I was recently in a shop at Cavendish Square and overheard a conversation. “Cavi used to be really good, didn’t it. But they ruined it.” That’s the common sentiment of people who live on the estate.
Who ruined it? The Tory administration of the time which gave away the land and allowed the developer to sell it off and abandon responsibility. We were promised a shopping centre with a roof over it, which would be locked up at night. Cavendish Square would “be returned to its glory days”, they said.
The Tory administration allowed the developer to get away with not putting in drainage, which, in the asbence of a roof, led to regular flooding of the square. They left the base of the old Co-op as decaying concrete. The local community had to demand the use of funding which had been put in place for the (never to be built) roof, to build the second car park, to clear up the mess.
The old Coop site was bought by an individual who allowed the safety barrier to disintegrate, leaving no fence between pedestrians and cars. Subsequently he put in a planning application, which, after years, was put forward in slightly amended version last week.
It is a shoddy and profiteering scheme, with a three story building within yards of single story shops, overshadowing them and raising questions of safety. It will comprise five more shops, though the real money spinner is 14 ‘flats’ (the original application was for 8), 10 of which are less than 50 square metres; slightly more than 20 ft by 25 ft. In common parlance these are rabbit hutches. Pack them in to maximise the profit is the principle. They are, apparently, within regulations, which only goes to show that the law, in this case, is an ass.
There was zero support in the community for this proposal. It was opposed by the Labour councilor Janine Howarth, Patrick Herring, on behalf of the parish council, by the shop tenants and other local people. Nevertheless, Tory Leader Gary Sumner proposed that the application be granted.
That the Tories would ignore the views of the people of Parks didn’t come as a shock to us. But considering their responsibility for the failure of the regeneration scheme at Cavendish Square, their support for the application adds insult to injury.
Who is the person looking to make money out of this planning application? None other than the man who started knocking down Clifton Street school without planning permission. Bizarrely, the correspondence sent to objectors by the planning officers, told us that past conduct of the applicant could not be considered as relevant to whether the application could be granted or not. Morality was on the forbidden list, as well.
There are some conditions associated with granting the planning permission so we will have to watch carefully to see if they are adhered to. Whether this individual has the funding to proceed with the work, we will have to see.
The record of the Tories shows their disregard for council estates. They wanted to flog off our council housing to get their hands on a £40 million receipt. Infamously, their current Deputy Leader, back in 2013, produced a leaflet warning his constituents that Labour could build ‘a new Penhill’ near to them!
Voting for this planning application was yet another act of contempt for the people of Parks.
Martin Wicks
Martin Wicks 