The old Dame may not know much about modern music, but she knows a vibrantly successsful local asset, when she sees one.
So she asks what Angela McConville has against the hugely popular The Flyover? www.theflyover.co.uk
Angela really seems to hate the people of North Kensington
Dear Dame
I've been reading your recent posts on the Westway Trust and their current shenanigans with great interest and thought you might like to know about another of their tenants, The Flyover (www.theflyover.co.uk) who have recently lost their lease. This might be part of the Trust's bigger plans for gentrification or it could just be total incompetence.
I have it on good information (from one of the guys who set up the Flyover - who is happy for me to share this information) that despite......
(a) delivering what they said they would
(b) always being on time with their rent
(c) no discussion of a rent increase and
(d) with little warning
The Flyover was put on a three month lease by Westway which made it impossible for them to continue to operate. How can any business operate with the prospect they might be kicked out within three months? They ended up closing in February.
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| Happy and Safe |
Despite only operating for three years, the Flyover was becoming a really important asset for local people (as was Inn on the Green which was ousted from the same premises by Westway before them). They employed a friendly team of local bar staff, security, Djs and performers and put on cultural events catering to various diverse elements of the local community. They also managed to attract some really fantastic international bands back into North Kensington.
What with the Stables, Maxilla, Universal and Flyover coupled with the Portobello Village Development and rumours of deals with organisations like Gumball 3000 it really feels like Westway are trying to rip out the heart of our community and they need to be held to account!
Fifty years ago the Westway tore through N. Kensington. Furious locals forced RBKC to set up the Westway Community Trust to repair at least some of the damage. Painfully slow progress has been achieved.
ReplyDeleteThe current Trust management is disastrous. It intends to close many hard-won and valued community assets. At the same time it claims it must borrow money to invest - to raise it's revenue - to invest in turn in it's community. Yet in doing so, it risks destroying it's community in the process! The plans are drawn up. The consultation was a travesty. Building will be completed next year. Such arrogance is so blatant, it is widely believed the real intention is to bankrupt the Trust. It's assets can then be sold off and 'gentrification' will accelerate.
The anger of local people is entirely spontaneous. Across the board, N. Kensington will not tolerate the Trust's behaviour. The management must go. Now.
23.48, it is simply not true to say 'the building will be completed next year'. Even with their preferred trajectory this would be frankly impossible. But given the tremendous community response they WILL go back one stage at least and listen.
DeleteSo do not spread lies and scare-monger, it helps no one.
Who is really behind the trust. At this point mcConville truly is not alone in this. Or who appointed this dangerous egotistic manic.who rules by fear and has no community knowledge. Yet has .Councillors dancing to every tune she's play's . And small community projects business's facing lifes investment no hope of help. Improvement ! Does not destroy but gives chance to embrace and raise a community not a property developer's dream. She must go and all that follow her.
ReplyDeleteThe Trust is not a trust. The management is a disgrace, and is lower than a snakes belly, they have no commitment to local people. And their true Agenda is becoming more apparent day by day. It seems that previous tenants are too frightened to say anything....nothing new here.... Local People are very very very angry and history has shown that this is not a good thing. McConville et al should resign. And the Councillors need to do something.
ReplyDeleteReplying to 8.43, Ms McConville the Westway Trust chief executive, addressed a recent Markets Street Action Group meeting. She told a group of residents, councillors and officers about the consultation. She went on to say that planning permission will be granted this year and construction completed in 2016. It's obvious that such an ambitious timetable is doomed to failure; but she said it.
ReplyDeleteAdding to local concerns, the Trust has apparently postponed an agreed meeting with the main community group objecting to it's plans. There is no news yet of an alternative date.
'Viable' seems to be a bit of a buzz word for Ms McConville & co The definition of the word viable is 'capable of success, effectiveness' , although in the eyes of Ms McConville and the trust this seems to be measured only in money making terms (they're not keen to divulge what criteria they use)
ReplyDeleteI think it's becoming more obvious that the Westway Trust itself is not 'Viable' as a community trust - it appears not to represent , or care, about the views of the community nor is it trusted by the community it purports to represent.
The various objector groups need to understand what's really going on here. It's known that without public consultation, the Westway Trust's constitution was recently radically altered. The Trust no longer serves "the community," but has the much wider remit of serving "all London boroughs." This changes everything.
ReplyDeleteRegarding viability, Ms McConville arrogantly claims the right to gallop through the consultation process, obtain planning permission and have her extraordinarily inappropriate plans built next year. Apart from the social implications, the proposals are commercially unviable. Ms McConville will doubtless have left long before the new enterprises crash. Then RBKC's property department will achieve it's purpose - to have another chunk of publicly owned land to flog off to the highest bidder. Due to the polluted air and hideous views, there will be no luxury homes, but the land beneath the Westway will make excellent garages for Holland Park's excess super cars.
More info, please, on what the changes in the constitution mean. The groups opposing Westway Trust will need all the *real* information they can get. Thank you.
DeleteAt last, social tenants across London are getting their act together. It's working.
ReplyDeletehttp://focuse15.org/about/
Working for who?
ReplyDeleteSo if we go back to minutes of old meetings in council. We see westway are being given more free hand ✋ etc etc so license to do . What you like then council opt out of being able to commit on westway .as its nothing to do with them . Yet council gives go ahead but its not them. Hubble bubble only gives people trouble ?could it be rock on
ReplyDeleteDetails of the changes to the Westway constitution are apparently available on the RBKC website. Alternatively, look at the Westway site.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.westway.org/news/new-trustees-bring-range-skills-westway-board?utm_source=BBC&utm_medium=OnlinePR&utm_campaign=Trustees
ReplyDeleteNew Trustees Appointed.
"Christopher Ward, Finance Director at Shaftsbury PLC, joins the board and brings a wealth of experience in financial strategy and capital funding of property management and development.
Chris Williamson is a Founding Partner of Weston Williamson & Partners, an award-winning architectural and urban design practice. Chris has primarily been specialising in infrastructure and urban planning projects."
It's quite clear where McConville is taking Westway.
Wonder if the new trustees realise what a scheming nest of vipers they've stumbled in to?
ReplyDeleteThey'll have taken Angela McConvile's lies at face value, not realising that her only ambition is to promote her own career, and that she clearly hates the local community the 'charity' she manages was set up to serve ..... Sad to see her sucking no doubt well-intentioned and decent people into her web.....
ReplyDeleteThey'll have taken Angela McConvile's lies at face value, not realising that her only ambition is to promote her own career, and that she clearly hates the local community the 'charity' she manages was set up to serve ..... Sad to see her sucking no doubt well-intentioned and decent people into her web.....
ReplyDeleteOriginally the constitution of the Trust was to benefit just the area violated by the Westway. It was then extended and the whole of the Borough became the area of benefit - just about acceptable, given how much money the Council poured into the Trust in the early days (that everyone conveniently forgets about). But to extend the benefit to neighbouring boroughs is a nonsense. They are also violated by the motorway and could have set up their own trusts, but failed to do so. But under Tri-borough, this is yet another case of less efficient boroughs piggy-backing on the success of K+C - to the detriment of K+C Council Tax payers.
ReplyDelete