WHAT'S GOING ON AT KENSINGTON MEMORIAL PARK?

Whenever the Dame hears of the Council 'consulting' she emits a long sigh.
So, what's happening at Kensington Memorial Park and why is Cllr 'Oirish' Ahern sounding as if he has been kissing the Blarney Stone.......

No, nothing to do with the ex Mrs. Ahern and her monumental tax problems.
This time it's about unwanted 'improvement' plans for the much loved Kensington Memorial Park..... and the abortive consultation. 
Reading the stuff from the Council (below) it seems that the 'reputable company with over 20 years experience' cocked up.

Users of the park come from well over a mile away so why was the distribution radius a mere quarter of a mile?
Leaflets distribution is as cheap as chips. 
To get a good opinion sample leaflet distribution should have been extended to at least seven thousand homes and that would have cost no more than £800.

And, because of the distribution cock up the cut off should have been extended to mid-December and not the end of November.
A panel of residents should also be appointed to check the feedback. 


How often have we seen blatant misinterpretation of feedback to fit with the Council's plans?

The consultation exercise has not been outsourced, but delivery of the information about how to access the consultation was undertaken by a reputable company with over 20 years experience in London.  Delivery of postcards was undertaken originally within a 400m consultation zone.  The postcards were delivered to all premises within that area, rather than households alone.  This is because the leaflet distribution company does not distinguish between residential premises and other addresses, and because the council is keen to include the views of all park users, including people who may work locally. 

This method has proved to be a cost effective way of distributing consultation materials in the past. The information regarding the number of premises within the consultation zone has been taken from the National Land and Property Gazetteer which every council maintains. 

It was disappointing to learn that some people did not receive the information, and where officers were given contact details a link to the survey or a hard copy was sent out.  The 400m consultation area was selected because this equates to an approximate 5-minute walk from the park.  Although the first round of consultation was publicised via social media, posters within the park, at the Sports Booking office at Holland Park, the two local libraries, via local councillors, and on the Council website, there were fewer than 300 responses. 

ECLIPSED BY AVARICE: A STORY OF OUR TIMES

The Dame had a call from old buddy, disgraced ex Mayor, Barry Phelps. 'Old Beardie' wanted to take the Dame through the complexities of being an investor in Eclipse 35, a ploy for getting huge chunks of tax relief via investment in films. 

"Old Beardie"

Yes, it does sound very glamorous: sadly HMRC takes a far from glamorous view and wants to impose gut wrenching penalties on many a high roller.
These could amount to many multiples of the sums invested.
Anyway, let's hope that none of our locals are going to be hit.

It seems that Cllr Marshall's old employer, Messrs Coutts, pushed these film schemes hard and  is now likely to be on the receiving end of big claims from the hapless investors.

One victim, though doubtless unadvised by Quent, is Pippa Rose, the headhunting ex-wife of Cllr Ahern. 

Pippa, the social alpinist daughter of a Yorkshire copper is likely to be hit for many millions. 
Let's hope Tim will be standing by, cheque book in hand.......

BE PART OF THE "STOP THE NEWCOMBE HOUSE TOWER" MOVEMENT

THREE things YOU can do to help STOP the proposed Newcombe House Tower development with its 72m 18 storey tower -50% taller than the existing 47m 12 storey

Number 1:  JOIN the Hillgate Village Residents’ Association/HVRA TODAY and support our work on this and other issues of concern to our community. Send your name, address, email and phone number, with a cheque made out to the “HVRA” for the annual membership fee of £15 to The Treasurer, HVRA, 8 Peel Street, London, W8 7PD or email your contact details to hillgatevillage@outlook.com and we will send you our bank details to make a direct transfer.  Please indicate whether you can attend the AGM and Christmas party on 13th December (see below).

Number 2:  COME  to our first AGM and Christmas Party, 7-9pm, Tuesday 13th December, 2016 at St George’s Church Hall, Aubrey Walk, W8 7JG AGM from 7pm, seasonal drinks & nibbles from 7.30pm.  ALL ARE WELCOME, members and non-members – £5 pp on the door to help cover costs and raise money for our fighting fund and you can also join the HVRA on the night.  You can turn up on the night but if you can let us know you’ll be coming by emailing us at hillgatevillage@outlook.com so we can plan numbers that would be appreciated.

Number 3:  ATTEND as much of the Appeal Hearing as you can, 10am-4pm daily, 14th-17thFebruary, 2017, The Council Chamber, RBKC Town Hall, Hornton Street.  The proposed Newcombe House Tower planning application was rejected by the RBKC Planning Committee in March but the developers are Appealing.  The Appeal Hearing will be 10am-4pm daily with a break for lunch.  Members of the public are free to attend as little or as much of the Hearing as they can.   If opposition to the proposed Tower is confirmed by residents attending the Appeal, it could help subconsciously swing a wavering Inspector in our favour – it’s important to show the Inspector that we care especially if he/she is on the fence!

