Showing posts with label Dollis Hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dollis Hill. Show all posts

Wednesday 12 July 2023

Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August - Cost £540 before August 1st, £640 after

 Press release from Brent Council


Landlords called to get licence to rent

A new law requiring landlords in three Brent wards to pay for a selective licence will come into force on 1 August 2023.

Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August.

A licence will cost £640 for up to five years. Anyone who applied in the next few weeks before 1 August will be able to purchase a licence at the current rate of £540.

Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green were selected for licensing following a borough-wide consultation that began in autumn 2022. A report to cabinet members showed that a selective licensing scheme would have a positive impact on poor property conditions and high levels of antisocial behaviour in the three areas.

Cllr Promise Knight, Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters’ Security, said: 

The landlords who work with us take pride in renting out properties that offer decent facilities and living conditions to tenants. The licensing scheme supports landlords in offering the best they can to tenants, ensuring that tenants’ safety and security are protected.

We encourage landlords and agents with properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green to apply for a licence as soon as possible.

You can find out whether the property you are renting needs a licence by checking out:https://www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing

Saturday 5 September 2020

The Welsh Harp Reservoir Story – Part 3

Thank you for joining me again, on this third stage of our journey through the history of “the Welsh Harp” (our local reservoir – not the musical instrument!). In Part 2, we saw how the enterprise of W.P. Warner had made the name of his tavern synonymous with the reservoir beside it. This time we’ll explore changes, on and around the reservoir, into the 20th century.


1. The Kingsbury dam and its overflow, c.1900. (Brent Archives online image 1341)

At first, not much changed. The area of water was mainly surrounded by the meadows of local farms, and attracted visitors to the countryside just beyond the expanding urban sprawl of London. Water flowing over the dam to feed the River Brent was a popular sight, across the fields of Gravel Pit Farm at Neasden. West Hendon had developed slightly, but there was still lots of open space nearby.

2. Cool Oak Lane, with its causeway and bridge across the reservoir's northern arm, c.1900.
   (Barnet Local Studies Centre image 3284)

The Metropolitan Railway’s Neasden Works expanded, with a new power station to supply its electric trains, which were introduced from 1905. The Canal Company, which still owned the reservoir, refused to let the Metropolitan use water from its Feeder for cooling purposes, so they had to sink two wells for that purpose. It was the First World War that finally brought more industry to the area.

The airfield at Hendon already had a small aircraft factory, run by the Grahame-White company, when the war broke out in 1914. Other companies making planes for the rapidly developing aerial warfare were soon active in the area, such as the Aircraft Manufacturing Company (“Airco”) in Colindale and Kingsbury, Handley Page in Cricklewood and later Hooper & Co in North Wembley. In 1917, Handley Page designed a prototype seaplane, hoping to sell it to the Royal Navy, and their R200 was test-flown from the Welsh Harp. They did not receive an order, so the seaplane never went into production.


3. Scale drawings of the Handley Page R200 seaplane. (Courtesy of the R.A.F. Museum, Hendon)

By 1917, the slopes of Dollis Hill down to the reservoir were also the home of the Mechanical Warfare Department. Its role was to design and test tanks, for use to try and break the trench warfare stalemate on the war’s western front. By 1918, one of the designs it was working on was a modified version of the Mark IX tank, and on a misty morning in November 1918 the world’s first amphibious tank was tested on the Welsh Harp reservoir. 

4. A Mark IX amphibious tank entering the Welsh Harp, November 1918. (Image from the Tank Museum)
Earlier this year, a friend interested in military history sent me a link to a short film that includes (at the end) footage of this test. It had been used as part of a French article on First World War tanks, and was described as a ‘Duck Tank being tested on the pond of Dolly Hill’! This “top secret” Department remained at Dollis Hill until 1921, before being moved to Hampshire. Its main buildings, surrounded by a high wall, were in the Humber Road area. It is remembered in the street name, Tankridge Road, and a section of the wall remains at Walton Close.




5. Remaining section of Mechanical Warfare Department wall, Walton Close,     Dollis Hill, c.2010.

 6. Aerial view of the reservoir in 1919, with West Hendon beneath the plane’s wing, and Dollis Hill beyond.

The local aircraft industry was badly hit when the Government scrapped its contracts for planes once the war had ended. One company at Hendon made use of the unwanted aircraft to offer pleasure flights to paying customers. The photograph above appeared with an article on the subject in “Flight” magazine, in June 1919, and shows a view across the reservoir to Dollis Hill.

