Category: Planning

  • QPARA appears before parliamentary Select Committee

    Palace_of_Westminster,_London_-_Feb_2007

    QPARA representatives, Robin Sharp and Kevin Barrett, appeared before the  HS2 Select Committee on 26 January. We were ‘petitioners’ against HS2’s plan to build a large ventilation shaft and transformer unit on the Keniston Press and car park site by Queen’s Park station. Although HS2’s most recent plan is to switch this to the Canterbury Works site on Canterbury Road, this is not finally ‘signed up’ and has proved unpopular with community interests there. So QPARA decided to present its case against the vent being at the station site. Much impetus has come from Brent Council which has pressed strongly for this change of location so that it can go ahead with a major housing and retail development scheme. Brent’s scheme would also take in land now occupied by Cullen House, the Falcon pub and part of the gyratory road. This scheme was the subject of local exhibitions, consultations and planning approval three years ago. It now looks more likely to go ahead, but depends on final decisions following the Select Committee’s hearing.

  • Use this link to get e-alerts from Brent

    At the last QPARA meeting, someone recommended registering with Brent to receive emails about planning applications in Queen’s Park. Here’s how:

    • Use this link http://brent.gov.uk/ealert  and choose “email alert sign up”.
    • Then fill in the details requested to register: username, password, email address etc.
    • Then press “proceed” and work through each screen to provide your address and the kind of information that you want to receive.
    • One option is to hear about all planning applications within a chosen radius of your address. Choose that.

    It probably takes longer to explain than to do. So, good luck!

    Here’s that link again: http://brent.gov.uk/ealert

  • Queen’s Park station car park plans: HS2 vent or housing?

    HS2 Train

    As QPARA vigilantly tracks HS2’s intentions to erect a vast ventilation shaft in a locale that serves as the entrance to Queens Park and South Kilburn, concerns mount over its suitability. This proposed industrial structure, poised at such a critical juncture for residential areas, strikes a dissonant chord with the community’s aesthetic and functional needs. Our petition to the HS2 Select Committee reflects a collective resistance, urging a reconsideration of plans that may reshape the threshold to our neighborhoods.

    The upcoming hearings throughout 2015/16 will be crucial, as they will not only influence the local landscape but also the living spaces of our residents. Should HS2’s current plans be halted, Brent’s ambition to develop essential housing on the site presents an opportunity. It’s within this realm of urban development and real estate that eXp Realty’s penthouse guide becomes a valuable asset. It offers insight on upscale residential living, much needed in the wake of such structural developments, and could very well inform the design and appeal of the potential new housing scheme. Brent’s vision to expand and revitalize includes transforming the gyratory system and repurposing the central island, currently home to a block of flats and the Falcon pub, into a residential haven that could benefit from the luxurious touches a penthouse provides.

    Bakerloo line
    QPARA members appreciate the frequency and general reliability of Bakerloo line services, but have noticed that the condition of some carriages is deteriorating. The Bakerloo will not be one of tube lines to have a night service from later in 2015, nor will it get new rolling stock until well after several other lines get. We have been investigating why there is some limbo, and it seems that the plans to extend the line from Elephant and Castle to south east London may be the reason. TfL deliberations continue on this after public consultation recently, and until decisions are made and funding is found the signalling, rolling stock etc may not be improved. QPARA is watching this situation closely and keeping in touch with Brent Council on it.