Knee-jerk decision making?

Published: 27 January, 2011

• I READ for the first time last week, reports of plans possibly to sell off various sites in the Abbey area, Kilburn ward, in order to raise funds for the capital investment in the borough’s schools.  

These are The Abbey Road car park, Belsize Priory health centre and Langtry Walk shopping parade.

What is completely galling and suggests council decision making which is at best knee jerk and at worst ignorant, is that these sites have all been identified for some time as part of the Abbey Area Regeneration – a project run by the council’s regeneration team following £500,000 of investment from the mayor’s office to allow development which will benefit the Abbey area community.

To contemplate selling these sites now shows waste of this public money; no respect for the hours of public and consultants’ time spent discussing proposals; and dishonesty for the Abbey Area locals who have been promised time and again (for years) that the profits from redevelopment of these sites would be directly invested in the area to help achieve Decent Homes standards and provide new facilities for the area.

One must seriously question how the council plans can reconcile selling the Langtry shops, when the public have been told it is part of Phase 2 of the regeneration, while the same site has been identified for a ventilation shaft to facilitate the High Speed 2 rail link.  

Frank discussion and accountability to the mayor’s office, to clarify the councils intention, is the only decent option remaining to those interested in land grabbing.

FLO CUBBIN, Ainsworth Way, NW8