 7. The railway viaduct, seen from the Edgware Road bridge, 1921. (Barnet Local Studies Centre image 871)

The 19th century had seen first canals, then railways, develop as important methods of transport. This scene from 1921, of the Midland Railway viaduct crossing the eastern arm of the reservoir, was soon to change dramatically as the rise of motor vehicles meant a need for better roads. The North Circular Road was constructed during the 1920s to help heavy commercial traffic avoid having to drive through Central London. Its proposed route would take it just south of the Welsh Harp, and by 1926 this section of the reservoir was filled in, and the River Brent put into a culvert, so that the road could pass under the brick arches of the viaduct.

8. New housing at Dollis Hill, and over the reservoir at Kingsbury, late 1920s. (Brent Archives image 570)

The construction of the North Circular Road opened up the northern slopes of Dollis Hill for development, and by the late 1920s new streets were appearing between Brook Road and Links Road. These can be seen in the photograph above, together with what must be the start of the Post Office Research Centre at the top of the hill. Across the reservoir, new suburban homes were also being built in the Church Lane and Wood Lane areas of Kingsbury. In 1928, Willesden Urban District Council bought 40 acres of land on the Kingsbury side of the Welsh Harp, planning to use it as a cemetery, which would lead to disputes that lasted until 1965!

The rapidly growing population at Neasden and Dollis Hill prompted Willesden Council to open a recreation ground on their side of the Welsh Harp. They also built a Neasden branch library, overlooking it, at the corner of Aboyne Road and the North Circular, which opened in 1931. In keeping with a growing fashion for open air activity, this had a reading terrace at first floor level.

 9. The reading terrace at Neasden Library, 1931. (Brent Archives online image 2926)

One of the open air activities which had grown in popularity at the Welsh Harp during the 1920s was “sunbathing”, although it was not popular with everyone. By 1930, there was growing opposition among local residents to the visitors who came to the reservoir’s banks to bathe in the nude. One man complained to the Council that, while walking home to the Edgware Road from Old Kingsbury Church on a Sunday evening, they had come across ‘a bunch of stark naked men…. Hardly a pleasant sight for a man to have to pass with his wife!’

Matters came to a head one weekend in June 1930, when 40 men and women of the Sun-Ray Club (‘some wore no clothes, others wore slips or bathing drawers’) were confronted by a crowd of around 200 local people. Despite the presence of four policemen, who told them that the sunbathers were on private land, with permission from the owner, and that they had no right to interfere, the crowd attacked the bathers and drove them away. Kingsbury Council dealt with the issue in a more dignified way, when they received a deputation (not a new idea) from the National Sun and Air Association in May 1931, although they also decided against sunbathing!

10. Extract from the minutes of a Kingsbury Urban District Council meeting on 6 May 1931. (Brent Archives)

On the reservoir itself, the Brent Sailing Club was formed at the Old Welsh Harp Inn in 1930. A less tranquil use of the water also began the same year, when the London Motor Boat Club held its first speedboat racing event at the Welsh Harp. Larger speedboats were also used to give thrill rides for paying customers, as shown in this newsreel film from 1932.





 11. A motor boat race on the Welsh Harp reservoir in 1937. (From the collection of the late Geoffrey Hewlett)

The 1931 speedboat racing season had celebrity guests at its opening, the aviator Amy Johnson and actress Anna Neagle. Amy had lived at Roe Green for nine months, before the solo flight to Australia that made her famous, and then had a flat at Vernon Court in Hendon Way. By coincidence, it was Anna Neagle who starred as Amy Johnson in a film about her life, after her tragic death in 1941, while flying as a wartime pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary.

12. Anna Neagle and Amy Johnson at the Welsh Harp, April 1931. (From: ‘Amy Johnson – Queen of the Air’)

The south-east corner of the reservoir saw rapid industrial development along its main roads, and on the reclaimed land, in the late 1920s and through the 1930s. One of the factories by the junction of the North Circular and Edgware Roads made mattresses. The company was Staples, and the busy corner was soon known by that name. The traffic lights here became well-known for the jams that built up, as seen below in 1937.

