Burger van owner Peter Carter

• SOMETIMES a few toxins in moderation can be a good thing. And one of them is gentrific­ation because it can help to diversify no-go areas. But luxury hotel chains like Montcalm have taken gentrification and social cleansing to an unacceptable level (‘It’s a victory for the little guy,’ December 15).

How dare it claim that it has helped to transform the use and character of Finsbury Square. Especially since our council made it clear its presence was unwelcome. Its very existence at that location is a consequence of intervention from a government that catalyses inequality.

So well done to burger van owner Peter Carter for fighting off this bully. The hotel’s website boasts about its proximity to the financial district and upmarket bars and boutiques, but it fails to mention that it shares a postcode with down-to-earth people too.

A similar attitude was expressed by Mendoza Ltd earlier this year when it wrecked the Carpenters Arms, evicted its landlord and replaced a thriving community pub with an upmarket cocktail bar. It justified its actions on the grounds that it was reflecting the new affluence of this area. How low can it stoop?

With monotonous regularity we hear about opportunists who move into our communities, only to strive to banish pubs, music venues and other amenities and outlets that held those communities together in the first place. How dare they!

But their stance is minor in comparison with this luxury hotel chain that is so disconnected from the real world that it sees fit to oust one of its longest-standing neighbours for the sake of aligning its surroundings with its glossy brochures.

London is a special place because it fosters diversity in all walks of life. But if the likes of Montcalm and Mendoza get their way then huge parts of London will degenerate into an exclusive, soulless ghost town.

IAN SHACKLOCK
Monsell Road, N4