Showing posts with label King Edard VII Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label King Edard VII Park. Show all posts

Tuesday 3 March 2015

Further comments on Welsh School planning application to build in King Eddie's Park

Denise Cheong has submitted the following additional comments regarding the Planning Applciation to convert the Bowling Green Pavilion in King Edward VII Park Wembley to a classroom and build an additional classrook nearby. This will be used by the London Welsh School, displaced from Stonebridge, along with Stonebridge Adventure Playground, by the expansion of Stonebridge Primary School. The Adventure Playground has not been offered an alternative site  or any other help by Brent Council, indeed its Council  funding has been cut.

The below additional comments are in relation to planning application no. 14/4208:

The council has a duty of care to Brent residents when providing pre-application planning advice, during the planning process and when deciding on planning applications.

The historic value of this parkland is worthy of preservation: King Edward VII Park was bought by the council in 1913 (and opened in 1914) to compensate the residents of Wembley for the loss of Parkland at Wembley Park, which was being developed as a high class residential garden suburb.   

Cllr Stopp mentioned the possibility of a disconnect arising in his committee speech on 13th January. Now is the time for Brent planning officers and planning committee members to take serious note of the Brent residents this application will affect. The residents who actually are neighbours of King Edward VII Park (affectionately known as King Eddie's Park), the residents who actually use King Eddie's Park, residents who grew up in Brent and or actually live in Wembley and the London Borough of Brent.

The additional documents submitted fail to provide an area of land (for the proposed landswap) that is of equal or better quality as per paragraph 74 of the National Planning Policy Framework, as highlighted by Sport England. The documents propose that residents sit or lie down on what was completely waterlogged grass yesterday (18th January 2015), beside the traffic fumes of the frequent tail backs of stationary vehicles on Park Lane whilst enjoying a beverage and the views. I noted the predominant view from the steep bank yesterday as being of a couple of leafless trees. In addition, opening that land up to public use would put the striking London Borough of Brent landmark, that is the mock tudor Collins Lodge, in danger of vandalisation and arson.

The community have expressed a willingness to provide a community hub, which will truly enable the wider Wembley, Brent and a broad spectrum of the population to make use of it. Furthermore, they will re-open Wembley Bowls Club with the Council's permission and have 60+ happy to be fee paying members provisionally signed up to date.

Under these community proposals:
1. No park trees would be unneccesarily cut down. i.e. the 4 category B trees (a Monterey Cypress Tree and 3 Irish Yew Trees) proposed to be removed, which have the ability to contribute to the quality of an area for up to 20 years (and even if proved to be diseased through probe testing, rather than merely showing signs of disease, could live on for a many years),
2. No land within the bounds of our King Eddie's Park would be built on
3. No children would be put at risk through misguided planning advice and inexperience of actual life in the Wembley area

Whilst planning application number 14/4208 does not comply with paragraphs 74 and 123 of the National Planning Policy Framework, as well as CP18 of the core strategy and the All London Green Grid, our Community Business Proposal would comply with all the aforementioned planning policies.

Please acknowledge receipt by return reply. Thank you.