13. Staples Corner in 1937, with the mattress factory bottom left. (Barnet Local Studies Centre image 4920)

When war came again in 1939, Dollis Hill again had a part to play. Secret underground bunkers were built for the Admiralty at its Citadel office building, on the corner of the Edgware Road and Oxgate Lane, and for the Cabinet at “Paddock”, beneath the Post Office Research Station in Brook Road. It was rumoured that a flying boat was moored on the Welsh Harp, ready to fly Churchill and other key leaders to safety from their reserve War Room if necessary, but I have no proof for that story. It was the research station that developed the first electronic computers, used at Bletchley Park for code-breaking during the war, and Tommy Flowers, who led the team that made them, is remembered by the modern street name, Flowers Close.

14. The aftermath of the West Hendon bombing, February 1941. (Barnet Local Studies Centre image 5105)

It was not those key targets that were hit during the Welsh Harp’s worst bombing raids of the Second World War. Early in 1941, Germany was testing new designs of high-explosive bombs, and dropping a single bomb in a raid, so that its effects could be seen afterwards. One of these exploded above the Ravenstone Road area of West Hendon on the evening of 13 February 1941, flattening 40 homes, killing more than 80 people and making around 1,500 homeless. At the opposite end of the reservoir, a V2 rocket hit one end of Wykeham School in March 1945. Luckily no children were there at the time, but seven people were killed in nearby homes.


Just as it had during the First World War, the reservoir played its part between 1939 and 1945. A Hendon Sea Training Corps was formed in 1941, and its young volunteers learned some boating skills on the Welsh Harp, as well as on land at a school in Algernon Road. Production at many factories was changed, to produce equipment for the war effort. Hickman’s works on the North Circular Road had been shopfitters, but by 1943 their carpenters were building wooden landing craft, which were tested on the reservoir before being handed over to the Royal Navy. LCAs were “Landing Craft, Assault”, which carried a platoon of up to 36 soldiers, from ships around ten miles offshore, onto the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

15. The Hickman's workers aboard a completed landing craft, 1943/44. (Image shared by the son of a worker)

Next weekend we’ll visit the Welsh Harp in more peaceful times. I hope you will join me then, for the final part of this series.

Philip Grant





Friday 22 March 2019

Council tenants' fury as water bills soar after Thames Water take over billing from Brent Council

Reports are reaching me of massive increases in water bills as Thames Water takes billing over from Brent Council. Water bills used to be incorporated into rent paid to Brent Council and then passed on to Thames. Now Thames are billing each dwelling for direct payment and some residents are reporting substantial increases.

The information coming is is from is from CAMS, which is Comber Close, Ainsworth Close, Banting Close and Mackenzie House in Dollis Hill.

One tenant said they were now paying £47 a month to Thames having previously paid Brent Council £6 a week as part of their rent. Local activist Alison Hopkins said that a tenant of a 2 bedroomed flat was paying more than she did for her three bedroomed house and garden.

To add insult to injury another tenant hoping to install a water meter to reduce bills was told that one might not be possible to fit as the flats are old:
I’ve just spoken to [Thames Water], they claim it’s worked out on the chargeable value of my property (which I don’t understand what that is) and waste water charge. I asked why has it almost tripled they said if you have a view etc or a big garden then that’s how it’s worked out???They said they don’t know if a meter can be fitted here either so I’m waiting for someone from Thames Water to call me back, Sod’s law being these blocks are old etc I won’t be able to have one fitted! Then the only option is to continue with the large payments per month! I’m still waiting for my new rent charge letter to come out from Brent, I bet it won’t be any different even without the water charge.
It appears that the problem may be to do with a miscalulation of the chargeable value* of the council properties and tenants have been urged to contact Thames Water to complain and seek a review of their bills. LINK

This is what Thames say about chargeable value:
Bills for unmetered properties, built before 1989, are based on the chargeable value of the property (also known as the rateable value).

The chargeable value was set by the Valuation Office at the Inland Revenue and represents the potential annual rent for your property. This is not related to your council tax banding.

Rateable Values were based on the size, location, access to local facilities and desirability of your property. For example, if your property had double glazing and the identical property next door didn’t your home would have been given a higher rateable value. This charge isn’t calculated from your actual water use.

We apply this value to calculate your water charges. There is one rate for water services and another for wastewater services. The rates you pay depend on where you live. You will also pay a fixed yearly charge.

