rashbre central: Really riled about the Rill?

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Really riled about the Rill?

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There's never a dull moment walking around the streets of London. Like some sort of Schroedinger experiment, it's both the same and different at the same time. This time I'm just across Tower Bridge, noticing the rate of change of the landmarks.

It wouldn't be so long ago that the most noticeable landmark in my vista above would have been the Tower of London. Then later it became the adjacent skyline, which includes the Gherkin.
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Even that has been supplanted by the range of newer buildings and construction sites.

Across the bridge, on foot a little further along the south bank, there's been the well-known cut into the pavement, known as the Rill.
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At least it was until a few days ago. I took some pictures when it was still there in May, although the water that used to run through it had already stopped, as had the water attraction at the river bank end.
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Since my picture above it has gone completely, bricked up with slightly uneven stones similar to the ones either side of it.

The reason that has been given is that it constituted a walking hazard, particularly to smartphone users. Regular users of the area are not amused.

Curiously, the Planning Application was only issued on 17 May 2018, and the work was completed even ahead of the approval.

Waved through, without making a splash, one might speculate.

I'm guessing that as a water feature on a busy public realm, it was probably expensive to maintain, so the private landowners of this part of the Thames bank decided to make it go away.
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Maybe that More London Riverside needs to be changed.

"Less"?

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