It is heterogeneity that makes Greenwich special – grandiose here, cramped there; rationally laid out here, eccentrically irregular there; great institutions here, modest local traders there. This is a World Heritage Site not just because it has great Baroque architecture, or the Prime Meridian, or a Royal Park, but because the whole varied ensemble, including the muddle of the town, works together to make something marvellous and unique. For both residents and visitors Greenwich Market and its peculiar mix of non-standard and, presumably, low-rent local shops are important parts of the picturesque charm of the place, vital elements in the genius loci, the powerful local distinctiveness of Greenwich.

These proposals fail to see this. The undemonstrative and utilitarian post-war rebuildings and conversions of the market got it right, making do and mending. Notwithstanding Joseph Kay’s best efforts, big-name architecture goes againt the grain and is out of place here. The market clearly does need maintenance, perhaps even a recovering of its roof, but in a World Heritage Site there should be a presumption in favour of leaving well enough alone. By way of outside comparisons, the approach should be more that adopted at Borough Market than at Spitalfields Market.

The requirements of an institutional property holder to maximise its income surely hold no weight in planning terms anywhere, let alone in a place that has been recognised as a World Heritage Site. If this scheme goes ahead Greenwich will lose a crucial part of what makes it what it is.