Brent Cross development - the mirage fades?

Responding to a report in the Evening Standard on Tuesday evening about the apparent collapse of the massive planned redevelopment around Brent Cross, the Brent Cross Coalition has issued the following statement:

Press release from the “Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Development”

The campaign welcomes the collapse of the grotesque, car-based Brent Cross scheme. However, it is totally unacceptable to still go ahead with the easy-profit shopping centre expansion, which we are told is a “possibility”.

We demand the whole plan is scrapped, and the arrogant local developers, and their ineffective PR company, are removed from the project.

Measures in new Localism Act mean that over-bearing property companies, in alliance with conceited Barnet Council, cannot get away with “business as usual”. This is a great day for people-power – not Hammerson plc and not Mike Freer (former Barnet leader, now MP).

We want development based on people’s aspirations for a sustainable, low-carbon, exciting regeneration of the area. This means starting from scratch, and will also obviously have to wait for improvements in the economy.

The developers have wasted many years – not ONE home has been built, not ONE transport improvement. Barnet Council has also wasted many hours of work in promoting something nobody wanted - their web site still estimates 29,000 extra cars every day in the Brent Cross area, which would cause traffic misery.

The developers have just received planning permission for a small building at Brent Cross – but have resorted to making the application from a tax haven in the Channel Islands. They have no shame, and are behaving no better than bankers.

Lia Colacicco, Co-ordinator of the Brent Cross Coalition, said:

“The regeneration was always a mirage, despite the PR spin, the developers were only ever committed to building a few hundred new housing units anyway. In return for cheaply purchasing large swathes of public land, their main return to the local population would have been gridlocked traffic. I hope the next deal is more transparent, and involves a stretch of light rail to link to local tube lines.”

Alison Hopkins, Dollis Hill resident, said:

“What we are being offered now is little different from the rejected shopping centre planning application of 13 years ago. We will still get lots of extra traffic, but no transport improvements. The developers want to “pick the low-hanging fruit” of what pays out quick profits. The Brent Cross Waste Incinerator seems to be a dead project now, but we will continue to campaign, to make absolutely sure.”

David Howard, Chair of the Federation of Residents' Associations of Barnet, said:

“The Brent Cross Cricklewood development would have had a negative impact on the infrastructure and the environment of much of North London and for generations to come. Brian Coleman cannot quote my phrase of “hobbit homes”, since he has done nothing to stop the scheme, and we have. We need the public land at Brent Cross to be kept out of the hands of the developers, and corridors across it reserved for a future light railway to Brent Cross Northern Line station, and to other local areas.”

Note

The “Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan” comprises 12 residents’ associations plus the Federation of Residents’ Associations in Barnet (representing the 12 largest residents’ associations in Barnet), Brent Cyclists, the North West London Light Railway (NWLLR) group, Brent Friends of the Earth (FoE), Barnet & Enfield FoE, Camden FoE, Sarah Teather (MP for Brent Central), Dawn Butler, (former MP for Brent South), Labour and LibDem Councillors from Brent and Camden, Navin Shah (London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow), Darren Johnson (London Assembly Member), Jean Lambert (London MEP), Brent Green Party, Barnet Green Party, Alexis Rowell, (former Chair of Camden Sustainability Taskforce), Brent and Barnet Trades Union Councils, and Bestway Group.

The Coalition web site is at: http://www.brentcrosscoalition.blogspot.com/

Barnet council's Brent Cross plans condemned

I haven't time to comment, but below is the press release from the Brent Cross Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan, on Barnet council's decision to pursue their unsustainable redevelopment plan. Contact the Coalition for more details.

Coalition Condemns Barnet’s Approval of Brent Cross Plans

The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan deplores yesterday’s decision by a single unelected official at Barnet Council to approve the fundamentally flawed planning application.

In terms of attracting private capital, this is an example of a "race to the bottom" by the Council - to get any sort of investment, come what may, and without serious consideration of the quality of the proposals.

Having lost £27 million in the Icelandic banks fiasco, and with its 'easyCouncil' approach failing to balance the books, it is not surprising that the Council have swallowed the developer’s claim it will “bring unprecedented investment into Barnet”. This controversial scheme is based on last century assumptions about housing, transport and mega shopping centres.

With capacity for additional retail space in London already under intense scrutiny, why double the Brent Cross shopping centre - causing further devastation of local high streets across North and West London?

