282-288 Goldhawk Road: Residents Nil, Developers 66 (Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats)

Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats <info@hflibdems.org.uk>

282-288 Goldhawk Road: Residents Nil, Developers 66

December 17, 2009 9:59 PM

St Augustine is supposed to have prayed "Lord, make me chaste. But not yet". Stephen Greenhalgh obviously prays that he will learn from past mistakes, but not until after his council has satisfied all the developers who are after his favours.

Having assured us that the Council would learn from the mistakes made in the Goldhawk Industrial Estate planning process, he appears not to have noticed that the application for redevelopment of 282 -288 Goldhawk Road was being rushed through the system even more disgracefully.

The Goldhawk Industrial Estate decision was "called in" by the Minister for review, after a long planning process in which residents and others had made strenuous efforts over many months, to demonstrate that the plans were unsuitable.

Apparently what the Council learnt from that case was that to avoid accusations that residents' views were disregarded applications needed to be determined before the residents voices were heard.

The application by Places for People to build 66 high-density flats at 282-288 Goldhawk Road was rushed through the planning system so fast that the Council's officers had to produce their report before the consultation deadline. The objection by the Ashchurch Residents Association, which was detailed, and comprehensive, was received before the deadline of 10 December but could not have been considered in depth. The application was submitted before the Planning Committee on 16 December, and despite requests for the decision to be deferred until January, the committee approved the application.