandseal Ltd, as well as his son Benjamin, 32, who runs Bourne Capital which owns the £73million land.

They have been greatly helped by the fact that the Grade II* listed Old Vic theatre next door has not challenged the project.

This is something that has raised eyebrows with club members, not least as Mr Bourne and his wife Sally Greene, 69, were directors of the The Old Vic Theatre Trust until stepping down last April.

The Old Vic sent a detailed objection against a smaller plan nearby in 2021.

Mr Bourne and his wife, a New Labour power couple worth £120million and who have his and hers '2BE' and 'NOT2B' numberplates, are no strangers to controversy.

Members of the Union Jack Club fear the proposed new building will block daylight for 60 of its 261 rooms

Veterans have described the Union Jack Club as a welcome 'home from home'

Tony Blair, pictured at the 2023 Concordia Annual Summit in New York last September, was Labour leader and Prime Minister when Robert Bourne donated to his party

Mr Bourne also threw a party for former Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, seen here appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain programme last October

They were major donors to Sir Tony's party and threw a birthday do for his key aide Mr Mandelson at their £12million Chelsea mansion before getting accused of cronyism – accusations they strongly deny.

In 2008 they purchased a multi-million-pound small zoo in Cap Ferrat, France, and angered residents by relocating 500 animals and selling the land to a Russian businessman.

The Union Jack Club say it has been wrongly categorised as a 'hotel' rather than a 'home from home' as the veterans call it, which means bedrooms are not so strenuously protected.

They point to the fact many members suffer from PTSD and stay for weeks on end but would struggle with a giant building looming over them just metres away.

Phil Botes, development director of Bourne Capital, said it was 'impossible to develop in an urban location without any impact which has been mitigated by the substantial amendments made during the course of our engagement with the UJC'.

He said: 'The proposals have been scrutinised by Lambeth Council, local resident and business amenity groups, the GLA, English Heritage/Historic England and the Secretary of State.

'With the exception of the Union Jack Club and its members, the development has not received any significant opposition which is unusual for a development in an inner urban location and we believe speaks volumes to the benefits of Waterloo Central.'

Bosses at the nearby Old Vic Theatre have not objected to the new office block plans

Planners behind the scheme have said it would be 'impossible to develop in an urban location without any impact'

Inside the Union Jack Club, described by supporters as somewhere which supports veterans 'of every walk of background and hardship'

A Lambeth Council spokesman said its planning committee 'carefully considered all concerns', adding: 'The Secretary of State has confirmed his agreement to allow Lambeth to determine the planning application so there's no delay in bringing forward a comprehensive range of public benefits on this key site in Waterloo.'

A spokesman for the Old Vic said the building 'stands to positively enhance the area of Waterloo for the local community, the theatre and beyond'.

He added: 'Our objection to the previous proposal was in relation to the location and height of that particular project.'

The Bourne family declined to comment.

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