Calls for enforcement action to be taken against council over Holland Park School planning breach
A
COMMUNITY group is calling for enforcement action to be taken against
the council after the breach of a planning condition making the Holland
Park School swimming pool accessible to the public.Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted 'operational difficulties' have meant a condition of the school being built - sharing the pool with residents - has still not been met despite construction finishing in November last year.
The authority has suggested a clash between the community
use plan, which formed an integral part of the planning approval, and
the management structure and the school's day-to-day requirements, is
the reason the pool remains out of bounds to residents.
In an email exchange with the council, David White, chairman of Campden Hill Residents' Association, called on the council's legal department to start enforcement action, and for the education department to find ways of altering the school's design and security system.
He said: "In spite of all these claims and the promises made to the community and secured by the planning condition it remains entirely unfulfilled and there is not the slightest indication that the planning department intends to bring the appropriate enforcement action."
In an email to Mr White, Jonathan Bore, executive director of planning and borough development, wrote: "It may be that the community use plan as originally devised does not now reflect the operational needs and management structure of the school.
"If that is the case, the sensible objective should be to replace it with something workable rather than attempt to enforce something that may be unworkable in its current form.
"I share your frustration that condition 12 is still being breached, but am confident that a mutually acceptable and workable solution can be found."
But Holland Park resident Donald Cameron said: "There is nothing further to discuss.
"Use of the sports facilities was a condition precedent of the planning permission. It needs to be implemented.
"Mr Bore's email is nonsense. This is another example of an out of control council shafting residents."
A spokesman for the council said: "All the parties continue to be committed to community use of the school's facilities but now the new Holland Park School is a reality staff have been able to test the practical implications of the existing community use plan.
"Those tests have highlighted some operational difficulties. One way forward would be for the school to propose some adjustments to the community use plan.
"That is something allowed for under the planning rules, subject to the council's consent."
In an email exchange with the council, David White, chairman of Campden Hill Residents' Association, called on the council's legal department to start enforcement action, and for the education department to find ways of altering the school's design and security system.
He said: "In spite of all these claims and the promises made to the community and secured by the planning condition it remains entirely unfulfilled and there is not the slightest indication that the planning department intends to bring the appropriate enforcement action."
In an email to Mr White, Jonathan Bore, executive director of planning and borough development, wrote: "It may be that the community use plan as originally devised does not now reflect the operational needs and management structure of the school.
"If that is the case, the sensible objective should be to replace it with something workable rather than attempt to enforce something that may be unworkable in its current form.
"I share your frustration that condition 12 is still being breached, but am confident that a mutually acceptable and workable solution can be found."
But Holland Park resident Donald Cameron said: "There is nothing further to discuss.
"Use of the sports facilities was a condition precedent of the planning permission. It needs to be implemented.
"Mr Bore's email is nonsense. This is another example of an out of control council shafting residents."
A spokesman for the council said: "All the parties continue to be committed to community use of the school's facilities but now the new Holland Park School is a reality staff have been able to test the practical implications of the existing community use plan.
"Those tests have highlighted some operational difficulties. One way forward would be for the school to propose some adjustments to the community use plan.
"That is something allowed for under the planning rules, subject to the council's consent."
My, My, I think the Dame is envious of Camilla's professionalism.
ReplyDelete"Out of control Council shafting residents".
ReplyDeleteSays it all
Once more we see the incompetence of Mr Bore, the Planning Director. The sooner this man is shown the door the better. He is a box ticker extraordinary and totally unfit for the post
ReplyDeleteWhat we have here is the Chairman of a Residents Association taking a stand against a bureaucrat in the Town Hall. Lets see what counts in this Borough.
DeleteDavid White is a bruiser. Watch out Mr Bore
DeleteThis boil is erupting. The real story here is that the new Leader, Cllr Paget-Brown, has shown himself to be weak. When elected, he did not crack the whip and insist that planning obligations should be honoured. This is an early sign that Conservative Councillors may have elected a "dud" as Leader of K&C. Cllr Moylan is briefing against Cllr Paget-Brown and saying openly that PB "has no strategy, no direction, no purpose". For once, Cllr Moylan seems to be right
ReplyDeleteAnd what are the Ward Councillors of Holland Ward and Campden Ward doing about this. Nothing of course. They have become accustomed to the quiet life funded by large SRA's. Spongers. Cllrs Collinson, Fielding-Mellen, Lightfoot, Ahern, Buckmaster and Freeman need to be exposed and shamed for failing their residents.
DeleteDon't forget guys, the residents put you there
These guys are creaming it. Last year council tax payers gave them:
DeleteCollinson £10k
Fielding-Mellen £46k
Lightfoot £46k
Buckmaster £22k
Freeman £10k
Ahern £51k
That's a total of £185k before all the freebies (parties, lap tops, mobiles, tel calls,Bentley)
Do nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. Just hold out the paw
"Unworkable in current form" is the kind of crap that we have come to expect from the incompetent Mr Bore. If the man had more brains, he would be a moron.
ReplyDeleteMr Bore, YOUR planning condition is that residents have the right to swim up and down the school swimming pool. It is not rocket science. So fix it.
Note for the Thick. The right to swim up and down the swimming pool means walking through the gate, getting changed, swimming, showering and drying off, and leaving the pool. If this is too difficult to understand then take a Master Class from Imperial College (just down the road) and see how their pool in Kensington is used by local residents.
