Brent Council's Estate Ballot Video
Dear Editor,
South Kilburn's partitioned first Brent regeneration ballot in 2019 included only 1,000 scattered selected households, while excluding the other 3,516 households in the South Kilburn Growth Area from any ballot vote say at all in the new tall building zone (TBZ) plan. This is proving to be an unsustainable social injustice and human rights abuse i.e. the entire community complex land has become surplus brownfield land for the coloniser market.
I count as one of these 3,516 households in South Kilburn neighbourhood excluded entirely from Brent's ballot of South Kilburn 2019. The Brent neighbourhood masterplan for South Kilburn vote in 2004 had allowed a vote say to every household in this zone regarding a future land uses neighbourhood regeneration plan (a plan which was unilaterally Brent cancelled in 2017).
Why this harsh and exclusionary change of landlord neighbourhood governance policy in SK for 2019 and harsh denial of the right to a democratic say regarding the vague new South Kilburn TBZ future towards 2041? Brent now only boasts and taunts the South Kilburn massive household majority excluded from the ballot vote about its partitioned and excluding ballot of 2019 - "And in South Kilburn where we are regenerating, we had the biggest estate regeneration resident ballot in London with a 72% turnout and 84% of people voting in favour" - this refers only to the 1000 households allowed a vote. Ignored are the 3,516 South Kilburn households excluded entirely from a ballot vote say regarding the developer-led TBZ new plan.
With the community-led neighbourhood partnership regeneration masterplan balloted 2004 unilaterally cancelled by Brent five days after the Grenfell fire in 2017, surely Brent landlords new unilateral land use TBZ plan should be put to a vote of all 4,516+ South Kilburn households in 2022- especially as Brent aims to by five times grow the SK population to over 36,000 by 2041.
I would propose a Brent ballot 2 remedy in 2022, in which all 4,516+ households in SK have a ballot vote to correct the gross injustice of 2019.This ballot 2 would force the public landlord to offer a new responsible high quality detailed, healthy, cohesive, inclusive, civil and flood attenuation aware plan for SK future land uses towards 2041 which is clearly in the best interests of all who live South Kilburn Land.
Will Brent finally listen and engage?
David Walton
FLASK (Flood Local Action South Kilburn)
