From James Woodhouse.
I REGARDED the artist’s impressions of the new buildings proposed for the Waterfront with incredulity.

Not content with winning Britain’s worst building for the Radisson, it looked like we were determined to claim that title again. The new buildings look like a cross between a multi-storey car park and a bombed out ruin in Beirut.

Why do architects believe they can get away with such aesthetically cheap work? Past history suggests it could well be approved. However, I hope that Senator Cohen and his department see sense this time. It is time to insist on some buildings with architectural merit for the Waterfront, smething that would capture the public’s imagination in the way that the West Park flats did.

High occupant satisfaction is all well and good, but what about the rest of us that have to look at them? We need something that can be appreciated by those on the outside, as well as those on the inside.

We should not settle for something that may well be technically great, but is devoid of visual appeal.

The nail in the coffin? Stephen Izatt, managing director of WEB, needing Save Jersey’s Heritage to point out that balconies would be a good idea in Waterfront flats.

‘It is not something that we would have thought about.’ Oh dear. Doesn’t instil me with a lot of confidence for the shape of things to come.