BOARD OF AFFINITY SUTTON PAYS ITSELF OVER £1.7 MILLION!

Can any kind reader point out any other charitable organisation where the board pays itself over £1.7 million and rising to near £2million next year.
The Dame's useless nephew. Ludo, is looking for a job in this lucrative sector and wants some intro's. 

LUDO
LOOKING TO WORK FOR
AFFINITY SUTTON

Ludo is lazy and incompetent but that doesn't seem to be a hindrance to getting a fat wedge with a charity like Affinity Sutton.

HOUSING MANAGER EXFORD HITS OUT AT THE POOR OLD DAME

A startled Dame received an irate telephone call from Keithy Boy Exford.

" You old bag. How dare you tell people I only get £260,000 a year. I get a helluva' lot more than that, you old crone. I could buy and sell you ten time over".

LOADSAMONEY

A much chastened Dame apologised and asked how much 'bunce' he actually got.

"I get £325,000  a year, or £1400 every day I get to the office and I got meself a top of the range Beamer too"

The Dame is happy to apologise....maybe he will take the old thing for a drive in the Beamer; whatever that might be....

CHAIRMAN OF AFFINITY SUTTON WANTS YOU TO GAMBLE!

CLICK TO SEE HOW MUCH THEY ARE ALL
TROUGHING

The Chairman of Affinity Sutton is fanatical about gambling spending years working for companies who try to make you waste your money on slot machine and the like.

GAMBLING MAN!

The Dame is a silly old thing and cannot quite see what a gambling industry veteran can offer a social housing organisation.

A BIG WIN AGAINST PROPERTY DEVELOPER, AFFINITY SUTTON

VERY CREEPY
EXFORD

Tonight, the people of Chelsea scored a famous victory over a rapacious, greedy and uncaring Affinity Sutton.

FULL OF BULLSHIT

Keith Exford, the CEO and his thuggish management team will no doubt come back with further plans to exploit an asset throwing up huge potential profits and another opportunity to boost their already sky-high salaries and bonus pool.




It is the most extraordinary way to run a housing association and it's time the Government looked at the way the housing managers pay themselves.

Here's another question. Exford and team have wasted £4 million promoting a scheme no wanted.
Maybe he should consider his future.....

THE BIG DECISION ON SUTTON DWELLINGS

THE PEOPLE VERSUS AFFINITY SUTTON
PLANNING MEETING TONIGHT
SMALL HALL
THE TOWN HALL

LIES AND DAMNED LIES FROM AFFINITY SUTTON

The old adage that ambassadors are sent to lie on behalf of their country rings true of the Group Development director of Affinity Sutton.
More unbelievable still is just how much Kerry Kyriacou rakes in as development director: it's a mouthwatering £220,000 plus a year....not bad for a housing association jobsworth.

IN THE MONEY KERRY

Maybe the Dame needs to get Ludo a job in the housing association sector-seems like there is a lot of dosh for old rope there.

Kyriacou has sent this letter to Quentin Marshall, Chair of  Planning in advance of tonight's meeting .

Kyriacou says.

Affinity Sutton has worked for numerous years to seek to identify a viable scheme for the Sutton Estate that meets modern design and quality standards...

The officers and local community say....

The design submitted is mediocre and bland 

Kyriacou says, 

The scheme before you is, there fore the only possible solution that the Council Officers supported and can be promoted by Affinity Sutton.

Resident and planning officers say.....

they haven't given it their support .

Kyriacou says, 

Much of the Estate is empty and has been for many years  '

Residents say, 

Completely Untrue .

Kyricou(tongue in cheek) says,

The needs of our tenants are our absolute priority . If we are unable to offer them a decent place to live in Chelsea, we then may need to move them to an area where appropriate accommodation is available .

Residents say, 

We find it wholly unacceptable that he seems to think he can move secure and assured tenants around as if they were cattle . 

WHAT'S HAPPENED AT KENSINGTON & CHELSEA COLLEGE? OVER TO YOU MR REDPATH

The Dame's 4th husband, Brigadier, Indian Army(rtd) had a favourite expression, " run up the flag and see who salutes it".

So, why has Mark Brickley left the headship of Kensington and Chelsea College with immediate effect. It sounds ominous, and more so, when we hear the finance director has also departed.
The Dame's 'man with the mortar board and cane' tells her,
"insiders say that he was pushed and did not go voluntarily and that the finance director is leaving as well. There are also rumours that someone's arithmetic was not up to scratch. The College has had such poor inspections in recent years that it should already be in special measures. It is worrying that it is not. The Council is of course represented on the governing body by Tony Redpath and recently bought the freehold of the College premises at Wornington Road in North Kensington at a probable knockdown price."