You can find out more about your rateable charge in our charges leaflet.
Please let me know if your water bill has suddenly soared.



Sunday 6 January 2019

Anger as developer lobs in an extra storey on Dollis Hill proposal pleading viability


Less than a month after Alice Lester, Brent Council Head of Planning, sent formal permission for the development at  4-9 Gladstone Parade, the developer has come in with a new application to add an additional storey and an additional 16 units to the proposal. LINK

Their knowledge of the local area is a little suspect when they can't spell the name of the road correctly!:
In comparison with the previous scheme, the proposal introduces an additional storey to the Edgeware Road frontage as well as a partial additional storey at both the Dollis Hill Avenue and Gladstone Park frontages. The raising of the height of the building by 712mm is minimal in the context of the overall development and will barely be perceptible in the wider street scene. The proposal is of a similar, albeit smaller, height to the Fellows Square development on the opposite side of Edgeware Road and therefore the increase in height is considered accepting  (sic) in terms of the emerging local context.
The increase in the number of units is based on a viability assessment:

The Development Appraisal, prepared by James R Brown and Company Ltd, assess the financial viability of the proposed scheme and the residential market in London.
 Since the viability review of the previous scheme, dated March 2017, the new homes market in London has increasingly and significantly weakened. Residual land values are therefore reducing due to weaker new homes values and increased build costs. Subsequently, the viability of the 38-residential unit scheme is now substantially challenged (due to the weaker market conditions) and therefore in order to improve the viability and efficiency of the site a larger scheme of 54 units its proposed.
The residential content of the new proposed scheme contains a 34.4% affordable housing provision by habitable room, detail in paragraph 9.2 of the viability report. The appraisal demonstrates that the proposed scheme drives a negative residual deficit and falls marginally short of being viable with 16 affordable housing units in comparison to the consented scheme which is significantly unviable with 10 affordable housing units.

The revised proposal is already garnering opposition on social media:



Tuesday 13 November 2018

Fascist graffiti removed from railway footbridge at Gladstone Park

The fascist graffiti that was painted on the railway footbridge bridge linking Kendall Road and Gladstone Park has been painted out ahead of the community 'paint out' that had been planned for 5pm this evening.  LINK

As I understand it Network Rail had also undertaken to remove it but a local resident beat them to it.

A clear message to  fascist individuals or groups that they are not welcome here.


UPDATE FROM  A READER November 14th:  A resident had done the initial paint-out and then Network Rail followed overpainitng not just the area of fascist graffiti but all the other graffiti too, in regulation green. Yesterday evening  a number of Brent residents and councillors gathered at the bridge in a gesture of solidarity with the people of Dollis Hill.




Sunday 11 November 2018

Fascist graffiti reappears near Gladstone Park - help community paint it out!

Graffiti on the railway bridge linking Kendal Road and Gladstone Park
Ariel view of the bridge
Local residents spotted fascist graffiti today on the Kendal Road railway bridge that crosses over into Gladstone Park.

This follows an earlier episode when racist and fascist graffiti was found near Jewish homes in the area. LINK

That graffiti was removed by loacl people in a clean up and similar action will be taken regarding the swastika above.  On Tuesday evening at 5pm local people and anti-racist actvists will don rubber gloves and bring paint and brushes to get rid of this unwelcome sign of the presence of fascist sympathisers in our midst. Meet at the bridge.

An organiser of the 'paint out' said:
Our community is saddened and angered that fascist graffiti has again appeared in our happy multicultural area. We are going to paint it out in a show of our strength. We won’t be divided by hate!
These stickers have also appeared in the area:




The NSZ (Narodowe Siły Zbrojne - National Armed Forces was an anti-Nazi and Anti-Soviet Polish resistance movement often accused of anti-Semitism although that has been challenged as Soviet propaganda. After a split in the organisation in 1944 NSZ-ZJ (the Lizard Union) was formed which appeares to have been a more extremist wing.  LINK

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Standing together against racism and Islamophobia in Dollis Hill

The T-shirt says: There are two types: they are either your brothers in faith or your equals in humanity
Standing together in solidarity
Local people, including members of North West London Stand Up To Racism, received a warm welcome tonight at the Al-Majlis and Al- Hussaini Centre in Dollis Hill when they visited to express support and solidarity after the previous night's attack. The Chair and Secretary of Brent Trades Council were amongst the visitors.

