THE DAME LENDS HER AMPLE WEIGHT TO WESTWAY23 DEMO. STOP THE ROT IN THE ROTTEN BOROUGH

Residents lazily expecting others to protect Kensington & Chelsea from greedy developers, aided and abetted by equally lazy councillors, have no reason to complain when architectural gems like Marlborough Primary School are razed to the ground.
The school will now be the site of multi million pound flats for crooks from countries you don't want your gap year children sending postcards from. 
Fortunately, those in the north of the Borough are made of sterner stuff. 

REAL LOCALISM IN ACTION....STERNER STUFF

They are putting up a strong fight against the moronic Angela McConville and her boring plans to sanitise one of the few characterful parts of the Borough.
The Dame is delighted to report and support this initiative by Westway23. You can find out more about Westway23 HERE

She may be old fashioned but she hates this bullying of communities by wannabe developers like the tiresome McConville

"On Sunday 5th July Westway23 are hosting a creative demonstration of community in various areas along the 23 acres under the Westway - A40(M) in LADBROKE GROVE - an enormous area left to the local community 44 years ago as compensation for the destruction of  homes and the ongoing harm from the highest pollution levels in the UK.

After years of wasted resources and the loss of countless community groups and spaces, this is our opportunity to ensure that local people have real control and access over our space, as a bloated and disconnected Trust moves toward its aim of 'Destination Westway.' STAND WITH US AGAINST UNCHECKED GENTRIFICATION, SOCIAL CLEANSING AND PREVENTION OF REAL COMMUNITY ACCESS, CULTURE AND POWER.

There will be activities, entertainments and information to join in with and share so that the entire community can enjoy a demonstration of creativity and a day of creative demonstration! THE PROCESSION WILL BEGIN AT THE WESTWAY STABLES AT 2pm.  

SUNDAY 5th JULY 12 - 4pm." MEET AT THE WESTWAY STABLES......just west of Latimer Road underground station or join the demo along the route....

WESTWAY TRUST TRIES TO CURRY FAVOUR WITH LOCAL CHILDREN

In a clumsy attempt to curry favour with locals the National Trust was encouraged to waste thousands of pounds on creating a rather odd looking 'beach' under the Westway.

This weekend bemused locals looked on as a few children played in desultory way in the sand....what a utter waste of time and money.
The National Trust should stop wasting our money on ill organised and poorly attended pr gimmicks. 

As for Westway Trust....using children in this cynical way is just contemptible.
Having destroyed the wonderful stables so loved by children they pretend they have their interests at heart. Hypocrites!

RBK&C AND NORTH KOREA NECK AND NECK

99.9% RESIDENTAPPROVAL RATING

1OO%  RESIDENT APPROVAL RATING

The Dame was surprised to see that RBK&C are still lagging behind Kim Jong of North Korea. Kim Jong is ahead on approval ratings

BULLDOZING MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL..".HAVE WE ALL LOST OUR HEARTS AND SOULS"?

If Cllr Coleridge thought promoting the destruction of this beautiful piece of Victorian civic architecture would enhance his personal prestige he is much mistaken.

He will now be remembered as a vandal.
Tim Coleridge was the man who bravely stood alone against the plans to demolish Sloane Square. 

CLICK ON IMAGE
TO READ WHAT SOL SAYS

But he will now be seen as the wrecker of this other wonderful Chelsea landmark.

Sol Campbell succintly sums it up.




The only beneficiary will be a bloated billionaire.....
Think again RBK&C....this is a mistake of major proportion.....
One Thousand people have now signed the petition protesting the destruction

LISTEN TO SOL....SIGN HERE PLEASE

THE DAME STANDS PARTIALLY CORRECTED AND HEARS FROM PIMLICO ALLIANCE

The Dame got a bit muddled over the proposed Nine Elms-Pimlico Bridge so an activist wrote in and very gently corrected the old thing.

It seems, according to one newspaper, both Westminster's Labour and Conservative groups are dead against the bridge-as are Pimlico residents. 

You can read the WCC reaction HERE claiming it would destroy one of the few green spaces left on the riverside.

