It never rains but it pours: Brent Cross redevelopment gets green light

The government has given the go-ahead to the Brent Cross Cricklewood redevelopment scheme that has caused so much anxiety in the south of the borough and in neighbouring Brent and Camden.

The Brent Cross Coalition, that has opposed the scheme, has issued a press statement:

Press Statement - Brent Cross Coalition Response to Secretary of State Failure to Call-In Application

We believe that allowing the current plans to go ahead will destroy communities and cause great harm to local town centres across North West London and beyond. The scheme should have been called in by the Secretary of State on those grounds alone.

The plans are discredited, out-dated and green-washed, with high-rise rabbit-hutch housing of poor environmental standards and a gasifying incinerator as the only supposedly “renewable” energy source. This predominantly car-based scheme will exacerbate air pollution at a time when the Government has already been given final notice by the EU for breaching air quality standards, and will also destroy any chance of a sustainable light-rail scheme across this part of outer London.

This ill-conceived decision by the Secretary of State does not bode well for future planning decisions, and is completely at odds with new Conservative Party policies on planning, and the recent Coalition Government planning statement. It rides roughshod over widespread local opposition from tens of thousands of people, which must now be heard at a public inquiry.

We will continue to fight this regressive, unpopular scheme, to replace it with a sustainable development that meets both 21st century standards and the needs and aspirations of the whole community.

Lia Colacicco, Co-ordinator,
Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan

For further information/interviews contact:

Lia Colacicco, Co-ordinator, tel 07710 460 155
Alison Hopkins, Dollis Hill resident, tel 07917 717797
David Howard, Chair Federation of Residents Associations in Barnet, tel 07958 509 787

Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan – http://www.brentcrosscoalition.blogspot.com/

Barnet trades council has joined the coalition. I'm not sure what happens next, but watch this space.

Barnet council leader Lynne Hillan's comment is:

Schemes such as Brent Cross Cricklewood will help Barnet cope with the pressures of growth while preserving the essentially suburban nature of the rest of the borough.

Sooner or later, I think, residents in the crowded parts of the borough are going to turn. Must we all budge up a bit more so that those in the suburbs can enjoy their space and their greenery undisturbed? There must be limits to this.