Council accused of sneaking designation of Kilburn Square as a 'Tall Buildings Zone' into Local Plan to pre-empt opposition at planning application stage

 

Brent Council's proposal with building heights (storeys) - Kilburn High Road is top right

Guest post  by Keith Anderson, Chair of Kilburn Village Residents' Association

Ten months on from first publication of the “mini-Master Plan” for a huge infill housing expansion on the Kilburn Square Co-op Estate, while Cllr Southwood continues repeating that “Nothing is decided” about the scale of the project, Brent is still busy clearing away potential obstacles…

 

Last month Cabinet approved (LINK) a series of enabling measures. And in the proposed modifications to Brent’s Local Plan, lo and behold they’re seeking to designate Kilburn Square a “Tall Buildings Zone” – to pre-empt formal objection to a new 17-storey tower when a Planning Application is made in October.

 

  The existing tower and otherwise low profile estate from Kilburn High Road. The Council claims a new tower block will 'mirror' the existing tower to create a 'landmark'. LINK

 

Kilburn Village RA (whose territory includes the estate)  submitted this objection  on Thursday – with a request that the relevant clause be deleted…

 

• To seek to designate the tiny area of Kilburn Square as a Tall Buildings Zone is a ridiculous mis-reading of the thrust of the Tall Buildings policy laid out in MM94 section 6.1 Design, which explicitly envisages clusters of Tall Buildings
• On this really small footprint there is theoretically room for one tall building, and no scope for the prescribed stepping down…in no way can that constitute a cluster or a Zone
• MM3 4.1.2d requires that Tall Buildings should “add quality to and complement Brent’s character and sense of place”
• MM77 5.6 SE Place BSESA20 Design Principles (p222) notes the  Brondesbury Road Conservation Area adjacent to Kilburn Square and states “Development should integrate well with the surrounding context and consider character, setting and the form and scale of surrounding buildings”
• Brent has draft housing plans for a new 17-storey tower on the Kilburn Square footprint. KVRA strongly contends that such a building would fail all three policy tests. An existing 17-storey tower dates back over 30 years, and is already an anomaly in the skyscape of the surrounding area – we believe it would not be approved today. 
• The Council has produced no Heritage or Urban Design report in support of this proposed new clause; nor any evidence of potential compliance with its Climate Emergency strategy or other environmental impacts; nor of consultation with the neighbouring Borough of Camden on a Tall Building zone.
• KVRA rejects  as absurd suggestions by Brent’s New Council Homes (NCH) project team that a second tower would create a ”Landmark” for Kilburn and bring desirable “symmetry” with the (not even matching) existing tower
• In July 2021, NCH held pre-engagement Zooms with KVRA and our neighbouring RAs; in four live sessions, and at least fifty subsequent feedback forms, the proposal for a second 17-storey tower was unanimously rejected as not being consistent with the surrounding context
• With residents on the KS estate itself, an extensive engagement process by independent advisors Source Partnership is nearing completion and we are confident its conclusions will show negligible support for a new Tall Building.  
• And a petition launched by a KVRA Committee member, rejecting a new Tower, has over 800 signatures
• Clearly the current residents and neighbours of the small Kilburn Square site roundly reject the proposition that a new tower would “be a positive addition to the skyline, that would enhance the overall character of the area”
• This representation is also supported by the Chairs of neighbouring RAs Brent Eleven Streets (BEST), Queen’s Park Area Residents’ Association (QPARA) and Brondesbury Residents and Tenants (BRAT).

 

See https://save-our-square.org and sign our petition http://chng.it/xwxLyYcDhP if you haven’t already!