Heather Acton, Cabinet Member for Sustainability and Parking, commented “Our officers have, and continue to express strongly the council’s opposition to the proposed bridge on the grounds of its visual and environmental impact, including the impact that a new bridge would have at a landing site in Westminster, on traffic flows, pedestrian movement and on residential amenity.”

A Pimlico Activist wrote to the Dame....

Dear Dame, how great to see news of this bridge on From the Hornet’s Nest - but it’s not exactly correct! The bridge is being pushed through by Wandsworth Council, plus the huge developers of the luxury developments on the Vauxhall site, and probably the American Embassy! It will be a cycle and/or pedestrian bridge which they intend to bring down into Pimlico Gardens/St. George’s Square - and therein lies the story!
Pimlico Alliance is adamantly opposed to the destruction of our only public green space, used by residents, schools, mums’ organisations and the general public.
Why can’t they attach this bridge to one of the two existing bridges, both within easy walking distance of the Embassy, luxury developments, shops etc. Why are they bringing it down in the only public green space in Pimlico? How can Wandsworth impose this on Westminster - when Westminster has opposed it? What or who lies behind Wandsworth’s power? Do we need a £45million bridge? Wouldn’t this better serve the people of East London??? A PR company, Colander Associates, are fronting for Wandsworth, with maximum obfuscation.
Pimlico Alliance will be setting up an online petition and we will keep you posted - meanwhile, the more publicity the better. Thank you!

THE SECRETIVE AMERICAN' DISTRESSED ASSETS ' GROUP BEHIND MINERVA

The Dame likes to think of her little 'media enterprise' as being in the best tradition of 'US citizen journalism': a place residents can find an audience for their views and-vent their anger and frustration.....

The reader below praises Cadogan for the open and transparent way it explains plans for the Curzon and Trafalgar.

Rightly, she asks why Minerva cannot be as forthcoming.

Obviously they have something to hide.....

Secretive Mack, the
Minerva Boss

Could the fact that the US owners of Minerva are the secretive Area Management, exploiters of distressed assets, have something to do with it? 
If so, little wonder Minerva produced a blockbuster 40 documents to bamboozle objecters with!

Dear Dame

I read with great interest your story about Cadogan's exhibition and consultation. How very different from the way Minerva and the council are disrespecting residents.

In January Minerva's application to develop the Odeon and Post Office sites on Kensington High St was given a resounding thumbs down by the planning applications committee. Minerva, the developer of the 77 luxury flats in the massive reconstruction at 75-89 Lancaster Gate,have now submitted a new application (PP/15/02618).  

Minerva has presented to just a few of the local associations and the Councillors. There has been NO public consultation. There were more than 400 objections to the last application and over 100 people attended the committee meeting.  
Doesn’t that show the public interest and concerns?

The application has over 40 documents many are huge 5 to 10MB files which are difficult to download and lack any proper description. If you are lucky enough to have the time and a powerful computer, you can see that the entrance to the cinema will be through the former doors but into a very small landing leading confusingly through more doors to stairs down 2 to 3 levels to the cinemas.  

The former Post Office will become the luxury secondary entrance to the 37 flats above – the main entrance is through the private, evening gated entrance in the courtyard.

Have a look at the DeVere Gardens luxury entrance and envision that on the High Street?   

Minerva maintains there is no loss of retail, but all the retail will be on Earl’s Court Road with most the space in the basements.  Buried in the documents is a new crossing at the corner of Kensington High Street.  
Though the plans show tables and chairs in the forecourt, the café is to be jointly used as the ticket counter inside the cinema with no visible controls and only operating when the cinema is open.  

The forecourt will die.  
The only small victory is that the trees will remain.

Why cannot Minerva take the lead from the Cadogan Estate and have a public presentation.  
Why can’t they present to us their vision and convince us that they will not damage our High Street?  
What do they fear?

Yours faithfully

A long time resident

AMERICANS PLAN FIRST PRIVATE VIP THAMES BRIDGE .....TOO FAR

The Dame has heard the oddest of stories....

