Press Release 25th Jan 2006
BRENT PLANNERS IGNORE WISHES OF STAKEHOLDER GROUP
Brent planner Dave Carroll announced today that Brent will ignore the views of an overwhelming majority of the Stakeholder Forum it set up to consider plans for a towerblock in Queen’s Park.
The Forum’s official purpose is “to provide… recommendations on the local community’s preferred… design” for the proposed site by Queen’s Park station. It was set up following massive community objection to council plans for a 20-storey tower block. But residents who opted into the Forum were astonished to find that Brent want to limit membership to just a handful of people, with key voting positions given to representatives of Brent Council and Genesis, the annointed developer. Both have a financial interest in the tower going ahead.
BRENT SAYS NO TO LOCAL DEMOCRACY
“It’s an absurd situation,” says Forum member Colette Hillier. “Brent and Genesis aren’t the local community – they’re the landowner and the developer. They want to be the judges of their own cause – it’s like a trial where the accused gets to sit on the jury.” In response, pressure group Stop The Tower came up with an alternative structure: a Forum open to all, with majority voting. 38 of the 45 people who attended the Forum startup meeting have signed up to this proposal. Since some of the people at that meeting were Brent and Genesis officials, this is an overwhelming majority of the community. But Brent insists on turning a deaf ear to the community’s views. Dave Carroll says that despite the community’s preference for an inclusive Forum, he “will… be writing to those on the original list to seek nominations to the smaller representative group”.
RIGGED FORUM
Stop The Tower co-founder Barney Cokeliss says: “This scandalous indifference to the community’s views shows Brent Council’s true colours. They take months setting up a Forum and then rig its membership so that it tells them what they want to hear. Where’s the democracy in that?”
“Brent Council have thrown residents’ goodwill back in their face.” says Forum member Vivien Kelly. “Everyone who gave time and effort to the Forum is outraged that Brent have turned it into a sham. Brent won’t get away with it – the tower is going to be the live issue at the May council elections.”