Friday, 25 September 2015

HS2 propose moving ventilation shaft next to school on South Kilburn estate

A press release today reveals that HS2 plan to move the proposed ventilation shaft from the site next to Queens Park station to Canterbury Works on the South Kilburn Estate next to St Mary's Primary School. Local residents and parents opposed this proposal by Brent Council. LINK

The Press Release

 HS2 is the new high speed railway for Britain. This event is an opportunity for you to find out more about the project and what it means for your local area.
This is a joint event between HS2 and Brent Borough Council about a change in the proposals for the HS2 railway, which would be in a tunnel under Kilburn.

We are proposing to move the site of one of the tunnel’s ventilation shafts from Salusbury Road to a site at Canterbury Works.

Date:

Thursday 8 October

Time:

3pm to 8pm

Location:

South Kilburn Studios,
2A Canterbury Rd,
London, NW6 5SW
View this location on a map
For further information on this event, please contact the HS2 helpdesk:

Public enquiries

at

22 comments:

  1. Pete Firmin25 September 2015 at 15:36

    Lets be absolutely clear 1) This is not a public meeting, which we were told HS2 would be holding in the area, but one of their glossy exhibitions; 2) Neither HS2 nor Brent Council has consulted with local residents on the issue; 3) Why is HS2 holding this as a joint event with Brent Council?; 4) Richard Barrett's report to Councillors on the issue contains the information that the chair of the Tenants Forum supports the vent shaft being on the South Kilburn site, but not that the Tenants and Residents Association next door to the proposed site are opposed.. Worth noting that a) we are never informed of meetings of this forum; b) when 2 members of our TRA committee did attend they were told they were not welcome; c) the said chair of the tenant's forum does not live anywhere near the site, nor did he consult with those who do. Neither Brent Council or Brent Housing Partnership (who some argue have some kind of duty of care to their tenants) have paid the slightest interest in our concerns regarding HS2, even before the issue of the vent shaft came up, when we received recorded letters from HS2 saying they might need to carry out CPOs on our flats. Oh, and conveniently, the head of the school who was opposed to the vent shaft being placed next to the school has been replaced by one who doesn't want to know about the issue and the board of governors (the majority of whom opposed) has been scrapped and replaced by an Interim Executive Board. And the diocese is clearly not interested in the welfare of pupils at the school, let alone those living next to it. Thank you caring, considerate Brent.

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  2. Anonymous25 September 2015 at 15:49

    So Brent Council and QPARA got their way - I feel very sorry for all the less well off residents who will be affected by this. If it ever happens..........

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  3. Anonymous25 September 2015 at 18:33

    a good chunk of the opposition was funded by the developers of the private for profit development of the Canterbury works site - so mixed feelings about this.

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    1. Pete Firmin26 September 2015 at 11:49

      Actually, the TRA made clear from the start that we had no interest in working with the property developers. They were less than please that we turned up to their "press launch" outside the school with placards which read "no to the vent shaft, no to further property development". School governors and parents also attempted to work independently of the developers. They have now disappeared from the scene having lost interest in the site. We are still here and still opposed.

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  4. Anonymous25 September 2015 at 20:53

    Hope Queen's Park nimby's put in as much work opposing this site.

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  5. Anonymous26 September 2015 at 14:59

    They won't

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  6. Anonymous28 September 2015 at 20:09

    Don't be ridiculous its not venting anything this is an access shaft.

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  7. Anonymous1 October 2015 at 00:34

    Where is Labour on this? How is this continuing with such overwhelming opposition? How can the Tories push through this unwanted railway? What has happened to democracy in this country?

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    Replies
    1. Alison Hopkins1 October 2015 at 12:39

      Labour actually started the damn thing and still back it. It's an economic nonsense as well as an environmental one.

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    2. Anonymous1 October 2015 at 22:40

      Brent Labour really want it - to kick start the regeneration of Harlesden, they have always supported it right from when Labour pushed it through before the Election in 2010.
      The one they lost.

      Delete
  8. Alison Hopkins1 October 2015 at 09:50

    So why do HS2 themselves call it a vent shaft then?

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  9. Anonymous1 October 2015 at 10:41

    What's to vent? It would vent smoke if there was a train fire. Presumably it would provide fresh air for the train passengers and workers maintaining the tunnels. Apart from that, it is just for access. It would not be visible from the road or the school. It is way back near the railway line. Plus moving it from the other South Kilburn site near the station frees that up for a much better development of a derelict site currently occupied by drug dealers

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    1. Pete Firmin1 October 2015 at 17:52

      Most of what it vents is air pushed out of the tunnel. But it is the size of a small block of flats, so yes, would be visible from flats and the school. But you're also (deliberately?) missing the point. One of the main objections is because of the noise, disruption, dirt etc which would be caused by years of construction. More detail at http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/brent-shows-again-how-little-it-cares.html

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    2. Alison Hopkins1 October 2015 at 18:36

      And that air will contain diesel emissions.

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    3. Anonymous2 October 2015 at 13:26

      So there would be years of disruption if it was built elsewhere and it would kill the building of affordable housing if put on the site next to the station. The overblown rhetoric of people complaining about this has rightly been ignored. This is a done deal. Brent want it. HS2 want it. It's been presented to Parliament. It's going to happen.

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    4. Pete Firmin3 October 2015 at 19:43

      So regeneration is not about giving the population of South Kilburn better living conditions, but purely about Council schemes. Actually, there is unlikely to be much really affordable housing if built on the station site. Overblown rhetoric? I'll give you a guided tour should you break with your anonymity.

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  10. Alison Hopkins1 October 2015 at 12:38

    This is what HS2 themselves call it.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dates-announced-for-hs2-ltd-and-brent-councils-community-information-events

    The trains are proposed to use diesel. Read any news coverage lately? Ever heard of nano particulate matter, and the fact that it's far deadlier for children than adults?

    The trains will be nicely sealed and air conditioned of course.

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  11. Anonymous1 October 2015 at 21:44

    The trains are electric.....?

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  12. Alison Hopkins2 October 2015 at 09:30

    Not if you read HS2's website.

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    1. Anonymous2 October 2015 at 10:48

      Link please. This is utter nonsense. You can't have a high speed diesel train. The technology peaked with the 125 in the 1970s. All High Speed networks use electric trains - it's the whole point.

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  13. Anonymous2 October 2015 at 09:45

    Lol!!! Alison Hopkins thinks HS2 will run diesel trains! Do you know what the H and S stand for Alison? It's very difficult to take you seriously.

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