Back in 1985 when Abel Ducloux bought his riverfront apartment on Narrow Street, Limehouse was a barely-developed frontier land. You’d have had to travel miles for a gastropub or a frothy coffee but Abel liked the peace and quiet, the industrial vibe, and he relished the open views along the ever-changing river he could enjoy from his balcony. “There was no such thing as Canary Wharf,” he said.
Amongst the endless paperwork that comes with buying a flat Abel was informed that he would need a licence for his balcony, and that the Port of London Authority (PLA), which manages a 95 mile stretch of the river from Teddington towards the coast, would charge him a peppercorn sum each year. “I didn’t even look at the text,” he said.
