Controversial Queens Walk block of flats close to completion

 

The original detached house that had been allowed to fall into disrepair

 

When plans were put forward for the demolition of a detached house, 44 Queens Walk, at the corner of Queens Walk and Salmon Street, Kingsbury, it was met with some opposition because it would be replaced by a block of flats. Residents were concerned that it was out of keeping with the fairly uniform white painted houses of Queens Walk and would open the way to similar developments ,spoiling the suburban character of the area. LINK

Brent Planning Committee agreed the demolition and the new block. The two mature oaks on the site were preserved.  The new development is now almost complete as you can see below.  I understand that an offer to paint the block white ,so as to be in keeping with the rest of Queens Walk, was rejected by planning officers, presumably on the grounds that the modern corner plot block would 'make a statement'.

 The new block, named Krishna Court, has its pedestrian entrance on Salmon Street while its car park and vehicle entrance is on Queens Walk, further separating it from that street.

Today's  pictures:

 View from Salmon Street

The suburban detached houses of Queens Walk in the background
 

The gardens of Krishna Court

UPDATE

The flats are now on the market via Ellis & Co. 1 bed £365k, 2 bed £515k-£520k and 3 bed £575k. I think there are 7 or 8 flats on  the site of what was a single family house so the economics are clear.

Heron House campaigners issue urgent call for support before October 25th deadline

The site

Second Pre-application design

From campaigners against Heron House redevelopment plans LINK

We urgently need your support to sign this Letter of Objection to stop the  huge redevelopment of Heron House, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley.  Please make any changes you see fit.

The deadline for comments/objections is October 25th 2016 

1)  Copy the letter below making any alterations you think fit. Insert your full name and address, including postcode, in FROM
2)  Paste into an email with Heron House Ref: 16/4156 in subject line and send  to: mandeep.chaggar@brent.gov.uk
3)  Now please forward to family members over 18 years and as many people as possible anywhere in the UK.

FROM:  

I strongly object to the proposed redevelopment of Heron House, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley by Plowden Limited,  for the following reasons and I urge Brent Council to refuse planning permission.  Brent Council Ref:  16/4156

1)  Stadium & High Road Regeneration: Those who live in Wembley can expect 11,000 high rise dwellings in the massive Regeneration of the Stadium and High Road Areas ("Regeneration").  As this regeneration was planned and agreed many decades ago, its progress will continue and one can only hope it will  be of benefit to all the residents of Brent. Will this now be copied in other locations throughout the country?

2) Smaller High Rise Developments: Our greatest fear is the  smaller high rise developments, which are intrusive and are rapidly creeping into residential streets everywhere,  whose impact is adversely affecting our quality of life.  One of these is the proposed redevelopment  of Heron House on Wembley Hill Road, into expensive higher rise flats and commercial businesses and I am very concerned that if permission is granted, similar developments could very well happen on my street next!

3) Not in Keeping with the Character of the Street:  Wembley Hill Road and all the street off it are totally residential and the existing Heron House was built in the '60s and is not as intrusive, overbearing or dense as the proposed development will be. The proposed development is much larger and certainly not in keeping with the character of the streets  and its visual effect will totally spoil the area.   Our streets consist of houses, bungalows, maisonettes, small blocks of flats and gardens.

4) Too close To Existing Regeneration:  As  the "Regeneration"  has already planned 11,000 dwellings, any more higher buildings in the same vicinity is surely excessive and would have a negative impact on the area, overshadowing all the houses around it, with an increase in noise pollution.

5) Loss of light, privacy and the existing outlook:  Although the Developers apparently plan to block some of the balcony glass partitions, they cannot possibly do this in all directions, so many residents will still be overlooked and lose their privacy and existing outlook. The dense building will also block out a significant amount of light for all the nearby residents.

6) Parking:   The proposal by Plowden mentioned a number of parking spaces smaller than the number of flats proposed. Therefore there will not be enough parking spaces for all the vehicles from the flats and the commercial businesses.   This will be putting even more pressure on the streets around  Wembley Hill Road, where there is already a huge demand for parking spaces and it is almost impossible to find one.

7) Traffic and Air Quality:  The transport implications have not been taken fully in consideration. The traffic at the nearby junction at the London Designer Outlet  is already gridlocked every day, so how will our roads cope with all the extra traffic that will be generated? There will always be disruptions around this junction, as road works never seem to stop and with all the extra traffic from the "Regeneration", we cannot allow even more traffic chaos from this new development.
The air quality in the area which has already been impacted by the "Regeneration", will only get worse. The main pollutants of concern, nitrogen oxides,  are lung irritant and especially liable to harm children and those with chest problems such as asthma. Surely the Council has a duty to enhance the health and wellbeing of the local community and not encourage every one of these smaller developments?  Heron House in particular  is right on the door step of the "Regeneration", it surely is not vital?

8)  Setting A Dangerous Precedent:  If this large higher development is allowed in a residential area, it will also set a dangerous precedent and before long even more developers will want to do the same. How much more destructive impact on our residential areas is the Council going to allow, despite huge opposition from its residents?  It is very unfair, as we are all already trying to retain the residential areas we live in, despite the looming high rises of the "Regeneration"

9)  Likely Purchase of Land Opposite:  These same developers have already expressed an interest in purchasing St Joseph's,  the land opposite Heron house, with a view to building yet another higher rise block! We cannot just sit back and do nothing and allow the development of these buildings, as local people are being priced out of the area, which impacts on other areas of the Borough.

10)  Other Sites:  There are many brown-filled and derelict sites in Brent, where these part/commercial development can be situated and these should be used before encroaching onto our residential streets.

11) Impact on Infrastructure:  What provision has been made for the infrastructure needed to cope with the extra people? As this is a new development,  provision obviously was not made when creating the "Regeneration".

12) A Concrete Jungle:  I am trying not to be too pessimistic, but  these smaller high rise dense developments,  which are causing great concern amongst residents, could happen anywhere and before you know it the whole of Brent could  become a concrete jungle!  I wish I could say with certainty that this will not happen, but the speed with which  these smaller high rises are going up, makes me and my neighbours truly fearful. The lack of transparency when making these decisions is very worrying, as they have an adverse effect on all our lives.

13) Love Where You Live:  On the one hand Brent Council is encouraging residents to "love where you live" and improve our environment and yet on the other forcing us to accept even more higher rise developments.  I know things have to change and progress, but do we have to loose our precious existing residential areas for even more high rises? Surely Brent Council should be aiming for both?

14) The Attitude of Developers: Developers everywhere are undermining and exploiting planning authorities, with planning performance agreements and other inducements.  They must be opposed and cannot continue to completely ignore the wishes of residents.

 15)  Historical Significance: High Street which runs along one side of the proposed development is of great historical significance, more so since there is little left of the old Wembley after the thatched cottage down the road was burnt down. High Street was the main street in Wembley 250 years ago and it is the only public way in Wembley which carries the name "street". As such, we ask the Council to give this due consideration and protect this area and not allow such a massive redevelopment to spoil the character of this quiet historic part of Wembley, , which is so much part of our low rise suburban area.

16)  Lower Level Affordable Housing: We of course appreciate that more houses are needed, so we propose and would be happy to support lower level affordable family accommodation perhaps some with small private gardens, as this is just the sort of dwelling which is in very short supply in the borough. The proposed plans for Heron House are excessive, damaging and totally inappropriate for the area and as such they should be rejected.

(Petition Organiser: Zerine Tata, Tokyington Ward, Email: zerinetata@hotmail.com)