Friends of Holland Park are protesting about a planning application for Opera Holland Park to leave its huge canopy over Holland House, once the home of Charles James Fox, all year round.
“This is a Grade I-listed building of enormous historical, let alone architectural, importance,” says a statement from the committee. “We have campaigned for over 13 years to ensure the house is properly conserved. This proposal would mean it is permanently shrouded and screened from public view. Opera Holland Park already has permission to have the canopy up for six months, although the opera performances last only two months. We would actually like to see the canopy erected for a much shorter period.”
The friends are threatening to put up independent candidates against the ward’s Tory councillors to stop the application.
The screeching of the peacocks is a much-loved feature of the opera. There may be even more music for them to accompany if the canopy becomes a permanent fixture.
