Press Release 28th Jan 2006
Brent risk losing council majority over decision to railroad through Towerblock in Queen’s Park.
Brent Council is determined to push through plans to build a massive tower block next to Queen’s Park Station, despite enormous opposition from the local community.
The council received over 500 letters from residents objecting to the tower on grounds that it was out of keeping with the surroundings, restricted light, and was being built to make money for the council rather than enhance the area.
Brent Claim that the building supports the Mayor’s policy to create new housing and to erect landmark buildings. Head of Brent Council Ann John states: ‘We think this is the right place to erect a tall, landmark building.’
But architect Lora Nicolaou, who wrote the Mayor’s book with guidelines for high buildings, disagrees and questions the term itself: ‘A landmark building does not have to be a tall one,’ she says. In her view, the Queen’s Park site is an inappropriate place to build a tower because it would divide the area rather than enhance it.
In the face of local opposition, the council formed a consultancy group with 45 local residents and members of Brent planning. This week 40 of the 50 stakeholders decided to boycott these staleholder meetings on grounds that the meetings were merely a ‘box-ticking exercise’, which could effect no real change.
‘Local people’s main concern is the proposed height of the tower,’ says Stop the Tower spokesman Barney Cokeliss. ‘So long as Brent’s Planning brief calls for a tall tower on the site, then that’s what will be delivered.’ Stakeholder members believe that until Brent can agree to modify the planning brief itself, discussions with local residents are pointless. ‘Residents don’t care whether the tower is clad in silver or blue. The fact is they don’t want a tower on that site. Instead they want a landmark building which is small and which enhances the community.’
Interestingly, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens have both made stopping the Queen’s Park tower central to their forthcoming local election campaigns. They are aware that hundreds of local people will vote for councillors who champion this single issue. In the last election, Labour won Queen’s Park’s 3 council seats by a slim majority of 300 votes. Brent council only has a Labour majority of of 4. If they lose hold of Queen’s Park, they could lose control of the council.