Pictured above on the left is a ridiculous advertising hoarding for Portobello Square hoarding from Catalyst Housing that looks completely different to how the development does in its grey barren reality- no wonder the “Wornington Green” name has gone.
And it’s there our blog goes today, because first of all, it is the LAST DAY for residents to respond to this Planning Application for Phase 2B of the scheme:
We urge all concerned residemts to read please get their comments and objections in by 11:59pm tonight.
There is also this one for which residents have until next Friday the 10th of February to send in comments and objections to:
The “Portobello Square” Scheme has been so vast, hard hitting and environmentally destructive to the North Kensington community it is hard to know where to begin (and THINKers are not Planning experts), so with a little help from our friends at Wornington Trees and some information from others, here are the main points of our objection…..
Publicly accessible adequate green space
We are joining the Wornington Trees campaigners and several other local residents by calling for sufficient park space to be provided as the promises for a sufficient green space half the size of the park have been broken . Residents were promised a completed park over 4 years ago. Another broken promise.
We say that the developers must now prioritise providing a park of equal size to Athlone Gardens, otherwise they are depriving residents in Golborne- RBKC’s most socially deprived wards, where there is a scarcity of green space and where most residents do not have access to a garden, basic and fundamental use of a green local amenity.
After two decades of living with noise, dirt, dust and chaos; that’s the least the residents deserve .
We also note that there is no publicly accessible green space provided in Phase 2B, so the deprivation of decent green space to residents by Catalyst affects many other residents in the area outside (what was) the Wornington Green Estate. The basic needs of residents living in the south of Golborne Ward are not being met. This is completely unacceptable for children growing up as well as the elderly, disabled and vulnerable residemts in the locality who cannot always easily travel to another part of North Kensington to access a park . We have yet to see Catalyst address this. Telling people to wait ages for a park (when they have already failed to complete phases on time and stick to what they initially promised) isn’t good enough. Why is RBKC not holding Catalyst to account over this? Where is the Planning enforcement?
Traffic and roads
Residents by the Wornington Green Estate and surrounding neighbourhood have strongly objected to the opening of the quiet end of Portobello Road to through traffic from Wornington Road and Ladbroke Grove on several grounds, noise, pollution, road safety – the plans would dramatically alter the character of the neighbourhood for the worse turning what was once a fairly quiet neighbourhood into a highly busy and hectic location full of passing traffic, as well as likely parking issues and significant increase in traffic incidents so what for the quality of life of the residents?
The plans do not seem to show much in the way of street imporvent and if the traffic opening is to go through Catalyst and Bouygues have not considered traffic calming measures in the plans .
Campaigners tell is that there is scope to widen the pavements around the scheme, leaving space for trees, greening and creating very small but usable public amenity spaces. None of this is included in the plans. The lack of imagination and consideration as to livability and quality of the outdoor streetscape from the developers is truly appalling. The vast majority of residents, not just those who once in or close to the development are wholeheartedly opposed to the new road scheme. It is as if Catalyst and developers have thought of nothing at all except money.
Trees
Then we come to trees. The scheme as a whole has already seen the felling of over 250 mature trees. in the public realm (including 61 platanus acerifolia – London Plane trees, numerous other types of tree including 8 tilia platyphyllos rubra ‘ Large-leafed Linden or Lime, 5 robinia pseudoacacia – Black Locust , 4 prunus avium – Wild Cherry, and 1 acer platanoides – Norway Maple, as well as numerous medium trees including several sorbus aucuparia – Rowan, Betula pendula – Silver Birch, and crataegus prunifolia – Common Hawthorn). This doesn’t include trees in gardens lost. In Phase 2 alone, 97 mature have been cut down .
Yes – provision of extra homes is important but so is the consideration of the residents who are going to be living in these homes and their quality of life, and that goes for long-term residents of the area as well.
There could have in these plans as mentioned above, been an oppotunity to widen the aforementioned pavements and plant some more trees. Because here is what has been lost :
Wornington Trees have told us that for this phase, the CAVAT (Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees) for the loss of trees on the land for Phase 2B is estimated at £9,107,844.00 and this does not include the trees lost in private spaces.