It seems plans are afoot to build a private river bridge from Pimlico to Battersea. 
Its sole purpose is to provide access for Embassy staff and visitors.

Private funding is being sought and strict confidentiality agreements enforced.
The VIP bridge will enable the ambassador to avoid jams on the other bridges and avoid assassins and curious stares.

CROSSRAIL2 ......THE LAST WORD?

Gillespie Robertson addresses Seriously Narked Residents and other anonymous posters.....

.......It would be appreciated if you would either publish some sort of evidence which would give the slightest credence to any claims of duplicity on our part, or else realise that such claims are entirely wrong. They are in fact wrong both in the motives  attributed to our campaign and in the publication and repetition of unfounded rumour and incorrect hearsay.  When you do realise this, we would be genuinely delighted if you would join us, and if you would kindly accept that our motives and actions are honest and honourable.

Any of those of us on stage on June 2^nd. (and, to the best of our knowledge, most and probably all of our group’s supporters) who might in the past have expressed any kind of support for a station “further west than the Fire Station site” did so in the honest belief that many residents further west both needed and wanted better public transport.  Residents living near the Fire Station are within a short walk of both South Kensington and Sloane Square tube stations and are very well served already by multiple bus routes as well. Over the past year or two we have gradually, through Freedom of Information requests and through TfL’s own published material, appreciated how massive and intrusive and generally damaging a Crossrail mass-transit station, and all that this implies in terms of surrounding development, would be, anywhere in Chelsea. That fuller understanding of the implications is surely now shared by residents in both “east” and “west” Chelsea. The latter have our absolute sympathy, especially residents concerned about their homes being torn down.

We never have promoted and certainly would not now promote any site at all further west in Chelsea than the Fire Station site, let alone one involving demolition of existing homes. It was RBK&C, not residents,  who initially floated the concept of a site further west, and then said clearly this was their preference. It was TfL at RBK&C’s suggestion and with RBK&C’s support who indicated they were considering a site on or near Cremorne Estate, NOT ourselves.  We protested at RBK&C’s last-minute change of preference NOT because we were promoting a station anywhere at all, but because of the effect which RBKC’s change of position had on the responses to their own consultation. It was, as the LWN article stated,RBKC’s consultation which we criticised as fundamentally flawed. Their consultation in turn resulted in the results of the TfL consultation being effectively flawed too , in the sense that they gave a very misleading impression of residents’ true views. Anyone reading the full report on the TfL consultation on their website can clearly see the pattern of “tactical” voting, driven fundamentally, we believe, by fear both in SW10 and in SW3 of the negative effects of having a Crossrail station on one or the other of the  flip-flopping Council’s “preferred” sites.

We are NOT talking to our MP, nor to anyone else,  about other sites in Chelsea. We have however supported the idea that a site in Battersea, not in Chelsea, would save massive amounts of public money compared with diversion of the Crossrail2 line through Chelsea, and could also provide a much-needed public transport boost to all the new development around the Battersea Power Station.

NO CROSSRAIL2 IN CHELSEA.

AN INVITATION FROM CADOGAN

Imagine waking up one morning to the headline in your Daily Telegraph....."Cadogan Family Sells Estate to Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Fund".......or worse, Donald Trump!
Yes, the stuff of nightmares for the majority of Chelsea residents.


Owning a London estate means you will never please all the people all the time.
When plans for 196-222 Kings Road were first mooted residents expressed concerns over the Curzon cinema and the Trafalgar Pub.





Sensibly, Cadogan has taken those concerns on board and recast the proposals by working with Curzon and others.

For two days, the 18th and 20th June, Cadogan has organised an exhibition at the Old Nat West Bank Building, 222-226 Kings Road.
The point of the exhibition is to get residents' reactions and answer any further concerns.
You can see all the details by clicking on this  LINK

It's difficult imagining Mr Trump or Sheikh Maktoum going to such lengths....

IF YOU LOVE CHELSEA'S HERITAGE YOU MUST SIGN THIS PETITION

In  a few weeks-unless there is a miracle, Mike Ashley will order in the wrecking ball to raze to the ground this magnificent piece of  Chelsea Victorian architecture.

