Appeal to help save the Corrib

Outside the Corrib, 76-78 Salusbury Road, Queens Parkm NW6 6PA

From Friends of the Corrib

Now the Planning application is published, it’s a clear plan to KILL the CORRIB.

We urge you ALL to do one more thing to help Save the Corrib.

Please object to Brent Council Planning

EACH objection increases the chances of keeping the Corrib Community Rooms and Pub forever.

Tell the planners what the community rooms and pub mean to you and what you used it for especially the Function Rooms which had all the dance classes, pensioner meetings and other events and/or just give your views as why it should not be turned into luxury flats - as we should not lose community spaces.

You can just object to the principal of the destruction of community space, especially this one, protected by a 106 agreement protecting money originally spent by Brent when it started for the community. The more you tell them the more weight it will have.

How to object.

You can email the planning officer directly at:
barry.henn@brent.gov.uk

To be accepted by planning you do need to include your name and address in the email.
It does not matter if you are not local – you just need to feel it’s important

Please copy in savethecorrib2017@gmail.com so we can ensure that Brent note all the letters received.

OR (the most sure way)

Go on the Brent Website, register and then object on line.
Paste below into your search engine to register.

https://myaccount.brent.gov.uk/Web/PublicPages/IR1_Register.aspx_ga=1.122443147.1434451185.1368051210

Then paste in the site below

https://pa.brent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=DCAPR_131699

Click on Make a Comment and add your concerns

Tell them things you could do and events that this place had and the value of the function rooms both in the past and into a promising future

Summary of the Developers plan.

To turn the community rooms on the first floor, into 6 luxury flats and make a £4M profit.
As a sop they have offered a function room in the pub, which will allow some community use for 3 evenings a week, making for a much reduced and commercially dead pub. Of course if the pub fails, more flats.

This planning application means the loss of 530m2 of community space, space that was originally brought with public money and is now 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.

To read the planning application in full, go to:

https://pa.brent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=DCAPR_131699

The documents should read are:
1) 170116 - planning statement v756767850000.pdf
2) Statement of community involvement56767850001.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.

http://archive.camdennewjournal.com/steeleappeal

Also ask friends etc. to sign the petition, we are aiming at 2000 signatures.

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

Thank you for standing with us on this issue. 

Shock at closure of Harlesden's beautiful The Royal Oak

Local landmark The Royal Oak, Harlesden, has announced its closure.  The pub posted a notice today saying:

We are extremely sorry to inform you that we are closing The Royal Oak. Having invested so heavily in this wonderful pub in the centre of Harlesden we have reached a point where we simply cannot continue to sustain the losses we are incurring.

For several months now it has cost us more to operate the pub than it costs to keep it closed. This is no doubt heart-nreaking. not only for the good people of Harlesden who have supported us, but for us as a company because this really is one of the ost beautiful pubs and we have invsted a lot of time and energy in trying to make it work.

So thanks to those who supported us - sorry we just couldn't make it work for us all...

Reaction on Twitter was shocked with many expressions of sadness at the news.  On Facebook the closure stimulated a discussion about gastro pubs, gentrification and much more. LINK

It is not clear yet whether the pub will be put on the market. It may become a test case for Brent Council's Pub Protection Policy.

This was the pub's website today:

Council agrees to consider campaigners' suggested improvements to Pub Protection Policy

Queensbury Pub campaigners

Queensbury Pub campaigners Ian Elliott and Sujata Aurora spoke at yesterday's Planning Committee on the proposed Pub Protection Policy written into the Brent Development Management Local plan.

While welcoming the Council's decision to have such a policy after their long campaign they also called for improvements based on CAMRA's suggestions and the policy adopted by Waltham Forest. The campaigners had circulated the CAMRA letter to members of the Committee and Sarah Marquis, the chair commented that it had raised some important points.  The Committee were asked if the accepted CAMRA's points and they murmured assent.

Waltham Forest policy included an audit of what would be lost to the community if a pub was to close. It was important to be aware of developer strategies to undermine the viability of a pub by for example raising prices or letting the building run down.

Campaigners argued that if the Council made the suggested policy changes it would have a excellent policy whereby viable pubs would be protected.

Paul Lewin, Brent Planning and Projects Manager, said that there was 'merit' in CAMRA's comments but that officers would need time to explore them and any legal or planning issues they raised. It was agreed that the Plan could be revised to accommodate changes but it appeared unlikely that this would be in time for the August Cabinet.  The comments and changes  could be made as part of the 6 week publication process.

The Waltham Forest policy can be found HERE and CAMRA's letter below:

Enraged locals campaign against Carlton Tavern vandalism

Carlton Tavern after demolition

and before...

Anger is building on the borders of Brent and Westminster over the demolition of the Carlton Tavern on the eve of the building being granted Grade II status by Historic England.

There were rumours today that the company concerned  had gone into liquidation to avoid legal  action.

A demonstration is planned for the evening of Sunday April 26th, more details when it is finalised.

Meanwhile a 38 Degrees petition has been set up LINK with this preamble:

A historic pub in Kilburn which survived being bombed in the Second World War has been demolished by developers behind the backs of the local community.

Developers ripped through the Carlton Tavern on Friday 10th April, despite being considered for statutory listing.

Local Cllr Jan Prendergast from Westminster City Council said:

“I'm horrified for the local residents that this has occurred. It came as such a shock to everyone. There was no prior warning to the council, no approvals and no proper health and safety procedures in place.

“This was a lovely pub and I'm sorry to see it go, but I'm more concerned for the residents in Maida Vale for whom they showed no consideration whatsoever. It was the last building standing in Carlton vale after the WW2 bombings.

