Costa and Plaza Wembley High Road
Public confidence in the safety of new buildings springing up in Wembley High Road is not helped by the amount of scaffolding around recently completed buildings.
There has scaffolding around the retail units of the former Brent House for more than three years and a concerned Wembley resident has set about investigating.
It appears there is a legal dispute between the developer and the leaseholder which has been dragging on for some time and it has been deemed 'unsafe' to remove the scaffolding. It will have to remain until the issue is resolved.
A Brent Council officer said that the scaffolding is paid for and licenced on a renewable basis every month and in place for safety reasons. The developers wants to minimise the risk to passersby being hit hit by possible or potentisl debris or loose items.
Costa's unprotected outside area
When the resident asked why then there was no scaffolding over the plaza side of the building where there is seating for Costa customers, he conjectured that the risk is greater on the public highway side which is why the scaffolding is in place there as opposed to the plaza.
Curioser and curioser? So sitting having a coffee beneath one side of a building apparently deemed potentially dangerous is safer than passing by...
Digger deeper our resident contacted the scaffolding company who said:
When we were asked to put up scaffolding around the building, we were informed by Costa's solicitors that they did not want the scaffolding on their property, which is the seating area in the so-called 'Piazza'. It's at their discretion and their liability.
Costa press office were contacted on Friday for comment:
I am interested in comments from you regarding the safety of the area and what steps the company have taken (surveyors etc) to demonstrate that it is safe. I am happy to carry an evidenced statement from you aimed at reassuring customers.
By the end of officer hours today there had been no response.
Meanwhile's on the other side of the Plaza, Sainsbury's is protecting its customers on the street frontage but an area used by workers on the Plaza side is not.
I hope that Wembley Hill councillors will investigate and see if they can get reassurances from Costa and Brent Council.