Here's some wisdom from the fast departed head....

"I believe FE changes lives, I really do, and that’s what I’m always striving to do in this job [at Kensington and Chelsea College],” he said. “I’ve got this thing called the ‘toothbrush test’. It’s just me, as a human being, looking in the mirror twice a day, brushing saying ‘you’ve done a good job, you’ve worked hard today and fundamentally you’re a decent human being.’

A MAN OF WORDS.....

Brickley added: “You only get one crack at this life, and if you can say that honestly, every day, you’ve done well.”

TUESDAY IS 'D DAY' FOR RESIDENTS OF SUTTON ESTATE

SAVE THE SUTTON ESTATE 

 

Affinity Sutton’s plans for redevelopment of the estate will be considered by the Planning Committee of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea 

When: TUESDAY, 15 NOVEMBER, at 6.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m.

Where: Small Hall, RBKC Town Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX

Affinity Sutton claim that they won’t have enough money to replace all the social housing floor space without building flats and houses for private owners. The Council officers, having examined Affinity Sutton’s figures, say that that is rubbish. In their words, 

1. The proposal fails to demonstrate that the maximum amount of affordable housing is being provided and the proposals would result in a net loss of social rented floorspace 

2. The proposals are of insufficient high design quality and would not positively contribute to the surrounding townscape 

3. There are no agreed s106 obligations to secure affordable housing and appropriate infrastructure required to make the development acceptable’.

 

It will be up to the Councillors on the Committee to make their decision based on the officers’ report. Because this is so important to residents on the estate, we have arranged transport to the Town Hall on Tuesday evening so that supporters of the campaign to Save the Estate can demonstrate that they agree with the report. A coach will leave from opposite Tom’s kitchen on Cale Street at 5.15 on Tuesday evening.

A SUTTON DWELLINGS RESIDENT SPEAKS OUT

This excellent comment from a Sutton Dwelllings resident caught the eye of the Dame.

"My family lived in Sutton Dwellings Chelsea from when they were built in the early 1900's until last year when my mother died in her flat.  

Since her death the flat has remained empty - like lots of others - clearly a deliberate ploy to run the estate down. 

Most residents do not want a rebuild as the buildings are extremely solidly constructed and only need modest refurbishment.  

Further, they are clearly going to become unaffordable to the vast majority.  Modernisation or a rebuild, however is not a bad thing per se but it is morally wrong to make so many available for private sale. 

When Charles Sutton bequeathed funds to build estates in London they were expressly for the 'honest poor of London' and were to be available to such at modest rents. 

Since the arrival of Affinity, the wishes of the founder have been unceremoniously dumped and Affinity clearly see the location of these flats as a potential cash-cow for their projects elsewhere. 

Like many objectors, I genuinely worry for the declining culture of Chelsea, as the long term residents find themselves pushed out and the borough becomes a mere portfolio investment for the super rich"

RBKC WASTES TAXPAYER'S MONEY ON " PUBLIC 'CONSULTATIONS"

It has long been felt that RBKC “public consultations" are a travesty. 

Residents may remember the years of consultation on the LDF with Penelope Tollitt and her planning team. 

The result was superb; including a Local Plan with detailed statements for each neighbourhood. 

Unfortunately Ms Tollitt subsequently left RBKC; to be replaced by unqualified staff.
RBKC is currently “consulting” residents on a few miserable sentences of text supposedly related to individual areas. 

A few neighbourhoods, like Earl’s Court, are retained in full because Cllr Wade insisted on it. 

Residents should ask their councillors follow suit. 

Amendment is acceptable - wholesale deletion is not.

Take a look at THIS and click on 'tracked' to see the huge number of deletions.

   

THE EVENING STANDARD ATTACKS AFFINITY SUTTON

The Evening Standard SLAMS AFFINITY SUTTON

RBKC PLANNERS PAN AFFINITY SUTTON

SAVED...FOR THE MOMENT

Mr Stallwood has done the right thing. He has advised the Planning Committee to kick out Affinity Sutton's social cleansing plans for Sutton Estate.
Had Mr Stallwood not done so he would have played straight into the hands of the opportunists and speculators who run Affinity Sutton.

As one campaigner aptly put it, "Significantly, our planners have shown respect for Chelsea's heritage by rejecting mediocre plans by a third rate architect"

A HATED THIRD RATE SCHEME

The question the Dame is keen to know the answer to is this. Have RBKC at last broken ranks with other London councils who seem to be in the pockets of foreign speculators? 
If so, we should be proud that our council is at last thinking of what's best for residents, not greedy offshore developers.

