Denham has now given himself more time to consider whether to call in the application for a public inquiry. He has wider powers than Boris Johnson and will need to consider the massive local opposition, sustainability issues and the views of neighbouring councils.
Brent Council's reservations are summarised in a letter from Paul Lorber, leader of the Council and Cllr. Alec Castle (Dollis Hill):
We have restated Brent’s formal opposition to the plans, and made clear that until key wider planning aspects of importance to us are resolved, our strong objections will remain.
The developers have paid little attention to transport issues, and without measures in place to alleviate the likely problems of thousands of extra cars and heavy freight lorries navigating the streets off Cricklewood Broadway and Edgware Road, the impact in Cricklewood, Dollis Hill and Dudden Hill would be devastating.
In our view, no work should begin until appropriate traffic measures and parking restrictions have been formally agreed and put in place. These in turn must be properly informed and influenced by a long-awaited study on the wider traffic flow around the A5 Corridor.
The stop notice does not definitely mean that Denham will call in the application or order a public inquiry but does indicate that the Coalition for A Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan have made a considerable impact. They deserve our congratulations and thanks.
And, ahem, the London Campaign for Better Transport...
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I was at the so-called People's Question Time at Harrow. I came away with some hope that Boris might be listening to what ordinary Londoners want. Imagine, then, how it feels to know that he has betrayed tens of thousands of us who live in North West London. After all the fine words, all the promises, he's let us down. He isn't the People's Mayor, he's the Shopping Mall, Incinerator and Tower Block Mayor. Boris, if you wanted to really show you cared, you should have rejected the insanely misguided plans for the so-called Brent Cross Regeneration. You didn't: and not only that, the reasons you gave for approving the scheme are based on totally inaccurate information fed to you by the developers. If you're Conservative, don't bother canvassing round here - we'll have none of you!
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