The group were invited in to share in the celebrations and the atmosphere was positive with clear determination that such episodes would not be allowed to divide the community.

I was struck particularly by a very articulate lower secondary boy who was keen to explain his faith and at the same time emphasise his respect for all religions by explaining the meaning of the slogan on his T-shirt.


Women visitors were welcomed with  food and sweets and speeches were made thanking them for their support.

There was a low-key police presence at the Centre in Edgware Road as well as effective stewarding by the Centre itself.

Earlier Brent Council had issued this statement from Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of the council:
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been injured and all those affected by the serious act of violence which took place outside the Al-majlis Al-Hussaini Center last night.

We are in close contact with the police who are looking into this as a possible hate crime. However, we are reassured that the police do not believe there is an ongoing threat to Brent's Muslim community. There is absolutely no place for hate in our borough. Violence like this will not be tolerated.

We visited representatives at the centre this afternoon and will give them all the help they need.

Brent has one of the most diverse communities in the UK and we are extremely proud of this. We will not allow cowardly acts like this to spread fear and hate amongst our residents.


Tuesday 10 April 2018

We Are Dollis Hill; No Nazis Here Vigil Against Racism and Anti-semitism


There was a good turn-out at tonight's vigil in Hamilton Road, Dollis Hill, after the discovery of Nazi graffiti at the weekend.

The vigil was addressed by Rabbi Baruch Levin and Muahmmed Butt, leader of Brent Council as well as members of the local community.

The message was clear that we were united against such attempts to divide the community and had learnt from history what happened if such ideas and movements were not opposed.

The hearts on the bus stop and messages on the pavement were reclaiming our streets.

Rabbi Baruch Levin and Muhammed Butt

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Green AM urges London Mayor to reject Cricklewood Rail-Freight Facility

Caroline Russell, Green Assembly Member for London, has written to the London Mayor urging him to reject the planning application for the Rail-Freight facility in Cricklewood.

Her letter is below (click on bottom right square to enlarge)


Monday 20 November 2017

NWLA's 'totally inadequate' response on why they changed their mind on the Cricklewood dump

Further to the question posted in my last post regarding the Cricklewood dump and the North London Waste Authority’s original opposition to the resiting: ‘Has anything changed?’
Here is Alison Hopkins’ request to the NWLA asking why they had changed their position and the (‘totally inadequate’ according to Alison) response:
I am writing to you as a resident of Brent – Dollis Hill, to be specific – and the former ward councillor here.  I have also submitted evidence to the Public Inquiry held this week into CPO3.
The NLWA submitted a most comprehensive objection to the CPO orders. Your statement included many of the issues which we living here have with the proposed Geron Way site, including those related to traffic, environmental issues and very close proximity to an infants school and houses. 

I am told by the Clerk to the Inquiry that the NLWA has withdrawn its objection. If this is the case, then this is deeply disappointing and extremely worrying. Residents here have opposed the resiting since it was first proposed back in the early 2000s. 

Could you please inform us why the NLWA has withdrawn its objection? The problems with the proposed Geron Way/Selco site have not gone away, and as a public body, we believe the NLWA has a duty of care to Brent residents. Moving the current WTF to the proposed site directly conflicts with that duty and is not in the public interest. 
From NLWA:
NWLA and LondonEnergy Ltd have agreed terms with the London Borough of Barnet for the provision by the London Borough of Barnet of a new waste transfer station at Geron Way, NW2. Given that the Authority has now been offered an acceptable replacement, we have withdrawn our objection to the London Borough of Barnet’s application for a compulsory purchase order that included the current Hendon transfer station. It is currently expected that the new waste transfer station will be ready early in 2020.


Why NLWA originally opposed the resiting of the Cricklewood dump - has anything changed?

In her submission to Barnet Council on the proposed waste transfer facility on the Edgware Road LINK, Alison Hopkins mentioned the North London Waste Authority's orginal opposition to the resiting.

For information here is their original objection:


Monday 26 June 2017

Has Gladstone Parade had its chips?


