Lia Colacicco, Coalition Co-ordinator, says:
Following the sham consultation carried out by the developer's PR agency, Barnet Planning Committee last night passed the planning application as expected. The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan will now be asking the Secretary of State to call it in for a public inquiry. This is the only objective way for the views of local people to finally be taken on board, and to allow the full scrutiny that this disastrous development deserves. Thousands of residents across north London fear gridlock from the huge expansion - in Barnet, Camden, Brent and beyond.Some other points:
The views of the local Barnet and Brent residents have been cast aside. The developer's reassurances about the waste dump's safety and the incinerator emissions are not credible. For thousands of residents in Dollis Hill for instance, public relations and private profit have been placed before public health and community benefit.
- No chance of a light-rail line across Brent Cross for the next sixty years, until the whole thing is torn down again
- The loss of the only green open space in downtown Cricklewood
- Permission granted for a 140-metre incinerator chimney that will be so high it will need aviation lights on it, to warn aircraft away
- The loss of safe children's play space at Brent Terrace cottages
- The prospect of 24-hour use of a railway freight depot next to Cricklewood cottages
- The unnecessary demolition of 217 homes and destruction of the community in Whitefield
- Many residents face being overlooked by 100-metre high buildings.
Navin Shah, London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow (Labour Party) and Brent Cross Coalition, says:
This is a complete travesty of any form of justice. Whilst concept of a Super Hub like the one approved by Barnet Council is an outdated and discredited concept, the Council in its own wisdom has approved the application which will degenerate and not regenerate this part of North London and this includes the neighbouring areas of Brent and Harrow I represent. On all counts the so called ‘High Street’ proposal is ill-conceived and should have never been allowed. The proposal if it goes ahead will devastate the quality of life of the existing residents, seriously affect small shops in local high streets and create slums of the future from the 60’s like high-rise 25 storey blocks of flats.
Whilst the Council has delivered its verdict, the Coalition Group, my residents and myself will be taking the fight to the Mayor of London, who has powers to direct refusal of this application. I will also, of course, again ask the Secretary of State to call in the application, for a Public Inquiry.
Sarah Teather, MP for Brent East (Liberal Democrat) and Brent Cross Coalition, says:
Barnet councillors have stabbed their neighbours in Brent and Camden in the back. If the Government does not call in this disastrous scheme, it will devastate our local area, with thousands of extra cars and pollution overwhelming our local streets.
There was a huge demonstration outside the committee meeting on Wednesday night, and I was pleased to speak up for Brent residents at the hearing. Local people are understandably furious that their views have been dismissed without a second thought.
We are not against regeneration that would improve the area, but we are passionately against regeneration that will actually make our area worse. You simply cannot build a colossal new urban centre without taking steps to protect the environment and the community already there.
The Secretary of State must now act immediately to call in this scheme.
Darren Johnson, London Assembly Member (Green Party) and Brent Cross Coalition, says:
I strongly reject the granting of outline planning permission by Barnet council. The proposed development would have a major impact on traffic and pollution across the whole of North-West London, particularly the neighbouring boroughs of Brent and Camden. Barnet Council is not qualified to take decisions that impact significantly beyond the borough's boundaries. I will be calling on the Mayor to intervene.
Jean Lambert, Member of the European Parliament for London (Green Party) and Brent Cross Coalition, says:
This scheme clearly has regional repercussions, given its scale, and there are still questions around compliance with the London Plan, as well as issues around traffic, pollution and transport infrastructure.
There are also unanswered questions regarding the planned waste disposal process and its impact on health.
I fully support the Coalition's call for a full Public Inquiry, so that an informed and robust debate can take place into this major and controversial development.
Barnet Planning Committee's approval of the Brent Cross Cricklewood development is bad for the borough of Barnet, awful for surrounding areas and sets a terrible example for the whole of Britain.
ReplyDeleteEven supposing the developers fulfill their pledges of high standards for all aspects of their monstrous proposals, there are two overwhelming reasons why the project should have gone to a public inquiry.
The size of the scheme is so enormous that it will have an impact on the national target of an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The BXC plans include only token sustainability measures, so the expanded shopping centre, the new homes and the other buildings are likely to churn out hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 in their many decades of existence.
It is vital that all nations reduce their CO2 emissions rapidly in order to prevent global temperatures rising to levels likely to trigger environmental disaster. But there is no chance of Britain achieving its crucial CO2 reduction target if other planning authorities adopt the Barnet committee's approach of ignoring the broad environmental impact of major projects.
World leaders attending the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month will be wasting their time if their pledges of action are undermined by people such as the members of Barnet planning committee who fail to appreciate the urgency of the crisis.
Nearer to home, the expansion of Brent Cross is certain to damage the viability of nearby shopping districts including Golders Green, Hendon, Temple Fortune and Finchley Central. Many businesses in those areas are already struggling under the impact of the recession and Barnet Council should not have approved the BXC plans without studying their likely impact on local communities and implementing whatever measures are needed to support those communities.
It is time the council's Conservative administration stopped ignoring the Sustainable Communities Act act and started accepting their responsibility to ensure that neighbourhoods have the shops, libraries, post offices, playing fields and other community facilities which are essential for all council tax payers to have a decent quality of life.
Andrew Newby
Barnet Green Party