Guest post by David Walton of FLASK
The new proposed Brent Local Plan to year 2041 is set to be put for adoption to Full Council on 24th February 2022.
Government Planning Inspectors in January 2022 put forward their final report and modifications to Brent Council. Here are some South Kilburn (soon to be Tall Building Zone (?) local observations…….
South Kilburn Growth Area, South East Place (one of 7 large often internally un-related and un-relatable Brent Plan 'places') is excluded from being part of Kilburn Neighbourhood Forum Plan for Kilburn Town (Kilburn electoral ward), but is where Kilburn Town (Kilburn electoral ward) will tower and excluded mega population grow - a bit like Wembley non City, a bizarre, colonial and fractured approach to Brent’s major change.
It is of note that these modifications that all site allocation insert plans for South Kilburn have been removed by inspectors from this new Brent Local Plan. I suppose that is one solution to resident questions, but this future engagement is unhelpful as South Kilburn has so many 'site allocations' (knowns and unknowns) pending which must now rely (unlike for other Brent places) entirely on words. Some title headings for new sites have had modifications removed- why not keep a plan saying that current state school land uses or public open space land uses are become new 'site allocation' opportunities instead?
It is also worth noting that many South Kilburn large 'sites' don’t even make this modified plan, for example the Cullen House/ station car park ( long land banked), new Peel Square with its 16 storey Countryside tower yet to be built, Carlton Granville Community and Education Centres, Brent housing plan 'other ideas site' and more….. What are the infrastructure planning requirements for this plan sites denied- none? Should flood alleviation infrastructure and social infrastructure not be stated in Policy BSEGA1 South Kilburn Growth Area? There is certainly a lot less social and health infrastructure required than the 2010 SKGA plan and that was a lot less required than the 2004 Neighbourhood Plan offer (2016 Brent cancelled).
The reality is that South Kilburn's population is being increased 6 fold from 6,000 in year 2000 to 36,000 by 2041 (sites hidden/ 'moveable feast' ambiguities added). Modification here is clearly all about the scale of the South Kilburn Mega Growth being kept carefully under the radar of Brent wider social and public health/ recreation strategic infrastructure investment for massive population growth..
Of the South Kilburn site allocations which Planning Inspectors modifications:
BSESA1 Austin House and public park demolition. South Kilburn Air Management Area (SKAMA) / 'a car free development should be the starting point.' Infrastructure planning requirements- 'Thames Water has indicated that upgrades to the wastewater system are likely to be required.'
'Are likely to be required' is the key get out clause here, as Brent despite social rent housing clearing since 2005 has yet to produce a detailed Flood Risk Assessment for any of its many South Kilburn Masterplan(s) for massed help-to buy/ affordable housing on a flood plateau. As regards future floods baked-in by the corporate risk appetite for removal of all existing public owned natural flood defences with new builds no longer being built at raised level either, South Kilburn people will have to ' learn to live with it?' and with the costs involved.
What is also interesting is that there are so few site social infrastructure planning requirements for new South Kilburn Growth Area, which is surprising given enormous population growth. This makes the new Brent Local Plan an inequalities/ non citizen zones Brent 'Slum Dog Billionaires' policies document towards 2041 as regards South Kilburn. Very much parallel development and as if Grenfell, Windrush and pandemic simply never happened and the planning reform bill had not been cancelled as being ill advised in 2021 either.
The modifications continue…….
BSESA2 Blake Court and public park demolition; SKAMA/ a car free development…. Despite being adjacent to Austin House public park flood defence, no infrastructure planning requirements at all?
BSESA3 Carlton House and Carlton Hall demolition. SKAMA / a car free development….Despite a community hall and public green space attached being demolished- Infrastructure planning requirements - zero according to Inspectors?
BSESA4 Carlton Vale Infant School demolition. SKAKMA/ not car free as next to the Westminster boundary? Inspectors state that vehicle access between Malvern Road and Carlton Vale is 'proposed' to be closed, which is a bizarre planning statement given that vehicles have been closed from Malvern Road to Carlton Vale since the 1960's, this at that time to prevent regular traffic accidents near the schools and central park. Malvern Road is a Brent long established traffic calmed one way street so what is there to propose? Is the intent to open Malvern Road to two way traffic? SKAMA what SKAMA?
A land swap with Wordsworth and Maesfield House demolitions is proposed for this school’s new site when it becomes mono-housing. This school is currently central public park side located.
BSESA5 Craik Court demolition. SKAMA/ car free development. Public green open space with veteran trees and community hall demolished. Infrastructure planning requirements-non?
BSESA6 Crone Court and Zangwill House demolitions. SKAMA/ car free. Public open space loss, yet the only Infrastucture planning requirement – water supply and waste water infrastructure upgrades possibly.
BSESA7 Dickens House and public park demolition. SKAMA/car free. Infrastructure planning requirements water supply and waste water upgrades hopefully.
