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Описание: John McAslan + Partners (JMP) former "studio" in Tottenham was a minor commitment of my time from 2013. It taught me and a few other local activists that a firm of famous starchitects can appear to be a self-regarding bunch of poverty tourists. Kidding themselves - it seems - that they are making significant change to people's lives in an area. John McAslan + Partners website claimed that "having visited Tottenham following the 2011 riots, JMP set up a studio on the High Road." This is not quite the complete story. For one thing, JMP were given free premises by Haringey Council. It seems this followed an introduction between John McAslan and Councillor Claire Kober the apparently starstruck "Leader" of Haringey Council. The disclosed cost to Haringey Council Tax payers was lb181,548. I don't know whether this sum included the wine and nibbles at the launch party which I gate-crashed hoping to have a chat with John McAslan himself. John was in the toilet when I arrived. When he emerged, we shook hands and he apologised to me for having to leave his own launch party almost before it began. As I recall, he may have been in evening dress. (The black tie nonsense.) He explained that a taxi was waiting outside to take him to a concert. John generously asked one of his publicity minions to speak to me. This was Robert Torday, Director of Belford Communications. Mr Torday gave me John McAslan's email address, I wrote to him but received neither acknowledgement nor reply. JMP presented itself on its website and in the architectural press as one of the “good guys” - doing good works among the poor of Malawi and Haiti. It seemed in 2013 that they aimed to extend their largesse to Tottenham. Tottenham appears to have been a successful regeneration project for JMP itself. Securing some local contracts would have helped regenerate its bank balance. Though partly at the expense of a poorer part of London where many residents rely on food banks to eat. They weren't invited to the wine and nibbles. When John McAslan + Partners departed Tottenham they left Haringey Council with an empty shop and the tail end of a short lease. To be clear, this was not the fault of JMP. It was due to the predictable incompetence of Haringey Council's current "leading" politicians. Gullible and incompetent, and probably eager to secure the reflected glitz of a starchitect, they approved purchase of a lease longer than McAslan's planned project. As at 30 June 2017, the shop at 451 High Road remains empty. From time to time, I or other local residents take photos and notify Haringey Council - who will I hope tell its clueless "Regeneration" team - that their shop has graffiti tagging, or perhaps rubbish dumped at the rear. I also hope that when the lease comes to an end it will not have wasted too much public money. Though this may depend on whether there's a leasehold schedule of dilapidations - a 'golden goodbye' payable to the freeholders or head leaseholder.

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