The Planner(78)

‘Ah yes, the battle map,’ said Robert. ‘As you can see, we’ve got interests all over London – particularly in your patch.’

‘Yes, I can see that,’ said James. ‘It looks like the whole of South London seems to be interesting you at the moment.’

‘That’s correct. We’re still interested in the east of course, everyone is, but we see inner South London as being the major driver of residential growth over the next ten years.’

‘Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich,’ said Paul. ‘The opportunities are there, but it’s a question of how willing the boroughs are to make things happen.’

Looking towards the window, James could see that the tower was on the western edge of Canary Wharf. Directly beneath them, away from the business headquarters and landscaped squares, things were more complicated, with a wide range of obstinate market failures. It was the Isle of Dogs, in the jurisdiction of Tower Hamlets, and contained all the things that you couldn’t find in the Docklands any more: post-war housing estates, medieval street plans, ramshackle graveyards, organised crime, disgusting pub lunches, psycho-geographers, religious maniacs and communist politicians.

‘Yes, the view is great isn’t it?’ said Robert. ‘They keep trying to reorganise the seating here, but I refuse to move. I like being reminded of all the work to be done.’

Robert was just as friendly as he had been at the football match, but there were details that James hadn’t noticed before. He was, for instance, at least two inches taller, while the eyes were narrower and his voice louder. Maybe it was because he had home advantage. They made some small talk. James had been expecting this, and was well prepared. Besides which, he was also getting better at being less prepared. They talked about Chelsea and their prospects in the FA Cup. They talked about how successful Canary Wharf had been, possible new developments on the north side and all the things that were going wrong in the Olympic Park.

The receptionist returned with a tray of both carbonated and still bottles of water, and tumbler glasses containing lemon and ice cubes. She gave them all the loveliest of smiles, making sure that James received the very largest. He had failed to protect Erica from Rick, but maybe if James worked here, he could rescue her from the developers.

‘Thanks, Margarita, that’s great,’ said Paul. ‘Don’t worry – we’ll serve ourselves.’

‘So, you’ve seen our map,’ said Robert. ‘It’s no secret we’re trying to do things in Southwark. And I was struck when we met by some of the things you were saying. They weren’t the sort of thing you often hear from a town planner in London.’

‘Well, as I said, I’m interested in making things happen, and getting things done. It would be great to hear more about what your thinking is.’

Robert gave a short speech about his ambitions and plans. It was, thought James, a pretty good one. There was no doubt that he understood South London. Not in the same way that James did, he wasn’t a planner. He didn’t talk about economic clusters, regeneration priorities, housing densities or unemployment rates. Instead, he talked about property values and construction costs. He wasn’t guided by well-meaning targets and strategic frameworks, but by market forces and prices – and it meant that everything he said was clear and to the point. As well as being better paid, it was, James realised, so much easier being a developer.

‘Yes, I can see what you’re saying,’ said James. ‘I think there’s a real cross-over with what I’ve been trying to do.’

There was a knock at the door and Simon Galbraith entered.

‘Simon!’ said Robert. ‘I didn’t know you were going to join us.’

‘Sorry – I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to say hello to James.’

James rose to his feet and they shook hands. He was wearing glasses, delicate ones with rimless frames that didn’t in any way diminish the power of his blue eyes.

‘Really good to see you. How do you like the office?’

‘Oh, yes, it’s great. I love the view.’

‘Yes, I thought you’d appreciate it. Sometime I’ll have to show you the view from my room on the other side. I often think it’s a shame that town planners don’t get to work in places like this. You always seem to be tucked away in those squat municipal buildings where you can’t see anything.’

‘We’ve been talking about what’s happening in Southwark,’ said Robert.

‘Ah yes, of course – Sunbury Square.’

‘We were just about to get on to that.’