| Topic: | Re:Re:MORRISONS DEVELOPMENT SITE - ONLINE PETITION | |
| Posted by: | Raymond Havelock | |
| Date/Time: | 05/03/17 10:16:00 |
| "Brentford High St is a dump" What exactly is wrong with what is there now? It has a half decent supermarket, a car park, and a bus terminus and a decent school . What is so wrong with that? Are you saying that St Paul's School, the park and the Conservation area are also dumps? This is not about the rest of the derelict areas. It is about adding to it the bit that works and compromising the parts of Brentford that are good - and this town has a lot more good bits in it than it appears. It's also about the damage to the well being of schoolchildren - Theres a good reason why low rise is on that site. To allow proper light into the school - Something brought about by the post war Labour Government and the Public health bill. Not to mention the absolute need for a working amenity . Both the supermarket and the car park are vital to this towns economy. Everything else here survives because of it. Take that away - even for a short time and then Brentford really will be a dump. Brentford is not that bad but it has had 45 years of indecision and bad planning and developments inflicted upon it. It's a proper river town without the fake delusions that have engulfed other local districts. What is proposed is to redevelop the one remaining part that keeps the place alive. Non of the High Street developments that have the green light are happening and may never fully happen. That's down to bad decisions and dodgy developers. Not a single retailer thinks that the Ballymore development will be viable and will bring any patronage in numbers to Brentford to sustain such. That's partly why it is stalled and may remain so for a very long time. But that is not what this is about. Ballymore is another issue. But does not involve the removal of the towns biggest amenity. The proposals are for an uncertain retail space which may result in a high cost Metro type supermarket or lower range supermarket and housing that is not for families or for local people. Unaffordable rents that will not add a jot community. There is already an abundance of this sort of accommodation which is not what is needed and why there is such a crisis of accommodation. Over 70% of local new developments are in the hands of overseas investors. A change in legislation on this alone would change the whole rental market overnight and the housing crisis reduced to the need for family homes with gardens. |