Only 22 new trees are included in the developers plans for Phase 2B, only 2 of which will be Hybrid Plane Trees. (The other 20 are small to medium trees.)
Wornington Trees campaigners tell us that the CAVAT value of these proposed 22 trees is £37,674.00 and that represents a net CAVAT loss to the community of £9,070,170.00.
There are hardly any street trees on the plans – so much for canopy cover, in fact the plans will fail to meet the requirements of the London Environment Strategy and the scheme as a whole is on its way to failing to meet the environmental requirements of the London Plan.
Then we will remind both Catalyst and Bouygues of this:
The urban forest pilot scheme for Golborne was indeed approved at that meeting, but the developers have not considered this and the scope for planting these and improving the area and local environment in their scheme, otherwise why so few trees and why no wider pavements?
Health, trees and “the science bit”
Then we consider the impact on health of reaidents caused by pollution and also the vital role in absorbing pollution that trees play. We have to keep stating the obvious sometimes, because most of the time it feels like the developers have not given the health and wellbeing of local residents a second thought
This picture showing childhood asthma prevalence in RBKC Wards, sent to us from a rrsident recently is rather shocking; just look where Golborne is there.
And then for further background we briefly go across the Atlantic for this: https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/links-between-air-pollution-and-childhood-asthma#:~:text=Researchers%20found%20that%20short%2Dterm,were%20significantly%20associated%20with%20asthma.
So, for the developers (who clearly haven’t thought any of this through properly) and for anyone else (who doesn’t fully consider the important role that trees provide in our local environment) this is from CO² Living:
How Trees Reduce Air Pollution
Flooding and prevention measures
Some parts of Notth Kensington have greatly been affected by flooding on several occasions and we are highly concerned as to a lack of flood prevention measures in the scheme. We note that most of the front gardens are paved over, greatly increasing the risk of flooding.
We agree with the Wornington Trees campaigners who have called for curb extensions to accommodate SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) designed to manage storm water locally. See this from the Local Government Association. https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/severe-weather/flooding/sustainable-drainage-systems
Consultation with residents, community groups and businesses
Last but by no means least, is consultation with residents and businesses – or the absence of – from Catalyst. Yet again they have failed to sit down at the table and consult with people properly.
Otherwise they could certainly have come up with something better than this. The fact that the scheme has hardly any local support at all speaks volumes about the absence of resident engagement and consultation in its actual form- ie. Listening to and working with residents, taking their views, concerns and input on board, exercising care and consideration and trying to find solutions to problems rather than imposing them on the community.
There is a very real question of trust here. The lack of engagement, the broken promises and how Catalyst are misrepresenting the scheme.
As for the homes already built, perhaps we should also contact ASA (the Advertising Standard Authority)?
https://www.asa.org.uk/advice-online/misleading-advertising.html
Because Catalyst (once a housing association now a property developer) have the affront to try to (mis) sell their (un)affordable homes like this:
This is how the development actually looks:
And even when the scheme gets completed, under the not at all green proposals, it couldn’t ever look like that “nature” picture in our lifetime!
We ask the RBKC Planning Committee to fully reconsider the scheme and its phasing, its impact in residents, the locality and the Environment – and then to consider what little effort towards including positives to balance out the negatives in the scheme that Catalyst have actually gone about including (other than 2 of the trees that were only retained after outcry from the community we cannot think of any) .
Yes provision of homes is important but so is the quality of life of the residents who are going to be living in them, as well as the residents who already live on the Estate/Scheme and those nearby.
But also considering provision of homes, and the impact on use of the park, providing a park of similar small size is inadequate considering that there will be over 500 homes (and residents living in them) Therefore, a bigger park and clever use of street spaces for green amenity purposes is badly and urgently needed. No sign of that in the scheme.
If something is questionable then answers and solutions through consultation and further Scrutiny are required – rather than just going “oh the homes” and blindly agreeing to it, keeping fingers crossed that Catalyst and developers will amend their scheme and honour their promises, when so far they haven’t and the community is suffering and will only suffer further.
(Our thanks to Wornington Trees for their outstanding campaigning on this matter.)
THis Is North Kensington 