Not if local residents have their way. Six hundred and sixtyone  people have signed a petition opposing the loss of the fish and chip shop on Gladstone Parade, Edgware Road, which they fear would go if the site is redeveloped and other ojections have been lodged including over-development of the site; loss of light, amenity and health; low level of affordable housing proposed, parking and the recurring theme in Brent of lack of consultation.

The planning application is due to be discussed at Wednesday’s Planning Committee and in a controversial move Cllr Muhammed Butt is due to visit Gladstone Parade this evening at 6pm. The move is controversial because the Planning Committee is independent of the Council by statute and political interference in its deliberations is illegal.  Butt was able to make representations in the Wembley Stadium application on the basis that he was representing residents in his Tokyngton ward - this is not the case with this application.

Responding to concerns over the potential loss of the pub and fish and chip shop Brent planners state:
The pub will be reprovided as well as two units that could potentially house a shop due to their use class and a unit will be provided that could provide a replacement fish and chip shop. 

Given that there are likely to be issues of affordability regarding the new units this leaves little certainty and representations against the application will be made on Wednesday.

Cllr Liz Dixon, responding to a resident’s objections wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to draft and send this comprehensive overview of your objections to the proposed redevelopment plan of Gladstone Parade.

I can reassure you that we have been following this development closely. We are acutely aware that many in the local community are extremely distressed as they anticipate the consequences of the new development. From my point of view I can see that the development in Barnet looms over the area and this must heighten the concern. That said there are some benefits to be had for the community with the new development apart from new housing ; there is space for the chip shop and the shop and the pub. 

Even limited social housing in non high rise is attractive in a borough which desperately need more social housing. As a local councillor most of my case work is focused on those who are homeless or overcrowded and we often have to send residents out of London.

We have visited the shops and visited the planning offices in the council to raise all the objections and to learn more about the project. They have modified the plans and there are facilities to accommodate the new shops which will be housed in any new development. However that may not be enough.

We are due to visit the shops with the Leader of the Council before the matter goes to planning to ensure we are all aware of the ongoing concerns of local residents like yourself.
Again thank you very much for taking the time to highlight local concerns
and issues.


The matter is before planning this week where the concerns will be heard and considered. I have been at planning meetings before and can vouch for the rigour of the offices in ensuring that they do take into consideration all the concerns. This is where the local community does have an opportunity to make their concerns heard. I agree with you that in light of the horrific tragedy at the Grenfell towers all councils must ensure they are really listening to their residents who have knowledge and well placed concerns such as those expressed in your email.


Thursday 20 April 2017

Barnet consulting tonight on rail frieght yard which is already operating!

From Barnet Council

We will soon hold public exhibitions to present information about the new Waste Transfer Station and Rail Freight Facility, which forms part of the Brent Cross Thameslink project.

You will be able to meet the project team and ask any questions you might have.

Dollis Hill
  • Thursday 20 April 2017
  • 6 to 8pm
  • Crest Academy, Crest Road, London, NW2 7SN
Whitefield Estate
  • Wednesday 26 April 2017
  • 6 to 8pm
  • Acorn Theatre, Whitefield School, Claremont Road NW2 1TR
Further events will be held later this year regarding the new Thameslink station, railway sidings, and Midland Main Line bridge.

Contact us

  • Call: 0344 225 0003
  • Email: BXT@glhearn.com
  • Write: Freepost RTHZ-AKZT-SABG, GL Hearn, 280 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EE
Email us: BXT@glhearn.com to join our newsletter list and be kept up to date.

Comment by Alison Hopkins on Facebook The viw from Dollis Hill
And this, by the way, is what the exhibition is all about. No matter how they spin it, Barnet want a dump on our door step. That rail freight yard is behind Lidl and is ALREADY operating without consent. Doesn't make you hopeful if Barnet don't listen to their own residents, let alone those of us in Dollis Hill!

Thursday 6 April 2017

Labour's nominations for Dollis Hill and Preston Wards May 2018

Dollis Hill branch has selected: Parvez Ahmed, Liz Dixon, Arshad Mahmood

Preston branch has selected: Ihtesham Afzal (Sham), Daniel Kennelly, Anita Thakkar

Monday 14 November 2016

Developer withdraws presentation of 27 storey Dollis Hill tower block development for later scheduling

The Kilburn Times reveals today that Brent Council has told them that the developer has withdrawn the pre-planning presentation for the 27 storey tower block in Dollis Hill from Wednesday's Planning Committee agenda. LINK

It will be rescheduled for a later date.

