Fight to save the Rafts

THE fight to save the Rafts—historic boathouses on the Thames—is gathering pace.

A petition has now been launched by members of the Brocas Residents' Group to stop their demolition to make way for 16 houses on the site by developer Bewley Homes.

Conservation area

Members of the Group are attempting to persuade Royal Borough planners to refuse permission to demolish the Rafts  at Eton to make way for the development, arguing that they they are in a conservation area, depict the college's boating history and meet six out of 10 of English Heritage's criteria for preservation.

Racing boats were built at the Rafts, until cheap Chinese import of shells forced the closure.

Though the boathouses are not listed, the  four buildings date back to the 19th Century.