Come on Jonathan Bore....stop pretending your Department consults: it does nothing of the sort. You know full well that Grenfell Action Group fight on many fronts over developments that impact on the lives of residents so the least you can do is listen to what they have to say.
An obvious case in point is the original Local Development Framework Core Strategy setting out, amongst other things, the development of the Kensington Academy.
We now find out that the Council is at last consulting on what will now be known as The Local Plan. Residents have until 31 January to give their feedback on amendments to the Core Local Plan
Many thanks Dame Hornet for drawing attention to this issue. Members of the Grenfell Action Group were tipped off just yesterday by a local councillor about this latest so–called consultation which had apparently started on 6th December. Even our councillors were unaware of this until their return to duty after the christmas/new year break.
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems we had in opposing the Kensington Academy and Leisure Centre development was that it was written into the Core Strategy circa 2009 and almost no-one in our local community had been informed of this until it was too late to do anything about it Almost no-one in our community had any knowledge that the entire planning strategy for RBKC was being determined behind closed doors, and that it included this major development (KALC) that would seriously impact all our lives. By the time we statrted campaigning against KALC it was already written in stone and there was nothing we could do about it.
This ‘Local Plan’ business appears to be a significant revision of the ‘Core Strategy’ following the passing of the Localism Bill. One of the key policy changes in the revised plan will be the inclusion of a required ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ in all planning decisions.
One of the claims made by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles when he introduced the Localism Bill is that it would “give local communities real control over housing and planning decisions”. What this actually means is that local councils, rather than local communities, will have greater powers to push through favoured planning decisions and to ride rough-shod over any resistance they encounter from local communities.
Residents of RBKC would be well advised to carefully scrutinise these changes to the Core Strategy.
Find out if your residents association or community group was properly informed about this consultation and invited to participate, and if they haven’t RAISE HELL about it.
Citizen Smith
The consultation documents are available for download from:
Deletehttps://planningconsult.rbkc.gov.uk/consult.ti
Thank you for this information, another example of how residents are continually 'done to' rather than being shown the respect we deserve considering we pay their salaries.
DeleteIt will be interesting to see how local authorities will translate this 'localism bill' into keeping their own jobs and continuing to build their tin pot empires. I sincerely hope the Dame will highlight the importance of this Local Plan even more on her blog.
The next election cannot come soon enough and the local electorate are not happy.
The Kensington Academy was included in response to the concerns of hundreds of local parents who were fed up with their children being sent out of the borough to be educated - and is desperately needed. The best place for it was alongside the Barlby Road Primary School, a larger and leafier site, but Michael Gove lives in Barlby Road. Therefore it went to Lancaster West Estate instead, because the council treats the estate residents with disdain. However, as Michael Gove's house is now up for sale, the Academy could have been built on the better site without the fear of him being bothered daily by 1000+ secondary school children in two years time when the school is up and running.
ReplyDeleteMr Bore is caught up in a culture in Hornton Street that makes it difficult for him and his colleagues to behave in a democratic way. A Planning Department that is too timid to stand up and say "this is wrong". Seventy years ago the Germans had a similar problem
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that Mr Bore is not so much bullied rather he and his Dept are very partial to inflicting a bit of bullying themselves.
ReplyDeleteMr Bore and his Dept treats resident's views and wellbeing with contempt and disdain.
I would have to agree entirely with this characterisation of Bore. On one occasion when I confronted him face-to-face at a public meeting I found him to be very rude and personally intimidating. When I dared to contradict a statement he had just made he became so red-faced and puffed-up I thought for a moment he was going to come down off the podium and punch me out.
DeleteAs for Planning Department officers generally, they usually try to be a bit more subtle, relying on redtape, lies and subterfuge rather than overt bullying.
How did you describe it - "contempt and disdain" - yeah that pretty much covers it.
Citizen Smith
This is the same meeting that Mr Bore verbally intimidated a member of the community who experiences severe and enduring mental health problems and is extremely vulnerable.
DeleteNot only do his Department need to learn to consult but Mr Bore evidently needs to learn how to behave himself in public.
It sounds as though the time is approaching when the Dame will have to start a "come down to earth" campaign aimed at the boring Mr Bore
ReplyDelete