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Terry Farrell |
‘Mayor Ken should have final say’
Top architect blasts Westminster
THE internationally renowned architect Sir Terry Farrell believes Westminster councillors should not have been allowed to judge the merits and weaknesses of a swathe of controversial development projects.
The architect, speaking exclusively to the West End Extra, said major planning issues should be referred to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
Westminster council unveiled last week a £40m project to transform Oxford Street but Sir Terry believes the final decisions on large planning applications should be taken away from local councillors on planning committees.
He argues that projects of this size are too important for local councillors, who may not have the time to study hefty and complicated planning documents, to decide on alone.
Sir Terry said: “Oxford Street is a mess and clearly needs to be re-thought. But there are around 3,000 people who live in Oxford Street with votes, but millions use it. This means passing powers on to the Mayor so he can co-ordinate what would be good for London as a whole.”
Sir Terry has worked on major design projects across the world, and is currently re-designing large swathes of the Euston Road to improve traffic flow and make it more pedestrian friendly, is behind an ambitious scheme to create a walk running from Primrose Hill down to the South Bank and has also put forward plans to redesign the lay out of London Zoo.
He said: “All big schemes in London must be decided by the mayor, and not the local authority. These schemes must be decided in context of what is good for London, not just one part of it.”
But the leader of Westminster council Sir Simon Milton believes Mayor Ken should stop sticking his nose in to his business.
He said: “While the Mayor himself has said he will use his powers sparingly, on average he makes an intervention every day and has made hundreds since he took office. My fear is that he will ride roughshod over decisions made by local planning authorities. I strongly believe they harm the public’s trust in the whole planning process.”
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