The Council ought to buy its own demolition company: after all, it takes a perverse pleasure in allowing all that is good and interesting in the Borough to be pulverised and replaced with luxury apartments for the international super-rich.
Lancer Square is a fine example of friendly, human scale '60's architecture.
Residents and visitors love it. Sadly, it is to be no longer.
A mysterious overseas investor has acquired the Square and now plans to smash it to the ground. He will replace it with more high density luxury flats for foreigners whose money has lost the stench of its dodgy origins.
There is a bad smell about Lancer Square. Plans were hotly protested by the Kensington Society and loads of residents but objections were brushed aside by the ludicrous Chairman of Planning, Cllr Warwick.
ReplyDeleteApart from collusion with the developers by planning officers in Hornton Street to build more "buy to leave" flats after knocking down a new community that is only 16 years old, it now transpires that the Malaysian developers who bought the site and worked with Squire Architects to screw the community and make £ millions of development profits, have got their profit and have quit. The site, with planning permission, is up for sale. 120% profit in 18 months.
Surprise surprise. Lots of slush money slopping around.
When will the Council wake up? When will the Leader stand back and get some perspective on the huge and horrendous scale of destructive development in the Borough? All in the name of spiv developers.
DeleteFunctioning homes and offices are being replaced by "buy to leave" as hot money moves into London domestic property from China, the Middle East and Russia. Spending in the community shops is drying up because the new properties remain empty. Society as we know it is being destroyed.
Why are our local Councillors so blind? Why do they keep their heads in the sand? Are they on the take?
Hornton Street planning is in the pockets of the developers. The developers are in the pockets of crooks from China and Russia. The councillors are asleep.
Deletethey're not so much asleep as catatonic and clueless, blindly accepting of not-fit-for-purpose planners. The grey men of Hornton St even look like Dad's Army.
DeleteIts not the fault of Hornton Street and the Councillors. Central Government is to blame. Boris loves all the building that is going on. And Cameron thinks it is the answer to unemeployment
ReplyDeleteRBKC councillors and David Cameron himself are all fully aware that all this sort of process is related to money laundering. Yet despite promises from the Prime Minister, nothing is changing.
ReplyDeleteLondon is not designed to benefit actual Londoners; it is a giant Ponzi scheme for dodgy overseas speculators' enrichment. We elect these craven clown Cons nationally and locally time and time again. If the alternative is 70s-throwback Corbyn's loony left, it will be the worst possible of Hobson's Choices.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Many are on the take, direct or indirect. Why do you think very few Cllrs ever make it to the Central Government, they just could not afford the greater degree of scrutiny into their private, nefarious activities. It is also time for the National Audit Office (NAO) to take over 'audits' of local authorities from the Audit Commission, who have very narrow remit in their audits. Also it is debatable if they are actually as impartial as they should, as often they are local accountants, some of whom may have vested interests in Council's business.
ReplyDeleteWell said. It's patently obvious that RBKC councillors and senior officers are well aware of what's going on. To a greater or lesser extent they're all on the payroll of those seeking to park international stolen money in London. It's by far the largest industry round here.
ReplyDeleteImmediately before Cameron closed down the Audit Commission in 2010, the Commission acted as district auditor for RBKC. In the face of public objections to RBKC's accounts, the Commission issued a new 5 star report on RBKC and Cockle received his knighthood. The Audit Commission has since been replaced by a limited company.
They are destroying Kensington for greed. Kensington is one big building site. Cranes in the sky's and holes in the ground. What is being built is not only ugly but also does nothing to benefit the area. The development across from Kensington Gardens is particularly an eyesore,maps are the cubes ironically at the Design Museum site. The list goes on with the Odeon and post office sites. This adds to buildings being demolished on church street and rebuilt and even blocks of flats on
ReplyDeleteside roads like Allen Street and Abungdon Road. Not to mention Warwick Road, Earl's Court and Newcombe House on Notting Hill Gate.
As for the scandal of Lancer Square, totally unecessary redevelopment for more flats, underground parking and swimming pool. Taking away much used shops and eateries and one of the few outside spaces where you can have a coffee or. Meal at the now closed Cafe Rouge. Loss and misery for the next 3 years while they rebuild, loss of business for other shops on Ken church Street, okay for the developers and of course all the estate agents that are taking over our decimated shopping streets. There is no end in sight.
From time to time every organisation needs to change direction. Leadership is about getting everyone to march in the same direction. At times like these I would urge my managers to stand back from their day to day work and take in the world around them. Figure out what is going on.
DeleteIt is time for Cllr Paget-Brown to urge his Councillors to walk the streets of the Royal Borough. To see for themselves what is going on.