SAVE ME!

VANDAL ASHLEY

The Council can make a fuss about the cultural value of some third rate opera company, yet encourage the destruction of this much loved Chelsea landmark.


The man behind this piece of vandalism is none other than the mysterious and rarely seen Mike Ashley. 
Ashley hates beauty and makes his money from the dreadful Sports Direct shops that blight our high streets.

125 people commented on the piece about the siting of Crossrail 2 and over 1000 read it. 
Most of you love Chelsea so please show that love by signing the petition to save it. You can CLICK here to do so.

In the meantime the Dame leaves you with this heartfelt plea from someone who signed the petition.


LORD H******** writes

Marlborough Primary School  (1878)   -   Chelsea SW3

The proposed demolition of this historic building in Chelsea is yet another amongst others in the Royal Borough over the past 5 to 10 years.

The proposed demolition is without question motivated by greed and financial gain of both private individuals and the Council, without regard to its impact on the local community, teachers, pupils, pupils' parents and their families, as well as to the heritage of the local community, which this building in part represents.

I am not an individual who, in principle, is against 'progress' - but in this particular instance, I do not categorize the demolition of a building of great beauty and historical significance as forward thinking, or wanted by the local residents, or respectful of future generations or necessary for any reason whatsoever.  This Council has already shown the public that it places financial gain before the feelings and rights of local residents as it is determined to rip out yet another landmark building from the very heart and soul of Chelsea.

Other projects in the borough involving beautiful Victorian buildings have allowed for interior renovations, upgrading them for 21st century living whilst preserving the original facade of the buildings, thereby maintaining the original 19^th century beauty and character in Chelsea.  This could be achieved in this instance.

We don't demolish 19th century paintings or 19th century antique furniture or anything else for that matter, which is widely held to be beautiful and of important cultural and historical significance.

This proposed demolition of yet another beautiful Victorian building in Chelsea is a careless and disastrous error in judgement by the RBKC Council.

Respectfully submitted,

Lord Hxxxxxxx

London, 17 June 2015

PUT WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE IN YOUR DIARY

On the 24th June next Wednesday at 18:30  a petition for an independent review of the Earl’s Court redevelopment will be discussed by the Council in The Council Chamber, Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX 


Everybody interested in saving the heart of Earl's Court should attend.
You can see all the details by clicking on this link HERE
 

MALC RIFKIND, CHINESE MUGS AND LOST IRONY

The Dame came across a recent review, by Malc, of a book about the MI6. Not wishing to miss the chance to show off his cleverness Malc wove in a story of a visit to Langley, Virginia.

ANOTHER CHINESE MUG

Here's a bit about the visit and how Malc showed the CIA up as mugs....









"I am an admirer of the work of intelligence agencies, but I have never assumed they were omnipotent. On my first visit to the director of the CIA, in Langley, Virginia, I acquired a commemoration coffee mug which turned out to have been made in China. When I asked them whether it was from Taiwan or the People’s Republic they said they didn’t know. Not very reassuring."

What is less reassuring is that Malc, the ex chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee, was turned over by a couple of Chinese posing as potential clients! 
What a mug!
Sometimes it's best not to show off your cleverness....it can return to bite you in the bum...

NEW PLAN FOR CROSSRAIL BRINGS BACK THE DAME'S WARTIME MEMORIES

Following on from last week's rather interesting meeting of the "No Crossrail in Chelsea" campaign at Chelsea Old Town Hall the Dame's spies tell her that nefarious activity is once again afoot.

Word has reached the Dame that some of those opposing the station are no longer suggesting that Chelsea doesn't need a station, merely that it should go elsewhere. 
Not in their back yard, someone else's. We have been here before. 

They are telling anyone who'll listen that the station should be relocated to the site of the old Chelsea and Fulham railway station, between the Kings Road and Fulham Road, just south of Stamford Bridge. 

Being a bit of an old wartime bird the Dame does recall the old Chelsea and Fulham railway station. Nice as it was it was closed after being bombed in the war and never reopened. 

Now the Dame doesn't know much about trains but those who do don't seem to think that this a particularly good idea.