You can read the background to the  recommendation to the Committee HERE 

It is recommended the Committee refuses planning permission (subject to receiving any Direction to the contrary from the Mayor of London) for the following summarised reasons (the full reasons are identified in Section 11 of this report): 

1. The proposal fails to demonstrate that the maximum amount of affordable housing is being provided and the proposals would result in a net loss of social rented floorspace 
2. The proposals are of insufficient high design quality and would not positively contribute to the surrounding townscape 
3. There are no agreed s106 obligations to secure affordable housing and appropriate infrastructure required to make the development acceptable 

ANOTHER E.CAMPBELL COCK-UP

How many gross errors of judgement do you have to make before the RBKC cabinet decide you are just too incompetent to have important responsibilities?
Take Cllr Silly Lizzie Campbell...
This smug looking woman leaves a trail of disasters in her wake, yet seems unshiftable.

Smug and Dopey

The fact these disasters affect the most vulnerable of K&C makes it even more terrifying.
Were Campbell employed by a privately run company she would have been sacked ages ago.
Even her long-suffering hubby had to cut up her credit cards on the basis her 'extravagance knows no bounds'.

The Dame will be reporting back in more detail on this hapless woman's latest cock up but it seems the Council attempted to outsource children's services to an organisation called 4Children. 
Any commercial organisation, before contemplating taking on a supplier would check out its financial stability. Not, it seems the idiotic Campbell.
On the evening the transfer took place 4Children went belly up in a spectacular way. Yes, as the Dame's old 'mate', disgraced Cllr Phelps would say, " you could not make it up"!
One insider tells the Dame, "It's not as if we didn't warn the Council. We looked at 4Children's accounts and found it glaringly obvious it had serious financial problems".

So, why was this warning ignored until 4Children was put into administration?

The muddle continues. 
4Children was then absorbed into Action4 Children(A4C)

Now you would think having had the debacle over 4Children the Council would have insisted on a tendering process; after all that is the norm.
So why did that not happen?
More will be revealed when the Dame has studied, in more depth, yet another Campbell cock up.

Cllr E Campbell should be immediately dismissed from her job. 
She is a very dangerous woman......

THE DAME TO ATTEND GLITZY EARLS' COURT FILM PREMIERE

The Dame was thrilled to be invited as guest of honour at the very first Earl's Court Fringe Film Night organised by The Earl's Court Area Action Group on Wednesday, 9th November.
She will be wearing the sparkly 'family heirloom' Boucheron tiara she liberated from the family of hubby No. 4, the Armenian arms dealer.

The event will take place in the Upstairs Room at the Bolton Pub( not wheelchair accessible) 

The Earl’s Court Area Action Group (ECAAG) is organising the first Earl’s Court Fringe Film Night.

ECAAG is producing its own standalone fringe event that will coincide with the second Earl's Court Film Festival whose chief sponsor is Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco).

In the interest of balance, ECAAG’s aim is to stage an alternative event that is entirely free of corporate spin and is not driven by Capco’s cynical commercial interests, dressed up as caring for the very community its development is set to wreck.

The core message is that Earl’s Court is, against the will of many residents, being hijacked by Capco and is in danger of being defined within the narrow self-interests of the developer's Earls Court Masterplan.

Capco claim they are creating "a new district for London." What is happening there, however, goes beyond urban regeneration.  Capco has destroyed the iconic Earls Court Exhibition Centre and with it, an area’s cultural heritage and socio-economic heart. Capco also seeks to demolish 760 homes on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates, destroying well-established close-knit communities with no gain to residents. Capco are in fact creating a "property bank” of ultra-prime market flats for the benefit of largely overseas investors. Scandalously, not one single new social rented or affordable rent home is proposed on the site of the former Exhibition Centre.

Against a backdrop of ‘hard Brexit’ and the compelling need to increase exports it is inconceivable that any government should surrender 16% of the UK’s total exhibition space to developers. Not only was Earls Court Exhibition Centre one of London’s two major shop windows for the world, it generated  prosperity at a local level (many businesses have since shut).  It also brought fun, fashion, music and culture to Londoners and visitors from the UK and overseas.   

Ironically, Capco describes its PR-driven headline sponsorship of the second Earls Court Film Festival thus:

“Capco recognises that creativity is a key ingredient to the development of a place’s culture and enduring local identity. Our aim is to help bring people together and communities to life through a committed investment in creativity and the arts, and Capco’s support of the Earl’s Court Film Festival underlines this commitment in Earl’s Court.” ¹

ECAAG’s fringe film night demonstrates the staunch resistance and resilience within the local

community to stand up to Capco. ECAAG’s event keeps the spirit of rebellious creativity burning bright within Earl's Court.

When and where

Starts at 7pm on Wednesday, 9th November at The Bolton pub, 326 Earls Court Rd, London SW5 9BQ. Nearest tube is Earl's Court