Still time to save Talacre sports complex from strangulation

• I WONDER if the developer and his backers watched the council meeting on June 20 when the Dalby Street, Talacre development was discussed or read recent letters (Safety would mean reducing visitors to sports centre, July 14).

They may have noticed something that has been apparent to many of us for years. That it is opposed by nearly all – perhaps all, councillors. Outside of council officers who find themselves obliged to defend past decisions, there is almost no support for this scheme. Perhaps this letter will flush a single supporter out.

The universal conviction is that something went seriously wrong with the approval process. Perhaps in the Town Hall, someone knows where and why it all went wrong. Some of the decisions were taken by the development control committee which for most developments is the only decision-making body involved.

However, on Dalby Street there was also the sale of the road and travellers’ site. That received approval at two council meetings in 2004. The approval was for a development with entirely different access. Then there was the decision on how access would work and the stopping up of Dalby Street itself – which meant the privatisation of the access road. That decision was made by officers, with advice sought from a small sub-group of the executive. No one seemed to have overall control. A master class in how not to manage council affairs.

Now the chickens are coming home to roost. Councillor Sue Vincent and her colleagues have to face the decision whether to allow a development to be built knowing that it could only be viable if the council waives critical obligations in the legal agreement and potentially compromise on safety.

Now is the time for leadership to be shown by the ruling party who should seek the support of the three other parties on the council. The three main parties have so far let the voters down. The time has come for them to admit their mistakes and for a solution to be found that saves the sports centre from strangulation. Unlike so many other recent examples of irreversible national scandal, the Dalby Street affair is capable of being remedied. Camden must surely act now.

PETER CUMING
Chair of the Friends of Talacre Town Green 

Published: 21 July, 2011