No sharks for the Regents Canal

THERE were to be sharks in the Regents Canal but a last minute court order has stopped it.

Five sharks designed by Jaimie Shorten for the Architecture Foundation's Antepavilion project in part of the waterway have been stopped by a last-minute court injunction by the local council, Roger Fox reports.

Already in the water

Four of the plastic sharks had already been lowered into the water when Hackney Council's planning department issued a court injunction against the Architecture Foundation, the environment charity that organises the annual Antepavilion project.  The fifth shark is still on dry land.

Antepavilion member Russell Gray, whose property company owns the Hoxton Docks, the venue for the installation, described the council's move as 'pathetic' and that planning officers were 'driven by their own egos'.

No planning permission

Work on the installation has now been suspended, as the injunction alleges that the installation amounts to a 'material change of use' of the canal by the display of art installations without the benefit of planning permission.

This  is the latest of a series of planning battles that have beset the Antepavilion series since it started in 2017.  The yearly competition grants a cash prize to architects to design something for the Regents' Canal in London.