The Coalition will continue to fight the plans building by building to ensure a sustainable scheme – one that the local community wants – is put in its place. If the developers truly wish for “meaningful engagement” with local residents, then it’s about time – it has been conspicuous by its total absence so far.

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

For further information/interviews contact:

David Howard, Coalition member and Chair Federation of Residents Associations in Barnet, tel 07958 509 787

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

Contact bxc@brentfoe.com

(1) The “Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan” comprises twelve residents’ associations plus the Federation of Residents’ Associations in Barnet (representing the 12 largest residents’ associations in Barnet), Brent Cyclists, the North West London Light Railway (NWLLR) group, Brent Friends of the Earth (FoE), Barnet & Enfield FoE, Camden FoE, Sarah Teather (MP for Brent Central), Dawn Butler, (former MP for Brent South), Labour and LibDem Councillors from Brent and Camden, Navin Shah (London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow), Darren Johnson (London Assembly Member), Jean Lambert (London MEP), Brent Green Party, Barnet Green Party, Alexis Rowell, (former Chair of Camden Sustainability Taskforce), Brent and Barnet Trades Union Councils, and Bestway Group.

(2) The press have previously used a very glamorous artist’s impression of the development by night - in the interest of balance please consider using this graphic by the developers, it is from the planning application and shows the high-rise density of the scheme https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCUswgKDFMeAotE4ztI5PxrO_syoT9QZbfzoZa8_iX0u-Vzt_4kJLGnt9tvtQgqQ2PIFDtuR4BzakpXXH0ODbgM0Y9d4_uj5UsdTQsp3JhCHy0WUAbv63Jy7tpSaACgZZ5LnKOp6avEN6/s640/Brent+Cross+Concrete+Jungle.png

Alert: Brent Cross market research scam?

Brent Cross Coalition has published the following alert:

Misleading Market Research Calls?

The "Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan" believes there is possible confusion about phone calls being made to local households this week “about Brent and Barnet”. Some householders have gained the impression that it is "on behalf of Brent and Barnet".

These calls are surveys about the £4.5 billion Brent Cross redevelopment, but Brent and Barnet Councils are not involved (we are suggesting – awaiting replies from both councils).

Anyone might have commissioned the survey through Communicate Research/ICM Direct.

Whoever it is, the calls involve subtly slanted questions*. We are worried that this "survey" will be used - by persons unknown - to mislead the public, if and when the "results" are publicised.

Householders should be warned.

We are asking anyone who can record such a call to contact the Brent Cross Coalition, so we have a transcript. Please ask the caller who they represent, and complain about any questions you think are "slanted" and not neutral.

* Some questions fall blatantly into the category of “motherhood and apple pie”, asking e.g. whether new schools are a good thing, whether it would be desirable to replace an old waste handling facility with a new modern state-of-the-art-facility, etc. etc. Others are more subtle, or simply fail to offer negative options. With such a biased questionnaire design, there is huge scope for misinterpretation of the findings.

We are complaining to the Market Research Society that this survey contradicts Requirement B14: "not to lead the respondent to a particular answer".

Life is not difficile in Lille; here's something about the Cross of Brent, it is urgent

I've just got back from a trip to Lille (even Trots have holidays - more on that anon).

Have you been? It's very nice, much nicer than I'd dared hope. I mean, its main appeal is that you can get there in about two hours; it's a bonus that it's also a nice place.

I'll get the crappy photos I took off my camera tomorrow and post them, along with some "aperçus". In the meantime, I can see that I have some catching up to do on the Barnet front.

For example, this Thursday 29 July, the same evening as the trades council is meeting (from 7.30pm in Committee Room 1), the Brent Cross Coalition has a lobby at Hendon Town Hall, the Burroughs, NW4. Please go along and support them if you can, from 6.30pm. More details here.

The lobby is called because the council is rushing through the Brent Cross development plan.

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.

London Mayor says 'yes' to Brent Cross scheme UPDATED ON 16 MARCH

London Mayor Boris Johnson has given his approval to Barnet council's big Brent Cross redevelopment scheme. There is a report on Property Week's website - who, not unsuprisingly, only see the upside. The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Development will comment soon, I expect.

Update made on 16 March:
John Denham, the Secretary of State, has told Barnet council they cannot go ahead with the plan until they get explicit permission. This looks like the precursor to the government calling the plan in for a public inquiry. Quite right too!

