Friday 1 April 2016

Residents' 'grave concerns' over Wembley 'Twin Towers' proposal

Impression from the developers's consultation
 Brent Planning Committee will be visiting the Chesterfield House site at the junction of Park Lane. Wembley High Road at 9.40am on Saturday April 2nd. This is the 'twin towers proposal LINK

Planning Committeee members have been sent the following in  advance of their visit by Denise Cheong,  Former Chair, Friends of King Eddie's Park, Friendsofkingeddies.blogspot.com
Wembleychampions.blogspot.com :
Dear Planning Committee members, Wembley Central Ward Cllrs, Preston Ward Cllrs, Hub Group and Council Planning Case Officer

I understand the planning committee are due to visit the above site tomorrow (Saturday 2nd April) morning regarding planning application 15/4550.

I write to kindly urge the Planning Committee to give the following viewpoint due weight during their deliberations whilst they conduct tomorrow's site visit.

Please note during your site visit that (at the time of writing) several local residents from Princes Court and Keswick Gardens Residents Association, as well as members of neighbouring Park Lane Methodist Church are opposed to the height and scale of the proposed scheme.

Whilst residents appreciate the City's need for greater housing provision and welcome Hub Group's proposed donation to the Council for King Eddie's Park, we have grave concerns over the impact of a development that will be (although set back, at its heighest) twice the height of the opposite existing Elm Court flats and nearly three times the height of the existing Chesterfield House office block.

Mr Neidhardt notes in his report that pedestrian accidents have occurred at the junction of Park Lane and the High Road. This is a notoriously difficult junction for local residents to walk across. Please observe the existing pedestrian crossings at the junction during your site visit and consider the impact the proposed will have on the area even with any alterations from Transport For London (TFL) to the junction. Also, kindly observe the existing bus stops in the vicinity on the High Road which TFL note already operate at full capacity. You may also possibly observe heavy traffic queues on Park Lane tomorrow (as discussed at last year's planning committees for planning application 14/4208, heavy traffic from the junction of High Rd and Park Lane down past The Methodist Church and King Edward VII Park is a norm on Park Lane, and further evidence of the real need for this junction to be re-worked).

I await further communication from other resident members of the aforementioned plus neighbouring roads. I will update you all as soon as I have collated such responses and prior to Wednesday 6th April's Planning Committee.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's going on in that picture, Martin? Is it an artist's impression of the scene in 2028 when the streets of Wembley will be thronged with residents and balloon-waving children waiting to rejoice at the scheduled demolition of the long-detested twin tower eyesores (which soon after building in 2018 became known to locals as 'Butt and Davani')?

Mike Hine

Martin Francis said...

Nearly. It's the visit of President Hine of the English Republic to ceremoniously mark the demolition of the Twin Towers of Deceit and Despair and introduce a new era of Delight and Democracy.

Nan. said...

Could President Hine please offer us a translation of the bit in the officers' report that says the eyesore [development] -

"improves the legibility of the town centre in short to medium distance views" ..............?

Nan. said...

It's just occurred to me that it must have something to do with place shaping and everything to do with being an 'ironic' borough........

......the emergence of a new narrative (style) for Brent - you read it here first.

Anonymous said...

To build or not to build... We need more houses we are being told. Who do these flats serve? Who will benefit from a 26 storey twin tower block? Will Wembley and Brent residents actually be able to afford them? Notice how none of the planning committee are Wembley councillors. Would they put this up on the corner of their high streets?

Anonymous said...

Come May will we elect a Mayor who imposes tower blocks on all of us? Think not, but what's the alternative? Is there an actual real alternative? Of course there is! There always is. But will the planning committee actually overturn this? If this is what the leader wants then is this what Brent gets? Is that the situation we are all in?

Friends of King Eddie's said...

Martin your email doesnt work - & you aren't answering the phone.

Martin Francis said...

Gardening before the rain came. Not chained to computer or phone! Clearing mailbox now.

Philip Grant said...

In 2014, the people of Brent (or the one third of those eligible who could be bothered to vote) elected 56 Labour councillors out of the 63 seats.

Have we got genuinely local councillors who represent the interests of their wards, or have we got Cllr. Butt's "silent majority", who pick up their £10,100 a year allowances, but are afraid to raise their voices in support of the views of their constituents?

It will be May 2018 before we get a chance to elect a new Brent Council, but in the meantime, let your local councillors know what you think on issues which you feel strongly about - and if they take no notice, speak out!

Philip.

Anonymous said...

That would be FANTASTIC IDEA for "Wembley re-generation". More improve and better housing within the communities. A positive move for the present and future of modern and creative Wembley High Street. We need more to modernised and also green spaces.