Prat
Time moves on Mr Bore. The school has been open for 9 months. Try harder, please
DeleteThis could be an early curtain call for Cllr Paget-Brown. His Leadership is degenerating into a show of weakness and incompetence. While the UK economy burns PB has insulated himself in the Kensington bubble. He continues to splurge £1 million a year on Holland Park Opera, splurges on two Mayors, a Bentley and a Jag, and turns a blind eye to Planning Conditions imposed for the benefit of the residents.
ReplyDeleteLeaders are judged by their actions. As Cllr Moylan says, this one is "living in the clouds"
Don't forget the soup kitchens in North Kensington
DeleteInclusion of a crack smoking Councillor in the Cabinet does not smell too good either
DeleteChickens always come home to roost. The poodles made a dreadful error when they passed up on Cllr Moylan.
ReplyDeleteThe way this Council is drifting is terrible. Cllr Paget-Brown has just given his name to the latest nonsense to emerge from the Arts Department of K&C. Council Tax is being used to pay for a "Transit Festival" that includes the aftermath of a UFO crashing in a disused car park in Notting Hill.
ReplyDeletesee July 2013 Arts Newsletter from Hornton Street. Literally out of this world.
I wrote to my Ward Councillor about this stupidity and complained in the strongest possible terms about wasting my council tax. She replied
Delete"It is very strange and I have no explanation except to say that no one asked me, but then they never do".
What happened to Cllr Paget-Brown's election pledge of "inclusiveness"?
The new Leader needs to try and understand the words "Dignity Of Office". Even if he endorses trivia like UFO's crashing into car parks in Kensington, this is not something that the Leader should be endorsing in public. After all PB, you have moved on from being in charge of Parks.
DeleteSlow learner......
Another clear example that Central Govt needs to cut the Local Government grant by at least another 30%. It is the only way to make these goons wake up
DeleteColin Hall, the head teacher of Holland Park School and his praetorian guard of senior "managers" (formerly teachers) have set themselves completely against public use of the pool. To this end they are throwing in all sorts of constraints that effectively prevent community use of the pool. One such is that, for health and safety reasons, lifeguards and security officers would need to be employed. Mr Hall says that his School budget has no provision to pay for these, so the Council must pick up the tab. Since he knows perfectly well that there is no chance of that happening, his pool is now a private pool just for the School, regardless of any planning condition. Any attempt by the Council to enforce the condition would come up against the brick wall of health and safety.
ReplyDeleteCouncil tax paid for the abomination. The paymaster (Cllr Paget-Brown) cannot afford to let the Headmaster forget this
DeleteMany residents have come to the view that this Headmaster needs to be taken down a peg or three. Colin Hall is a small person with a huge chip on his shoulder. And feels the need to throw around his somewhat inadequate weight. The quiet life brigade in Hornton Street have so far fallen for it. But Paget-Brown now needs to wake up to the fact that he has a heavy weight Resident Chairman on his tail. Get a grip, PB
DeleteThe Council can outsource the running of the pool to the same company that ran the Ladbroke Road Sports facility. They will run this at a profit. It is quite common. We do not need small arsed Headmasters moaning that "it is too difficult" and small brained Planning Directors moaning that "it is too expensive". Get on your bikes, lads
DeleteIt was always amazing that Colin Hall was appointed and then retained the post of head of Holland Park. He was much liked by both Pooter and Myres but to the rest he was an out and out idiot with way too much of a sense of self importance. Never mind taking him down a few pegs, his departure would improve the school no end.
DeleteThis is a mess that needs to be grappled by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Cll Coleridge. A chance for Tim to show Leadership, strength and purpose. The Dame has always said that he is a Leader in waiting
ReplyDeleteCllr Moylan has told friends that he is determined to demonstrate that Cllr Paget-Brown is a weak and indecisive Leader with no vision for the Borough. In private he describes the new Leader as "the occupant"
ReplyDeleteWe have suffered thirteen years with the "squatter" and now it seems that we have the "occupant"
DeletePaget-Brown's future is in his own right hand. He needs to connect up with the world outside the Hornton Street bubble and be decisive. Otherwise he is down the toilet
ReplyDeleteCllr Paget-Brown needs a basic lesson in politics
ReplyDelete(i) he cannot afford not to have Cllr Moylan in the Cabinet
(ii) he cannot afford to keep Cllr Fielding-MEllen in the Cabinet.
Wise up PB and stop faffing around
Rubbish....Moylan will be s disruptive and force of negativity.
DeleteIf you really understood politics you would understand that the reason Moylan has never succeeded in politics is for the very good reason that he pisses people off to no great effect. Give Paget-Brown a chance and stop undermining him
Perhaps the ill informed masses could stop taking so many pops at NPB? It's all getting a bit childish. He has many years of Pooter's incompetence to undo and many many things to tackle a lot of which are not visible to people who want to swim in the pool at Holland Park School. That is a relatively low priority I would hope in the scale of things that need to be achieved. However the well identified, selfish part of the Kensington population which I would add is not representative of that vast majority of charming and helpful people I worked with over many years want their priority first in total ignorance of how many things which really are much more important that NPB has to tackle.
ReplyDeleteNow children, give the man a chance. He is way better than many others who might have got the job. You are expecting way too much of him too quickly. Patience is a virtue which selfish people lack. He needs at least six months to start to make an impression.
I agree Moylan is disloyal and disaffected.
DeleteMoylan is certainly the best equipped intellectually to lead the Borough - BUT he is so arrogant and bullying that no one can or will work with him. So absolutely no point having him either as Leader or even in the Cabinet.
ReplyDelete