The council lost a planning appeal at a site in Seymour Road, Leyton, where 300 jobs were at stake. I tried to persuade the developers that it was not a good idea to build in Leyton. The Sun decided I was a sick person and launched an attack on me.
In the long run I won, though the jobs were lost. Barratt's didn't build the houses, which was just as well since property prices collapsed in 1990 making the project unviable. Right now there's a school on the site.
Posted by Jonathan Brind.