24 October 2011

Move along now - no hypocrisy to see here ! or nimbyism ?

Does Robert Rams annoy you? He doesn't annoy Mr Mustard, except when he speaks at council meetings, tweets or blogs!

There is a proposed development by Middlesex University of their Cat Hill Campus in the London Borough of Enfield. Here it is, it looks like a reasonable use of the space.

click to enlarge; back to return.
 
You can find all of the planning papers filed with Enfield Council here.
You can find the Campaign against Cat Hill here.

What does Robert Rams says about this development in neighbouring Enfield?
East Barnet Ward Councillor, Robert Rams, also commented, “This development will have a huge impact on our residents in East Barnet. These proposed tower blocks are not in keeping with our community and will put a huge strain on our services and roads.”

“The Campaign for Cat Hill Committee has done excellent work in opposing this development. Because of them there will be a large number of people turning up on the 1st November. Enfield Council must ensure that all our residents are able to get in and have their concerns heard.

So there we have it. People were unable to get into a public meeting and so Enfield Council decide to rearrange the meeting in a larger building on a later date. Contrast that with a full council meeting at Barnet in March 2011 where a heavy security presence ( MetPro - paid over a million without a contract ) refused access to many residents & the meeting went ahead. Not sure that from your glasshouse that you should be throwing any stones Mr Rams. You can read a report of that Barnet Council semi-public council meeting on the amusing yet serious Broken Barnet blog. Enfield Council may not be perfect but looked at from Barnet they seem to be a role model.

Now what could these next pictures be of? They are of a development which will lead to the largest S106 payment in the country. There is a quid pro quo for that. The ruination of Brent Cross.

20-22 floors, now that is high rise

There is a bus in the picture to give you a sense of scale. It is miniscule - a bus!

Now that is what Mr Mustard says about Brent Cross: "This development will have a huge impact on our residents in East Barnet. These proposed tower blocks are not in keeping with our community and will put a huge strain on our services and roads" Will Mr Rams say this whenever the subject of Brent Cross arises in the future?


This massive development will cause horrible traffic congestion and make Barnet a much less green borough. It just isn't necessary, Barnet has a large enough population - it doesn't need to be increased. There is a much better website about this subject available at The Brent Cross Coalition who want to see light rail use increased, amongst other sensible ideas. Please visit their website and read all about it - you will need an hour or two.

A two headed ram - they go round in pairs !
Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

2 comments:

  1. Since when has any decision taken by the Tory councillors of Barnet been judged on the benefits to the electorate? Not since about 1939, I should think. Just as outsourcing is being forced through, in order to facilitate the profits of the tendering companies, the large scale developments in Barnet are supported regardless of merit for reasons I am sure we can all imagine.
    In this case the development is authorised by another council and can be, must be, opposed for a whole set of other reasons.

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  2. It is really foolish not to have included light rail in this development. I am concerned that there will be limited open space and frankly this should have been an opportunity to build a low carbon development.

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I now moderate comments in the light of the Delfi case. Due to the current high incidence of spam I have had to turn word verification on.