This follows a posting about the plans on Wembley Matters on Wednesday LINK  and subsequent comments on The View from Dollis Hill Facebook LINK

The block along witha banqueting hall and swimming pool would replace the historic Admiralty Chart House.

Wednesday 9 November 2016

23 storey block on historic Dollis Hill site likely to be opposed



The 'Pre-Application Presentations' now made at Brent Planning Committee are useful as an early warning of planning applications to come. The public are not allowed to make representations but can watch the presentation.

At the November 16th Committee there is a presentation on plans for 403-405 Edgware Road/corner of Oxgate Lane that includes a 23 storey building. The present building has a fascinating history. It was completed on the site of an existing admiralty building, known as the Admiralty Chart House in 1940 and housed navy and civilian staff in case Whitehall became unusable because of bomb damage. Since then it has had multiple uses uncluding a carpet warehouse LINK:



SCHEME:
replacement with mixed use development (including tall building up to 27 storeys), comprising:
• Flexible Class B1/B2/B8 employment space (approx. 1,375 sq. m), predominantly located on ground floor, with some also on first floor;
• Banqueting and conference centre, comprising one large hall, two smaller halls, (located on the first floor, with ground floor lobby/reception area);
• Fitness centre and health spa (including a swimming pool);
• Residential accommodation (providing approx. 150 apartments);
• Roof garden and outdoor terrace;
• Dedicated service yard within the building to service the employment floorspace,
accommodate other delivery vehicles and for refuse/waste collection;
• Three levels of basement car parking, providing space for approximately 166 spaces, together with cycle storage.

Ex Dollis Hill Councillor Alison Hopkins has already made her views known on behalf of Dollis Hill residents:

Firstly, there’s obviously the fact that the site is of major historical interest. We’d most certainly push for Listing if there were any attempt made at demolition. The current owners illegally removed the Crittall windows and were served a notice to replace them, too. Other modifications have also been made by them and the building has been deliberately neglected.

The idea of a conference centre to serve over two thousand people is, frankly, insane. The local transport system simply can’t support it and our roads cannot take the volume of parked cars. The owners of the building have already caused massive disruption at times by using the building for festivals and exhibitions. The knock on impact of their inconsiderate parking has been felt within a mile or more radius here in Dollis Hill.

A further point on the conference centre is that it is highly unlikely to be used by local residents, given the salary levels and deprivation levels in Dollis Hill. The functions which the applicant has already held in the building have been attended by people who were most certainly not local. Having talked to several, they came from as far away as Reigate and Brighton!

As you rightly state in the report, it will also cause massive pressure on the businesses who park locally.

I don’t know if you’re also aware that Highways have already stated that a CPZ will be needed across Dollis Hill once the Brent Cross scheme gets going: the funding for that is apparently coming from Barnet’s S106/CIL monies.

In terms of transport, whilst there may possibly be a new Brent Cross Overground station one day, access to it from Brent is very limited for pedestrians, so I’m not convinced it will improve the PTAL rating overmuch. The applicants claim of 30 buses every hour on that stretch of the A5 is, frankly, nonsense.

Additionally, the idea of a 27 storey tower block is unbelievable. It’s totally out of context, intrusive and represents a development that is massively out of place in what’s still a mostly residential area. I note you’ve stated that the surrounding buildings are three of four storey, but the  1920s and 30s two storey housing is not far away. Given the topography of the area, it will be very obvious – just as the 27 storey block in Barnet on the Welsh Harp is LINK.

In terms of traffic, I have VERY grave concerns indeed about the impact on Dollis Hill. It is not currently possible  to turn right into Oxgate Lane (or Humber Road) from the southbound A5, and the only access to the site, whether from the A5 or Oxgate Lane is from the northbound Edgware Road. Barnet’s Brent Cross Regeneration plans call for a new road junction at Humber Road, allowing a right turn from the southbound A5, but this is being opposed strongly, and so may not happen. But in any event, as matters stand anyone approaching the development from the southbound A5 would need to rat run through Dollis Hill, by using Oxgate Gardens or Dollis Hill Lane, then Coles Green Road for access. We already face tens of thousands of extra cars each day from the Brent Cross plans, so this would be a major issue.

The detailed pre-planning report can be found HERE.