Fury over trees 'hacked down' in South Way, Wembley

I have received a message from a local resident about the destruction of trees on South Way, Wembley. The heartfelt email speaks for itself so I have published it below:

Following on from your piece about the concrete jungle Brent Council are creating LINK  we went to Wembley Stadium last week and these huge beautiful trees in South Way (see screen grab above) along the side of Mahatma Gandhi house development site were still there - last night we walked past and they had all been hacked down, I was so shocked and infuriated, I simply could not believe what I was seeing!!!

First question is - why were they hacked down?  They appear to be on the pavement as they are in line with the road sign?  Several other beautiful trees which were within the blue hoardings were cut down late last year/earlier this year - the developers managed to demolish the whole of Mahatma Ghandi house without cutting down these trees outside the blue hoardings so why have they cut them down now?  

Second question is  - isn't this illegal during nesting season?

Third question is  - when are Brent Council going to stop the total obliteration of anything green in Brent? 

They have this on Brent Council website asking for Community Air Quality Champions LINK and then the let the developers oversee the removal of these beautiful trees during the nesting season.

The destruction of these valuable trees comes on top of all the trees they allowed developers to hack down on Olympic Way and at the Brent House development site too - also 4 trees on the traffic island which were removed by the road was dug up for the sewer works.

I have been trying to get Brent to confirm how many trees they have cut down in our Wembley Central and Alperton wards in the past 2 years - I have a list of 134 trees but they sent me a list of just 23 trees which is totally inaccurate - they have no idea what they are doing or what their contractors and the developers are doing.

Please raise this issue re the loss of more trees.

https://www.trees.org.uk/Help-Advice/Public/When-is-the-bird-nest-season

https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/ask-an-expert/previous/treefelling.aspx

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wild-birds-surveys-and-mitigation-for-development-projects

https://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/Dandy_Marzano_Stewart_Moseley_Lawrence_2012_ICF_Street_Trees.pdf/$FILE/Dandy_Marzano_Stewart_Moseley_Lawrence_2012_ICF_Street_Trees.pdf

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/22_benefits_208084_7.pdf

Bid to change use of Mahatma Gandhi House to accommodation as giant high rise development goes to planning committee

Prior approval is being sought to change the use of Mahatma Gandhi  House, which used to house the offices of Brent Council Housing Service, to  accommodation. LINK

It would comprise 37 studios, 48 one bedroom flats and 4 two bedroom flats. The initial drawings appear to show high density accommodation.  The building is 8 storeys high.

Ground floor

Meanwhile the much large Yellow Car Park Scheme behind Quality Inn and Dexion House  (now demolished) and beside the Civic Centre,  comes before the Planning Committee on February 11th.

This is part of an enormous development including retail, professional, food and drink units; business accommodation, housing units, community use space and student accommodation has been covered before on this blog.

The amount of affordable housing for this site remains small (18 out of 370):

The planners express concern about a short-fall in three bedroom accommodation...

However, this could easily be addressed through internal alterations to the building, amending the size of flats within the element of the building adjacent to the park. This would involve changing a number of groups of two flats which currently comprise two 2-bedroom 4-person flats into one 1-bedroom flat and one 3-bedroom flat. The total number of units would not change. However, the proportion of 3-bedroom flats would increase to meet the minimum level specified within the Development Specification. It is recommended that a condition is attached requiring details of these changes. This is considered to be sound as the proposal would primarily require internal changes and any external changes would be non-material

The site outlined in red

The nearby Fountain Studios (top centre) sent in an objection concerned that the building works (which also include an access road and a park) would disrupt its activities in terms of noise, reverberations and building vehicle traffic. The Council make it a condition that there is engagement to limit the amount of noise and disturbance.

The planners also suggest that the proposed aluminium cladding  with white framing should be softer with greater contrast between the materials.

There are no 'poor doors' (separate entry for affordable and market accommodation)

The officers recommend approval.

Summary

The three applications that are being considered concurrently look to deliver 370 homes together with some key elements of social and physical infrastructure including the 0.4 Ha park and the 300 square metre community hall. The homes meet or exceed London Plan unit size standards and almost all units benefit from good sized balconies. All units within this building benefit from immediate access to the park. The incorporation of a large lobby serving all units helps to demonstrate an inclusive approach to all residents, including those who reside within the Affordable units. Conditions are recommended to address some shortfalls or alterations that are necessary, such as the number of 3-bedroom units, the potential efficiency improvements to the layout of Affordable units and the layout of the community hall. A condition is also recommended to ensure that noise and disturbance from construction is minimised.

As Quintain rapidly fill in the various plots it is hard to keep track of the various planning applications and the stages they have reached, I think it would be useful for the public to have a document and images updating information.

It is hard to get an overall impression of what the area will eventually look like, the amount of retail, food and office space and the different types of housing, including student accommodation.  The amount and type of open space is also an important consideration. However, most important for local people is the lack of affordable housing. The planners argue that using the floor space measure =10% but in terms of the number of units it is just 5%.

Mahatma Gandhi House converted to flats?

Prior approval is being sought by IDM (Invest Develop Manage) East London  to convert Mahatma Gandhi House, formerly Brent Council's housing office, to flats. LINK
 

The proposal is for 83 apartments in a mix of unit sizes. The apartments will be all internal alterations to the existing building with no external alteration. 

The accommodation proposed is:

Ground floor 6 apartments

1st floor to 7^th floor  11 apartments each

Total 83 apartments with 33 off street parking spaces

There were rumours some time ago that the building had been ear-marked for the Gateway Free School but was turned down. 

Temporary classrooms at Mahatma Gandhi House?

According to a report going before Brent Executive on Monday, Mahatma Gandhi House, vacated by Brent Housing Service, could be used to house primary school pupils.

The report outlines a number of options to provide temporary extra places in schools and at the vacated Pupil Referral Unit in Church Lane, Kingsbury. The council will prioritise provision on school sites first but state:

Mahatma Gandhi House is considered as meeting the criteria providing a managing school could be identified. It is in an area of high demand but as the priority is to provide school places on school sites; officers propose to undertake a feasibility study and to discuss matters with the landlord, but to prioritise school based options first.

The nearest primary schools are Elsley, St Joseph's and Park Lane. A  managing school would also be required for the Church Lane PRU and the nearest school, with building work for permanant expansion just completed, is Fryent Primary.

The report is only about the provision of additional temporary  'bulge classes' or satellite classrooms but a full report on the permanent  expansion of schools to add forms of entry will be presented to the March Executive.

Table 3: Summary of Pupil Projection Increases by Planning Area 2013-2019

Planning Area,  Number,  Percentage Increase

1 Kingsbury 1172 34
2 Preston 751 17
3 Wembley Central 1534 27
4 Harlesden 901 22
5 Kilburn – Dollis Hill 525 6

Total 4883