| Anthony - I agree with everything you have said here about the brutalesque, over-dense, soulless nature of the Ballymore proposal, which our council has now approved. No one is denying that the High Street needs to be regenerated. But the Ballymore development is just an excuse to shove 900 'luxury apartments' into an already congested area, with little thought for revitalising Brentford as a commercial hub or providing quality, affordable family housing for the community. (Where, for example, are the residents of County Parade going to live when the bulldozers move in?) On the eve of the Planning Committee meeting, I wrote to our local councillors and members of the committee to express my reservations about the plans. In my letter I quoted the philanthropist George Cadbury - "But if each man could have his own house, a large garden to cultivate and healthy surroundings - then, I thought, there will be for them a better opportunity of a happy family life." It seems ironic that his descendant, a Brentford councillor and prospective Labour MP, was turning on the Christmas Lights in Chiswick on the same night that the Planning Committee was putting corporate profit ahead of the needs of the area she is supposed to represent. |