| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Brentford to Grow by MORE than Fifty Percent? | |
| Posted by: | Adam Beamish | |
| Date/Time: | 11/04/13 09:00:00 |
| Hmm, I can't agree with you about a car being 'vital' for that many people within London. Desirable, useful, convenient, yes to all, but vital/essential ?. Personally I use my car most days for work but I could cope without it, afew years back I went a good two months or so without a car and it wasn't a problem, I just adapted to it. I would however say that a major shortcoming at Holland Gardens was that insufficient cycle storage was provided, because going back 10-15 years the standards weren't as tight as they are now - I can't think of a single scheme we've been involved in over the last 5 years which hasn't provided at least 1 cycle space for each residential unit. I'm also not convinced that in a car free development people still have cars but park them elsewhere. Firstly there's usually the restriction on such developments preventing people from applying for/obtaining a CPZ permit. Secondly, personally speaking there's no way I'd live somewhere that was car-free and have a car that was parked some distance away. I'd worry about it getting vandalised, damaged, stolen or broken into, my insurance premium would increase to reflect that. I don't disagree with what you say about affordable housing being 'affordable' but the notion that the quality of such housing is much poorer than market housing simply isn't accurate. For instance at Holland Gardens the affordable block is essential the same build quality wise as the private block, the only noticeable difference is the landscaping - obviously Housing Associations don't tend to employ gardeners to come along 3 times a week so the landscaping is more simple/functional than visually attractive. As our concierges have often said to me, when the affordable housing block was built the communal areas were pristine. 10 years down the line, the same areas look awful entirely through neglect by both the housing association and the occupiers. |