BSESA8 Hereford House and Exeter Court, play areas demolitions. SKAMA/ car free. 'Development must be consistent with the recommendations of Brent Local Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 2' Infratructure planning requirement. Granville Road Public Open Space (see BSESA11) is to be re-located here at this BSESA8 site. Not very helpful that this requirement Inspectors term 'open space' as that will mean fully private enclosed green space thereby rendered useless to the wider community.
BSESA9. The Inspector doesn't dare to even write Kilburn Park Foundation School demolition anymore. The 'site' created by this will be of ambiguous status as for example SKAMA/ car free development is stated. Then Inspectors later say that the demolition site created will be a park, so a new car free park?
This school land use being built on re-locates to Wordsworth and Maesfield sites but also onto the South Kilburn Public Open Space, Brent Kilburns only park sized park, demolishing its bio-diverse veteran tree woodland area no less!
BSESA10 Neville House, public open space and Winterleys demolition. SKAMA/car free. Infrastructure planning requirements- water supply and waste water upgrades possible.
BSESA11 Again, Inspectors dared not name the site which (upgraded and invested in in 2010) is the remains of the once grand scale Granville Road Public Open Space and flood defence. Less 'public open' too this in recent years as Brent Master Developer has been land bank locking it up on and off. SKAMA/car free. Infrastructure planning requirements- waste water upgrades only. So a no public open space replacement is planning required in a flatted (no gardens) area of public open space deficiency?
BSESA12 Wordsworth., Maesfield and part of South Kilburn Public Open Space. SKAMA/ car free. Infrastructure planning requirements- new school(s) to replace the two school sites being demolished for housing. Water supply and drainage upgrades? There is no planning legal requirement stated by Inspectors to replace the large chunk of South Kilburn Public Open Space veteran tree woodland area that both school(s) sold for housing will be re-built on?
BSESA13 Again Inspectors unhelpfully decided to abandon naming John Ratcliffe House demolition. SKAMA. Infrastructure planning requirements- waste water upgrades only.
BSESA14 William Dunbar and William Saville House, community hall demolition. SKAMA/ car free housing. Infrastructure planning requirements- water supply and waste upgrades only.
BSESA15 Not site named again, the UK Albanian Muslim Community and Cultural Centre. SKAMA/ car free housing. Infrastructure planning requirements- water and waste water supply upgrades only.
BSESA16 Oxford Kilburn Club demolition. SKAMA/ car free housing.
Infrastructure planning requirements- Replace club either on or off site (elsewhere)? Water supply and waste water upgrade.
After Brent's take, the OK Club took the lion's share of New Deal for Communities government funds (their first project being to employ a professional fundraiser). It will be interesting to finally see if this by community investment of scarce public funds made any sense now when the OK Club now monumentally 'cashes in?'
To add, please look at Article 4 (1) Directions published by Brent in July 2021 which includes an SK Inset Map with at least some of this site allocations red-line box's colonialist horrors illustrated. Horrors (not mapped in the Planning Inspectors modified Brent Local Plan of Jan 2022), with Brent South Kilburn mono-colonial-overdevelopment zones new plan to build on current land uses such as South Public Open Space woodland, Granville Road Public Open Space, Kilburn Park Foundation School, Carlton Vale Infants School and Dickens Austen Public Open Space. This all comes into effect 1st August 2022.
The term Growth Area from 2010 BLP should not be retained in this new Brent Local Plan 2022 regarding South Kilburn given the new planning bills 2021 suspension. While underground car parks everywhere as separate 'business' opportunities and the doubling highways by Brent in SK zone should also be made public.
Most of the requirements from the 2010 SKGA plan were not landlord actioned and in the new plan become cancelled requirements. 2022 SKGA South Kilburn plan infrastructure requirements is for flats as literally the only infrastructure and at densities as yet unseen in the UK! Vague Policy BSEGA1 South Kilburn Growth Area is simply not written into later 'site allocations' infrastructure planning requirements or is ambiguously stated, the same for the BSEGA1 new sites not mentioned at all- no infrastructure planning requirements for them no doubt either?
A new England-led 'sovereign take back
control' South Kilburn for project Global Britain, of high tax take (tax as tribute
for simply being allowed to live in the UK third class)- no social, health,
shared services towered zones (a social rent estates level and up/ tower, level
and up/tower, again and again as of such poor flood area build quality). A zone
where no one is or ever can live a full UK citizen's life, rights, health and
wellbeing supports and chances- this all by government Global Britain design.
A mega density non place for non citizens is 2041 guaranteed by these
Inspectors modifications and residents concerns were not listened to and not
respected. This South Kilburn zoned corporate colony for feeding Global Britain
Slum Dog Billionaires risk appetite dines on and on- the South Kilburn
'moveable feast'.
David Walton
FLASK (Flood Local Action South Kilburn)
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