We have covered several major developments on the borders of Brent because they will affect our local residents including Brent Cross, Old Oak and O2 Centre at Finchley Road. Now a major development of the Ladbroke Sainsbury's site is the subject of a campaign by Kensal Triangle Residents' Association under the banner of Keep Kensal Green.
The Association wants a low rise sustainable development as an alternative to the tower blocks proposed by Ballymore and cite the Unity Place development in South Kilburn as a potential model. The campaign say that nearby residents in Brent should have been consulted:
Climate change threatens every part of the planet. The solution at local level requires collaboration between council, planners and residents.
Our mission is to promote an alternative proposal that provides affordable housing, more trees and green spaces; a plan that our local community can get engaged with that meets environmental standards
This campaign is being organised by KTRA (Kensal Triangle Residents Association) co-ordinating with the wider community in North Kensington, Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill Gate.
We need 30,000 signatures to stop Ballymore’s existing large scale development in favour of a smaller, low rise, sustainable alternative which has the potential to provide North Kensington with attractive affordable canal-side accommodation which could be the pride of the community. (See our website for details)
The proposal
Campaigners' illustration of a possible lower rise development
Jude Allen, petition organiser and producers of the above video said:
In 2021, Ballymore announced a strategic partnership with Sainsbury’s to build “Project Flourish”, a £1.7 billion regeneration scheme with 3,500 housing units on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s last remaining brownfield site.
This large scale development which stretches over 18 acres from Ladbroke Grove to North Kensington, features a bigger Sainsbury's surrounded by 20-30 storey high tower blocks, completely at odds with the low rise residential housing of the surrounding area.
As a local resident, I made the video to provide more information about the development and raise awareness about its potential impact on our local community and the environment.
If we don't stop this development there will be increased traffic, more pollution, 10 years of noisy construction work and following the Southall Gasworks health scare reported in the Guardian on 27, April 2023, potential health risks to local residents from digging up contaminated land on the historical Kensal Gasworks site.
We only have 2 months left to object to this development before Ballymore submit their planning application to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea at the end of June.
6 comments:
Should we build on the Green belt? No, it is expansion of the city and destruction of the environment.
Where shall we build?
Brownfield site and old industrial area where we can improve the vista around what has been an unsafe canal to walk along?
No, it is expansion of the city and destruction of the environment.
If not green belt or brown field where NIMBYs?
Dear Anon 23:20 You have obviously not read the Blog, the residents association are suggesting a lower level development. Trying to use the term NIMBY shows your total lack of understanding of buildings and human scale and the lessons learnt from the 1960s towerblock building.
Kensal Canalside proposals for 20 years plus, Sainsburys and the Gasworks.
To add....
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Local Plan proposes a new Elizabeth Line station and active travel bridge top on this image over the rail tracks visible. Also proposed is a Grand Union Canal new active travel bridge over the canal (visible extreme left) into Kensal Green Grade 1 listed cemetery, a vast scale green space part visible base of the image. Brent borough boundary 400 metres! This bridge more directly angled to Kensal Rise?
Also of note is the UK's 'world class' biggest transport super-hub building nearby at the right side of this image, Harlesden Major Town towers over it too. Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation has no local transport remit at all and alarmingly there is as yet no TfL or 4 boroughs co-ordinated local transport plan for high quality equitable local active travel either in place. Segregate and sever preferred, OPDC to integrate only with itself?
The Canal and River Trust intends a canal bus service from Harlesden transport super hub to Paddington and to enhance its existing safe cycle route........
Vast potential, could be Kings Cross Central and Paddington Basin you ain't seen nothing yet, or a worrying time for locals too given 'designed by greed' escalated de-regulations. The anti-human stalks re-developments in a way it never does London 'right place' conservation areas.
Wonder where you live?
Would you want to live in a tower block after Grenfel???
Most of these new tower blocks are full of extortionally expensive flats that locals can't afford - developers and investors are making a fortune whilst our area is disappearing in a concrete jungle and the local housing list grows.
They are also building thousands of student accomodation flats everywhere - they generate no council tax at all for our area but will greatly impact on our already hugely overstretched local services - they could instead build flats for local people.
Kensal Canalside does seem to be more varied use and trying to be a North Kensington new town. Visit the housing towers at Westfield if you want to be there now? Hopefully no new one staircase towers at Kensal Wall like for Kilburn Wall 2023.
It is incorrect to say the last brownfield site in RBKC, remember Pickles and Cameron 2010 designating all social estates as brownfield land.
Top of image over the rail tracks are large social estates of high build quality that nothing built today outside of conservation areas can match. So, a major problem for UK political to force these brownfielded communities out of their homes and we can all also start to understand why poor build quality is so required inside new ware-housing rental red lined zones- precarity is these days literally being built in.
Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area Supplementary Planning Document (see online) should be of interest to Brent Transport Planning decision makers 2023.
Figure 3.1 'New and improved walking and cycling connections', shows the new rail bridge north (400 metres from Brent boundary with RBKC) and the new canal bridge north (100 metres from Brent boundary with RBKC).
Figure 3.2 'Proposed Elizabeth Line Station'
It is a difficult political leap (policy to date) to imagine Brent residents not using these great new travel opportunities, ditto Britain's biggest transport super-hub at Greater Harlesden, ditto Westminster's excellent cycle network 1200 metres from South Kilburn car-free housing tall building zone quintupling its warehoused population to 2041.
Time for a real Brent Transport Strategy 2023 and focused best use of TfL funds? The Mayor wants 80% of London journeys by 2041 to be walking, cycling or public transport.
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