Pull out the stops on Wednesday to Save the Corrib for the community

Outside the Corrib Rest in Salusbury Road, Queens Park

From Save the Corrib Campaign

There has been a fantastic response to Save the Corrib Campaign. Many thanks for the support - 1471 people believe in the community rooms - which is high for a local pub. Pity the Brent planners don’t see it that way.    The planing officers feel that luxury flats will be more important than community need

Now the Planning hearing is set. We urge you ALL to do one more thing to help Save the Corrib.

Attend the planning meeting on Wednesday 28^th June at 7pm. At Brent Civic Centre. The more attendees we have will help to sway the planning committee who may have a more sensible attitude to community needs than the council planning officers.  

Brent Civic Centre is in Engineers Way a short walk from Wembley Park Tube towards and near the Stadium or a train to Wembley Central then bus 83, 92 or 182 to Wembley Arena 5 stops (stop G) and short walk down Engineers Way.

The more support we can get at the meeting the more it helps the case for keeping the Community Rooms.  Please if can at all attend the meeting to support the objection.  Don't let them kill the community rooms.

Summary of the Developer's plan.

To turn the community rooms on the first floor, into 9 luxury flats and make around £4M profit. CAMRA say these are Trojan Horse applications where the pub and small community room will be unviable and are then converted to offices or flats

As a sop they offer a function room in the pub, which will allow some community use for a few evenings a week, making for a massive reduced and commerciallydead pub. Of course if the pub fails, more flats. Planning Officers feel they have secured a great deal by increasing this by 13 hours under a regime that's deeply flawed in favour of the developer.  Yet we lose over 70% of the space in one hit and restricted to half the time.

This scheme means the loss of 530m2 of community space, space that was originally brought with public money and protected by both an ACV order and by a Section 106 covenant. The 106 is a council owned legal restriction that prevents the owner building flats on the first floor. We urge Brent NOT to break this 106 covenant but to honour and cherish it for the people of the locality.

The sad thing is Brent are advertising what to do with the money they collect from the developments and the priority in Kilburn is to use this to create community facilities.

To read the planning application in full, go to LINK

The documents you should read are: 

1) 9 March Planning statement

2) 10 Feb 170109 Draft s106 agreement 56767850001.pdf

NB: The Sir Richard Steele in Chalk Farm is a similar pub with function room and Camden and the Planning Inspector both turned down this conversion to flats so we say that Brent should do the same here. LINK

Thank you again for signing the petition Save the Corrib Pubs Community Rooms, can you help spread the word by forwarding the link below to your friends?  And do try to attend the planning meting Wednesday 28th June 7pm Brent Civic Centre

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-corrib-pubs-community-rooms

Thanks

Kevin Barrett and Lloyd Fothergill - Save the Corrib Campaign

Get involved with 'meanwhile' plans for Corrib Rest tonight

From Transition Town Kensal to Kilburn

Transition Town Kensal to Kilburn, working with other local groups and individuals, plans to re-open the Corrib Rest pub on Salusbury Road as a community hub. This is with the owners permission (of course!) for six months, possibly longer. We’re opening the doors on Tuesday 18th October so everyone can see the space, find out more and get involved. We want as many people as possible to contribute to setting up, running and enjoying the new pub!

Address: Corrib Rest pub, 76-78 Salusbury Rd, London NW6 6PA

7pm - Doors open and time to look round the building
7.30-7.45pm - Welcome and presentations
7.45-9.30pm - Mingling - this is your chance to find out more, meet the people planning to run each section, give your input and get involved:

Community pub
Spice Caravan and other catering
Cycletastic bike repairs and sales
Maker and skills workshops
Freelancers co-working space
Core planning group - open to new ideas and help with marketing, graphic design, admin and all locals with time to volunteer to help the project.

We are looking for help in many areas including graphic design, marketing, admin, running a pub and everything relevant to setting up a new not-for-profit enterprise in a meanwhile space. Your experience and skills are valuable to us. Can you volunteer some time in the set up or regular running?  Come along and let us know.

A bar will be run by QPCS PTFA and snacks will be supplied by Spice Caravan - both in return for donations.

Let us know if you are coming (if you haven't already) corribrest@gmail.com  and please bring friends and neighbours, and tell us if you have a particular interest.

Best,
Meanwhile@Corrib team

PS For anyone not aware of the term 'meanwhile' in this context it means using an empty space for a limited amount of time until it is developed by the owners.

Resident Association's concern over state of Brent Council's Planning Service

Queen's Park Area Resident's Association (QPARA) has written to the Chief Executive of Brent Council to express concern over the recent loss of key personnel in the Council's Planning Department:

Members of the Queen’s Park Area Residents’ Association (QPARA) are concerned about significant changes in the management and administration of the Planning Dept and how these are impacting upon the standard of service. At a time when planning applications seem to be at an all time high and residents find it difficult to keep up with even the most significant developments, we learn that the Planning Dept has lost key personnel.

Following the departure of the Area Planning Manager, Andy Bates, last year and the recent departure of the Head of Planning, Stephen Weeks, residents have voiced alarm that there does not appear to be anybody managing the department. At our recent monthly meeting (April 12) the following comments were made: Telephone and emails remain unanswered; enquiries about the status of developments and proposals are not consistently available; objections lodged are not appearing on the website and decisions not circulated. Examples in this immediate area are the Corrib Rest development which is a complex case with lawyers involved; Queens Studios where the question of the amount of affordable housing in the approved development is not clear; basement developments throughout the QP Conservation Area; and some more minor proposals such as for the Sunday Market signage and various breaches of the design guide relating to front gardens, walls and satellite dishes.

In short, this is a period where we know that there are always a lot of applications and the pressure on the Planners is intensive but without leadership, even on an interim basis, the situation is in danger of getting worse. More importantly there seems to be no one with an overall view on proposed developments and their impact not just on this area but on the ward as a whole. We worked closely with both Andy and Stephen over many years; they had a feeling for the character of this Conservation Area and were available through the planners to advise and consult. We are keen to establish such a relationship with a new team as soon as possible.

Please can you advise on who is managing the department and if a new Head of Planning has been recruited?