The site is apparently too far to the west. TfL has previously rejected suggestions to locate the Crossrail 2 station near Imperial Wharf, claiming the route from Clapham to Victoria would then be too long and the curve of the line too great. A proposal where the line would end up even longer and the curve even greater would appear to have no legs. 

And the old Chelsea and Fulham station was built upon long ago. 

There is Council housing to the west of the railway line, the Wandon Estate in Wandon Road, and a private development to the east, the Kings development at 552 Kings Road. 


Given last summer's events any proposal that results in the loss of homes is risky at best, foolish at worst. It is only a matter of time before accusations of social cleansing and shipping people to Dagenham start to fly.

The Dame's spies are baffled as to why those who oppose the station don't stick to opposing the station, exactly as they had proposed at their meeting. That, at least, is a plan that all of Chelsea's residents might be convinced to support. Sneakily trying to stick it in someone else's back yard (again) isn't. 

Perhaps Greg Hands should be told? His email address is mail@greghands.com.

EARL'S COURT TO BECOME A CAPCO FARMERS' MARKET

The Dame is in receipt of this embarrassing silliness....

Could it be the work of the Council's PR Dept?

The idea a Farmer's Market does any of the below is fantasy. 

Only the very rich, like the old Dame and friends can afford the super high prices of farmers' markets. 

And one loves Cllrs Spalding and Inane's idea farmers' markets allow the lower classes 'access to cheap fresh vegetables sold by yokels in smocks'.

The Dame would never dream of going to her local farmers' Market to be 'part of the community'....she's far too grand for that.
However, the Dame's idiot nephew, Ludo, is very excited by the idea. He and his two ex Bedales friends, Gervaise and Piers, are planning to take a stall selling what they describe as rustic 'artisan bread with a twist'. Goodness knows what it could be....

Potential Farmers’ Market for Earl’s Court

We are actively exploring the possibility, along with Council Officers, of bringing a regular Farmers’ Market to Earl’s Court. This would be similar to the popular market in Bute Street. At a time when local businesses are beginning to feel the

effect of the closure of the Exhibition Centre, we believe that a regular Farmers’ market would be greatly beneficial to Earl’s Court and would: 

• Increase a sense of community and identity in the area;
• Encourage local people to shop in Earl’s Court, feeding to businesses onward from the market itself;
• Bring in shoppers from surrounding areas to shop at the market and elsewhere in Earl’s Court;
• Provide regular, local, access to specialist fresh produce - there is a lack of permanent fresh produce shops in Earl’s Court at the moment as they are not currently economical;
• Help to establish the Earl’s Court Road area as a vibrant hub so that footfall does not all migrate to the new development in future years.

We will keep you informed as discussions progress but please give us your feedback and any suggestions you may have about this proposal.

A SAD DAY FOR THE CULTURAL LIFE OF LONDON

The Evening Standard wrote an evocative piece about the closure of Video City in Notting Hill.
Video City played an essential part of the cultural life of our city: its closure is a small tragedy.

We look around our city and see ever more evidence of small, independent retailers being driven out of our neighbourhoods only to be replaced by dreary chains of non UK taxpaying coffee shops and dishonest estate agents- such as Foxtons.

The Evening Standard reported...

"DVD and video rental store which counts Sir Mick Jagger, Richard Curtis and Laura Bailey among its customers is closing after 30 years.

Video City on Notting Hill Gate, thought to be one of the last of a tiny handful of high street rental shops left in London, will shut its doors for the final time on June 24.

Owner Simon Brzeskwinski said he had been defeated by “a perfect storm of events” that included soaring business rates, the opening of Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush, the departure of customers from the area as property prices rose and Apple’s decision not to include a DVD player in its newest laptops."

SPORTS DIRECT TO KNOCK DOWN MARLBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL

TO HELP SAVE THE MARLBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL
PLEASE SIGN PETITION BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK


So the man who will be making shedloads of money razing to the ground the beautiful Marlborough Primary school is now none other than this man....the mysterious Mike Ashley, founder of those Sports Direct outlets that pollute our streets.
This is even more reason to sign the petition.

