Friends of Holland Park declare war on Mr Bore
Rhoddy Wood, Secretary of influential residents association, Friends of Holland Park, has taken the gloves off and declared war on Hornton Street and its idiot planners.
Over the Christmas holidays the Council tried to sneak through a planning application from itself to extend the Opera Holland Park season and leave its unsightly tent up all year round. After unprecedented protest the application was withdrawn. Our thick councillors and Officers do not recognise a "no" when they see one and the Council has just proposed another application to itself to extend the season and leave the tent up for another month until the end of every year. More than 180 objections have flooded in (including the Kensington Society and it's very hard working Chairman, Amanda Frame)
The application will go before the Planning Committee at its Meeting next week on Tuesday 12th March at 6.30 pm, Committee Room 1, in the Town Hall
The Dame urges all Hornet followers and residents to attend the meeting with a show of force. The Councillors can reject the recommendation from Officers and the Chairman, Cllr Buxton, however in doing so they risk the wrath of Prime Minister Pooter Cockell. This is the moment to show Pooter democracy is not quite dead in the Rotten Borough.
This is a very determined effort by the Council "to prepare Opera Holland Park for sale". The business plan at present is hopeless and requires a huge £1 million a year subsidy from council tax. There is no scope for increasing ticket prices because Covent Garden and The English National Opera down the road already undercut Pooter's folly in the park. And the Arts Council consider another opera in Central London to be unnecessary. SO no funding from there.
ReplyDeleteThe only hope is to extend the OHP season. But this eats into the peace and tranquillity of Holland Park. The summer is already written off by the intrusive tent and now the Council proposes to include the autumn too. Residents should resist with all their might.
This is a very determined Council and they are sowing the seeds of destruction for OHP. The extraordinary recommendation from Officers is to grant the extension of the season in a personal award to Library Services employee, Michael Volpe, who also happens to be Director of the opera. Concentrating power in the hands of a single individual in this way, whilst at the same time attempting to create a new Board of Directors to oversee Volpe is a formula for disaster. The first flex of the librarian's all powerful muscles will blow the Governance relationship wide apart.
ReplyDeleteMore shades of Chelsea Care and the Wedge.
Friends of Holland Park, The Kensington Society and residents are wasting their time. The Planning Committee has no intention of listening to their views. This is a pet project of Cllr Cockell and any idea of democracy is currently a fiction in K&C. Residents will be better off on 12th March staying at home and watching East Enders
ReplyDeleteIf they do vote against residents yet again then these powerful groups need to show their dissatisfaction in the local elections. Or better still start standing against the spineless twits. They need a fright.
ReplyDeleteThe Resident Associations are worn out. They do their job but the Council does not listen What is the point of trying to be democratic?
ReplyDeleteI have said for some years now that RBK&C is to the Tories what Liverpool is to the Labour party. Both happen to be monopolies and poorly run; so much for democracy. Sir Merrick is to the Tories what Derek Hatton was to the Labour party.
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