Below is the statement by the Brent Cross Coalition.

Coalition Pleased that Government Stalls Plans that Boris Rubberstamped

The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan are celebrating their biggest victory since they formed in September 2009. Yesterday the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government issued a ‘stop notice’ under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning Order 1995, saying “the SoS hereby directs Barnet Council not to grant planning permission on this application without specific authorisation”.

Boris Johnson had passed the plans on Friday, and the stop notice means that John Denham now has more time to decide whether to call in the development for a public inquiry. The Coalition believes the development fulfills every criterion for a call in.

Coalition Co-ordinator Lia Colacicco was excited, “Hopefully the Secretary of State’s next move is to call a public inquiry immediately so that these disastrous plans can undergo full public scrutiny.”

“We were hoping that John Denham would stop this dinosaur of a development. He has much broader powers than the Mayor: it could be called in on several criteria, but in particular because its effects go far beyond the immediate area, local people don’t want it in this form, and because it is completely unsustainable in terms of traffic, housing, and the environment.”

“We are not surprised that John Denham has issued a ‘stop notice’. How would it look if this out-of-town development is allowed to go through with its incinerator and sub-standard housing, when by 2016 all other new housing will have to be carbon zero? We want an exciting and innovative place, built around people and public transport – including a local railway like the docklands light railway. We need to use the latest green technology.”

Darren Johnson, London Assembly member said, “There are better ways to spend £4.8bn if we want to revitalise this area. Londoners want less traffic, good local shops and more affordable homes, but the Mayor has rubberstamped a development that will bring the exact opposite to the area: another 29,000 cars, a threat to other neighbourhood shopping areas and one of the lowest affordable homes targets in London.”

David Howard, Federation of Residents Associations in Barnet added, ”The timing is interesting. The scheme may now struggle. Its greatest advocate in Barnet, Mike ‘easy council’ Freer is hoping to move away from the Council into Parliament. Westfield shopping centre is under-performing. Brent Cross developer Hammerson is getting cold feet about doubling the size of the shopping area, and moving its attention to France. The housing market has collapsed and the Brent Cross model is out of date. No wonder the developers have only committed to phase 1. We await with interest what will happen next.”

Brent Cross and green bans

It's going to be another interesting week in Barnet politics. On Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 November there is a special, extended planning and environment committee to look at Barnet council's regeneration plans for the Brent Cross area.

This deeply unlovely part of the borough certainly needs attention, but Barnet's plans are looking less and less designed to improve life for people in the area and more and more like a cash-cow for the council, with the focus on expanding retail. Barnet council needs money, but is this a good way to make it? Neighbouring boroughs Brent and Camden have had their noses put out of joint, as Barnet's plans will impact on their own residents, but they have little say in what Barnet does.

You can see the plans on the council's website here.

A formidable coalition is forming against the plans and in favour of a call-in by the Secretary of State for the Environment. Visit the Brent Cross coalition website here. Barnet trades council has joined the Coalition, which might seem at odds with our concern for job creation, but we are for sustainable job creation, and it would not be the first time that labour movement bodies have campaigned for the environment.

An episode in labour and environmental history that deserves to be better known is the green bans imposed by the Builders Labourers Federation in New South Wales, Australia.

This group of badly paid and downtrodden workers built a union in the post-war period on democratic participation by members and taking up bread and butter issues in their industry, particularly health and safety. As one contributor describes it, in an inspring film made about the union, "Rocking the Foundations", they set out to 'civilise their industry'.

When they had built up their own strength, they used it to support environmental campaigners objecting to particular construction projects in and around Sydney throughout the 1960s and early 70s. They imposed 'green bans' where, to take one example, construction workers in the union refused to work on a plan to build on Kelly's Bush, the last remaining undeveloped bushland in the Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill. They protected low-cost working-class housing schemes around the Rocks area of Sydney against demolition to make way for office blocks. And they stopped the Royal Botanic Gardens being turned into a carpark for Sydney Opera House.

Yes, that's right, they stopped construction projects that would have made jobs for construction workers, in order to protect the environment.

As one contributor says in the film, what's the point in earning a decent wage if you then have nowhere decent to live and nowhere to spend your leisure time? For very many reasons, we are a long way off being able to appeal to construction unions to slap a green ban on the current Brent Cross scheme! But the green bans episode is an impressive example of what can be done when workers are mobilised around environmental issues.