By now, most of you will have heard or read about the warehouse fire at the Momart warehouse in East London. The fire was so intense, the Fire Brigade describe the situation as a “100% loss”.

The conflagration destroyed works (for works read right load of modern art pile of rubbish) by such BritArt luminaries as, Tracy Emin, Jake & Dino Chapman, Sarah Lucas & Chris Ofili – frankly, probably the best thing that can happen to the junk that passes for modern art is that it goes up in flames…but here is the rub –

The old owners of the warehouses applied to the local council for permission to redevelop the site for residential use i.e. a much higher value use. The owners were refused permission & sold the building in a property auction 2 weeks ago.

The existing building had little intrinsic value, it was an old building & the leases had two years to run. Now with the property completely destroyed the chances of getting residential planning permission are significantly enhanced. I am sure that the new owners must be delighted.