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An even more serious question of access
• YOUR report of the rejection of the access plan along Millfield Lane will give welcome relief from the consequences of a flawed planning decision (Planned route to farm site rejected, May 22). A situation that would have lasted for the 30-month period of building period.
The council will shortly consider an even more serious access issue, that of Dalby Street which joins Prince of Wales Road with Talacre Sports Centre including Treetops. In that case, the disruption and loss of amenity will last for eternity. The plan is for the existing Dalby Street to have 55 flats built on top of it. A new narrow road, without pavements, belonging to the developer and managed by his marshals, is to be the only access for vehicles.
The planning decision was made, subject to satisfactory access arrangements which patently don’t exist. At a public inquiry, neither the council nor the developer could point to any other development where a popular public facility (and they don’t get much more popular than the sports centre and Treetops) is accessed by a private road managed by marshals, not just, in this case, for the months it takes to build the flats, but for all time. Not only will this make it harder to get to and from the sports centre, but its ability to change over the years, including renovation, will be made hard or impossible.
Add to that problem at least a dozen other flaws and we are looking at a fiasco.
Nick Harding
Talacre under threat (tut@hpf.org.uk)
St Ann’s Gardens, NW5
Straight talk
• THE account of the Camden development control committee makes happy reading (Planned route to farm site rejected, May 22).
In particular, Councillor Flick Rea’s forthright dismissal of the proposals as “absolute rubbish” thankfully suggests “straight from the hip” comments are back in fashion, and not just the prerogative of Boris Johnson. With Camden planning returning to the mainstream, Dalby Street, possibly the last and potentially most damaging of nutty planning “adventures”, comes up for consideration in June.
This scheme has been the subject of criticism right across the political spectrum. Those seeking to excuse its defects have cited the creation of social housing.
However, the January 2008 planning inquiry disclosed that each needy household destined to be housed at Dalby Street will be paying £60 weekly and for ever to cover just the service charge cost of traffic marshals.
These are deemed indispensable by Camden and the inspector if New Dalby Street is to work. Furthermore, Camden bent over backwards to get social housing and lowered the developers’ normal obligations to get such housing as will be provided. Numerous other objections to Dalby Street exist.
The scheme threatens a whole range of vulnerable local interests and fully deserves the Fitzroy Farm treatment of total rejection.
Peter Cuming
Talacre Road, NW5
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