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.