“I've lived in the area for 35 years and have never seen anything like this before. We need to take very careful legal advice as to what steps we can take.”

The demolition of the Carlton Tavern demonstrates how vulnerable communities are to speculative and aggressive development tactics. It also demonstrates a complete disregard towards the historic social infrastructure of Kilburn and the wider UK pub heritage stock.

Local pubs are at the heart of our communities and allowing valued pubs such as the Carlton Tavern to be demolished in this way is ludicrous and is denying local residents a say in the future of their neighbourhoods.

James Watson, Regional Pub Protection Advisor for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said:

"Although we welcome the recent changes to planning law which came into effect on 6th April 2015, which afford some protection to ACV-registered pubs, the tragic case of the Carlton Tavern demonstrates just how vulnerable pubs are to rapacious development. We now urge the Government to take this case into consideration and amend planning law to ensure that such demolitions are prohibited unless planning permission is first obtained. This would ensure communities like Kilburn have a say in the future of their local pubs."

The Save the Queensbury, fighting for the pub in Willesden Green, has expressed solidaroty and meanwhile have issued a revolutionary manifesto that challenges all the political parties to match the vision which they percieve through the bottom of a glass LINK

Campaigners win another round in the Queensbury pub battle

There was great news from the Queensbury Campaign yesterday as they won the second round of the fight against Fairview.  Congratulations to all concerned.

This is how they reported it on their website  LINK:

The appeal by Fairview New Homes has been dismissed by the government Inspector. The Queensbury is saved, again!

Two years of campaigning are summarised in a 17 page letter from the Inspector, received today. The design was flawed, the case for a “landmark” building was flawed, the impact on the conservation area would have been severe. The Inspector gave more reasons than Brent Council (they refused permissionoriginally, in March last year) and the decision is very thorough.

The Inspector noted our campaign and acknowledged that some comments he received “attest to the high esteem in which the venue is held as a well managed, safe and congenial social facility in an area where these are felt to be lacking.” Yep.

In a nutshell he says “the adverse impacts in this instance would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal.” Yep.

We are very proud of what we have achieved. We were up against a legal team in a five day inquiry and an architect who paraded his awards for design. Fairview threw tens of thousands of pounds at a QC Barrister (no wonder when you consider the price of apartments in Willesden). 

We are convinced that had we not taken full part in the Inquiry then the reasons for refusal would have been diluted and Brent’s decision probably overturned. So…….. well done us.

What’s next? The ball is in Fairview’s court but we’d like to see a scheme that retains the building. Fairview will have to go back to the drawing board (literally) and return with something more sensible, or dispose of the land to someone less greedy and willing to reduce their profit. Or they could play the long game and allow the lease on the pub to expire in 2017 and let the building dilapidate (aka The Spotted Dog).

One things is certain – we will be vigilant and continue to fight for our local community buildings, doing our best to protect them. 

You can read the inspector’s full decision here

Queensbury Pub in Willesden Green Saved

Another iconic Willesden Green building to go?

Electric House

Officers are recommending that the August 21st Brent Planning Committee should approve the demolition of the three storey locally listed Electric House in Willesden Lane, which is in a Conservation Area,  and its replacement by a 7 storey residential and retail development. The proposal follows on from the battle over the nearby Willesden Green Victorian Library and the current campaign over the future of the Queensbury pub.

The report states:

Council officers are of the opinion that the building does make a contribution towards the local streetscape although its design and appearance make it distinct from the surrounding built environment.

The Council's Urban Design Officer states: The building was Locally listed principally for its stylisticcontribution to local street scape character; in terms of plan form the building has difficult proportions with a very large open ground floor and relatively small floor plates higher up. This makes the reuse of the building very difficult and it is difficult to see what alternative contemporary use could be found that would be able to use the difficult spaces with and success or viability. It is always regrettable to lose a building in a conservation area but as Electric House would be very difficult to viably convert to other uses the Council needs to balance the Community benefits that a new multi-unit residential development may bring. Unfortunately buildings that are difficult to convert lie unused for many years and subsequently suffer from lack of maintenance.

The officers argue that to compensate for the loss any replacement building will have to be of ' the highest quality of design to ensure that it makes a positive contribution to the character of the conservation area'. This should be made a condition of planning approval.

The consultation on the plans received 20 objections among which were:

·

Loss of an existing local landmark building which contributes to the character of the Willesden Green

Conservation Area.

·

The proposed building in conjunction with other developments within the town centre will destroy the

character of Willesden Green

·

The proposed building reflects nothing of the architectural characteristics of the area.

·

The height of the proposed building would create a terracing effect on an important intersection resulting in

a more dense and darker streetscape.

·

The building is too large and imposing and out of scale with neighbouring buildings.

·

Broken roof lines are a feature of the area and will not be replicated with the proposed development.

·

Loss of light to habitable room windows on the neighbouring Sheil Court

·

Over-parking on surrounding streets and in car park at Sheil Court

·

Proposed development will exacerbate existing congestion problems.

·

The space could be better used as a public park.

·

If housing is to be built it should be terraced housing or a maximum of four storeys as people are happier

in such buildings.

·

Having balconies on the road side is misguided as the road is too noisy and dirty for prospective

residents to use and will instead be used as additional storage space which is unsightly.

·

The Planning and Conservation Areas Act 1990 requires that areas should retain their essential

character, whereas the planned development represents a radical change to the area and will annihilate

the current Conservation Area streetscape.

·

It fails the challenge to preserve areas of character whilst at the same time enabling higher density

development.

·

The existing building could be suitably converted for residential.

·

The proposed development will overshadow a wide number of neighbouring properties

Documentation  going before the Committee:

Document 1  LINK Document 2 LINK