This is what Lancer Square, W8 looks like today 18 months after the Planning Committee and Chairman Cllr Warrick gave permission for Malaysian developers to knock down the 16 year old complex because “it was old”.
You may remember the Dame's funny story about the pompous Warrick being attacked with a bag of POO
You may remember the Dame's funny story about the pompous Warrick being attacked with a bag of POO
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| DRACULA |
There was furious opposition from the Kensington Society and residents against the proposal to double floor space and replace the mixed use square with “buy to let”. This opposition was swept aside by odious Warrick who gave a very chummy welcome to architect Squire at the Planning Committee.
The burning question today is what will happen to the huge mound of rubble which sits alongside busy and congested Kensington Church Street?
What kind of Traffic Management Plan is going to handle this?
For the far sighted, Lancer Square is only two hundred yards down the road from Notting Hill Gate.
This is a dry run for what the developers are planning to do there.
Squire is the leading "kill society" architect in the Royal Borough. They masterminded the conversion of Charles House office complex in Kensington High Street (the loss of 2000 inner City jobs) to a new high end "buy to leave" complex. Small flats for £2 million and penthouse apartments for £8 million.
ReplyDeleteSquire is deeply involved in the Nottinghill Gate knock down and knock out.
Mr Squire and his sprog son (Uriah Heap type understudy) rival awful Cllr Warrick for shear nastiness. They will not be seen at my dinner parties
DeleteAt a presentation session for their plan to redevelop part of NHG, Messrs Squire boasted that they'd modelled the facade of their proposed buy-to-leave flats on the nearby Czech embassy. Faces went purple when residents asked about the quality of their public consultation, since the Czech embassy is the most widely disliked building in K & C. There was much bluster and splutter, but the proposal since seems to have disappeared. Or is that wishful thinking?
ReplyDeleteThe Chelsea Society makes this powerful argument against the proposed basement development at 1A Walton Street. The same argument applies to the Nottinghil Gate proposal.
ReplyDelete"Moreover he scale of the construction activity would be intolerable for local residents and would pose a risk to their health and well-being which the Council should not expect them to have to suffer. The scale of activity envisaged by the Construction Traffic Management Plan is enormous. The reality is that no plan can adequately mitigate the disruption caused by lorry movements on this scale. The Council should recognise this as a valid reason for refusing the application. The criterion should not be whether the proposed Traffic Management Plan is the best that can be devised: it should be whether the level of protection which it offers against unreasonable disruption is adequate. There are cases where no Traffic Management Plan can provide such protection and where a development should not therefore be allowed to take place. 1A Walton Street is one of them".
This is vintage James Thompson
DeleteYes Fly on the Wall is correct - these homes will not be buy-to-let but Buy-to-Leave. Without the preliminary off-plan sales, there will be no finance for the project. Perhaps this is why the pile of rubble has not been moved already.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a housing problem in this country, it is empty property problem we have.
DeleteSince 2008 property has been used for finance after the crash, inflated property prices and rents have forced out the locals and welcomed in the great unwashed avoiding tax as well as money laundering in Kensington & Chelsea.
Our tax is going to go up because so many properties are empty & offshorers not paying their tax.
Buy to Leave Oligarch: "let the residents pay my share."
We do not want Buy to Leave towers at Notting Hill Gate!
Sooner Stalewood and his ilk get the message the better.
Cabinet Memeber Cllr Tim Ahern summed up the situation perfectly:
ReplyDelete"Planning in the Royal Borough needs to be more resident friendly"
The Dame is doing a sterling job exposing the scandal of developers in the trouser pockets of planners and the Town Hall allowing the destruction of our quality of life. And most important of all, she is giving our residents a voice. What a wonderful old girl she is.
ReplyDeleteOne could always do what was done prior to the 19c and just flatten the pile in-situ over the whole site raising it 80cm? as a podium, and build the new building on top. That is why Roman London is 10 feet down - it hasn't sunk, the ground level was raised by successive demolitions.
ReplyDeleteAs the cockney saying goes - Mr Dixie is a "card"
ReplyDeleteTerry Thomas look-a-like Warwick at it again. It wasn't me me lud - honest . He should not be a councillor. He is lining his own pockets instead of doing his job in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteInsufferable w****r Warwick was attacked by a bag of poo? Love it!
ReplyDeleteNo fan hit the shit?
Where is there a dog walker with a bag of dog filth when you need one?
ReplyDelete*SPLAT*