Will the inspector listen?

Published: 2 April 2010

DEVELOPERS will say anything to get their money-making plans rubber-stamped.

At an inquiry into plans to build a large student block right next to St George’s Gardens in Bloomsbury, people hired by the developers – The Passion Group – said King’s Cross ward, where the block would be built, is not residential.

No, your honour, it’s a bustling commercial area. 

But it’s densely residential, with 500 people living on Regent Square and on Sidmouth Mews alone.

They claimed that the gardens are not quiet, so do not need protection. The proof? 

You can see the BT Tower from one end, so “vibrancy” (read noise) is only to be expected. But it’s one of the few spots away from traffic and crowds.

Finally, stung by criticism that the block would harm the Grade II* listed gardens and the conservation area, what did the developers do? 

They said that the pile of rubble currently on the site “makes no positive contribution” to the conservation area. What a cheek. 

It was left to us residents to speak out against the plans. Who will the inquiry inspector listen to?

Lee Baker, Regent Square, WC1