NO LOVE OF BEAUTY-JUST CASH

In a late night deal last Friday, John Lewis flogged on the Clearings site to Ashley. 
Ashley plans to make close to a billion pounds developing the site, including the school, by building more buy to leave homes for the international super rich. 
Or those from countries you don't want your gap year daughter sending postcards from.

YOU CAN HELP STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF MARLBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL

In ten years we will look back with contempt and anger at the barbarians who destroyed of one of the London’s best examples of Victorian civic architecture,the Marlborough Primary School.

It just shows what Victorian civic leaders were capable of.....

.....unlike the reptilian,ex K&C leader, Nicholas Freeman, who knocked down the Victorian Kensington town hall hours before listing...a near criminal act.

Click to enlarge

But here’s the odd thing...the Council makes a huge fuss about minor planning infringements in Conservation Areas, yet allows this landmark building to be reduced to rubble. 

So far, the petition to the Council has generated over 500 signatures. 

Another 1000 are needed to obtain a Council debate. 

The Dame loves Marlborough Primary School. 

Please sign, if you have not done so, and ask everybody you know to do the same. 

John Lewis Partnership plan to raze it to the ground immediately after term ends on July 17th.

If you sign, at least you can say, you did your best to halt this vandalism.

Here is the link. PLEASE SIGN NOW

VOLPE 'THE FOX' IN THE CANNY SCOT'S HEN COOP

The decision to hand over £5m+ of taxpayers' money is being made, tonight, at Cabinet. Does the chairman of the Opera Holland Park Trust, Charles Mackay, know what he's getting into?

MACKAY...FOOD FOR THE FOX?

Has he even seen this extract from the Limited Assurance Auditor's report follow up of January 2015?

Would he know that Volpe and Clutton REFUSED to deal with the issues raised in the report? 

Click to enlarge

Hardly the sort of good corporate governance Mackay would expect from the many companies he has managed.....

So why has Charles Mackay agreed to chair Opera Holland Park?
Mackay has a reputation for being a 'no frills', hard nosed Scottish businessman. 
His career has mainly been spent with the very unsentimental Inchcape Group.
It seems improbable, at the end of a long and distinguished career, an ex INSEAD council member would agree to involve himself with a failing and badly managed amateur opera company..... paid for by taxpayers....
For years, ex travel agent, Michael 'The Fox' Volpe, has made a lucrative career out of taxpayers. 
The arrival of Mackay might make things just a little harder for him.
As it is Volpe has now cost Kensington & Chelsea taxpayers the thick end of £9 million.....

EARLS COURT RESIDENTS SHOUD TELL DECAUX TO TAKE A HIKE

Decaux's intrusive advertising ruins London. In their home city of Paris they would be told to take a hike

DECAUX STREET LITTER

In London they are able to do what they wish.

Fortunately, a hawk eyed resident alerted the Dame to their plan to erect a 12 metre by 3 metre, internally illuminated, static panel outside Earls Court Tube station.

You can see the details on this LINK

Some years back Danny Boys Moylan had breakfast with the oddly named Monsieur Jean Jean of Decaux.

Danny Boys revels in being Cllr de Clutter. Maybe he should have a stern word with Decaux and explain that we don't want their junk in our Conservation area.

OPERA HOLLAND PARK... 'LET THEM EAT CAKE'

AMATEUR OPERA 

The Dame is angry....angry that these demonstrations against the squandering of millions of pounds on Opera Holland Park were ever necessary.


Opera Holland Park sucks in millions of much needed resident's tax for the benefit of just a few.
Most OPH goers come from outside the borough but, leaving that aside, the real question is whether the council should be funding opera when first class opera at the ENO and Covent Garden exists a few miles away.

These demonstrations are embarrassing. They need to be stopped. 
The best way of stopping them is by getting the council to stop frittering taxpayers' resources on fripperies...and OPH is a frippery.
George Osborne talks of 'small government'.....maybe this council should be thinking similar thoughts. 
Using taxpayer's money to support opera is NOT what a council should be doing.