Kilburn Park Road: Public Meeting

Last Friday evening was the meeting we organised for Brent Council to come along and talk about their proposal for the Kilburn Park Road roundabout with local residents.

There was a fantastic attendance from residents living close to the roundabout - many thanks to everyone who come on a cold, wet and windy Friday night.

At the beginning we gave Brent the opportunity to be able to set out their plans, and they spent 20 minutes or so outlining what they were proposing to do and why. They had also brought along their architects, who was able to go through a (somewhat rosy) view of what the new development would look like - and also provided further information on the wider South Kilburn redevelopment proposals.

It is fair to say that almost every resident who spoke expressed concerns or reservations about the proposals at they currently stand. Many residents were at pains to point out that they supported the improvement of South Kilburn in principle, but seemed unconvinced that this was the best way to begin that. For those residents who weren't able to join us, concerns included:

• Disappointment about the lack of consultation: Brent was tackled about its failure to consult until just a few weeks before it begins to apply for planning permission to make the changes.
• Discussion about the increased number of people living close to Kilburn Park Road: Brent confirmed that 136 flats is the first part of a wider redevelopment. Overall, across a wider area of South Kilburn, Brent intend to build an additional 1,200 more homes than are there today.
• Concern about the impact of traffic if the roundabout was removed: Brent confirmed that the loss of the roundabout will mean that the northern carriageway of Kilburn Park Road is brought nearer to the houses at the top of the road by creating a 2 lane carriageway along the entire length of the road. Residents expressed concern about noise and vibration as a result, and the problem of vehicles having to stop and start whilst waiting for the traffic lights to go green.
• Concern about the quality of the design: A number of local residents expressed concern about the quality of the design of the property – including whether the colour and materials will fit in with the way Kilburn Park Road looks today.
• Problems with the height of the new flats: Although most of Brent’s publicity materials shows a five storey block of flats, Brent were challenged as at top of the road, near Carlton Vale, the flats would be as high as seven storeys. This could have over-shadowing consequences for those residents living in properties in Kilburn Park Road particularly the lower floors.
• Increased traffic coming from the new development: Brent have suggested that around 30 – 40 car movements are expected during rush hour if the flats are built on the roundabout. They were challenged to also admit that, if the entire South Kilburn area is redeveloped, an additional 600 car movements are expected during peak hours in the area.
• Greater problems of parking: Brent are only intending to provide around 50 parking spaces for the new development. This means, if all the new residents of the flats have a car – as they will be allowed to – another 70 – 80 cars will be looking for parking elsewhere. A large proportion may try to park on Kilburn Park Road.
• No guarantee that the building of the new flats would mean the removal of the tower blocks: Brent have indicated that the new 136 flats on the roundabout need to be built first so that new properties can be found for the people living in the nearby tower blocks. What they have not agreed to do, however, is explicitly link the building of the new flats with the removal of the existing tower blocks during the planning process. Whilst there is an intent by Brent to do both, there is, therefore, no absolute guarantee that the tower blocks will come down.
• Ensuring any proposals minimise crime: Brent were invited to comment further on the designs of the new build with regard to ‘designing our crime. Many residents were unconvinced by their responses to these most important issues.

Brent also announced that they intended to submit the planning application to make the changes in the next couple of weeks. At that point, the formal process for determining what will happen will begin.

We'll write again when the application goes in to outline next steps for those who wish to comment on the proposals.

Even though we disagree with them on this issue, our thanks to Brent for coming to Maida Vale at our request and outlining their proposals. Many thanks also to our chair, Melvyn and - most importantly - to all local residents who attended.

Alastair, Jan and Lee