SEBRA NEWS W2

ISSUE No 90 SUMMER 2017

HEIGHTS OF FOLLY In this Issue

THE BLIGHT TALL BUILDINGS SAFETY VALVE 6 OF NANDO'S 12 IN The Blight of Nando's 6 A6 Bus Route 10 River of No Return 11

TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL Councillor Daniel Astaire's Statement 12 Building Heights Questionnaire 12 Is "High Rise" Right for ? 13 Pro-Tower Policy "A Disaster" 15 Skyline Campaign Petition 16 Labour Challenges Plans 17

AROUND Westminster's New First Citizen 18 Green Plaques in Bayswater 20 Westbourne Park Villas Regeneration 28 Victory in Bott's Mews 37 LORD COE VISITS SUMMER AT THE Another Fine Spot of Lunch 38 30 HALLFIELD SCHOOL 72 SERPENTINE GALLERIES A Personal Profile - Ian Lieber 42 Going Green with Blue Solutions 44 Oh What a Lovely Boer! 50 Shopping and Restaurants 56 Historic Royal Palaces 64

THE ROYAL PARKS Kensington Gardens Update 66 Smashed Avocado at Café 67 News from the Friends of HP&KG 68 The Serpentine Galleries 72

POLITICAL AND LEGAL NEWS City Hall News 74 Property Issues Explained 82 The Hitchhiker's Guide to Policing 86 Mayor Sadiq & Assembly Watchdogs 88 THE HITCHHIKER'S LATEST NEWS PLANNING AND LICENSING 86 GUIDE TO POLICING 98 ON Property Market Update 92 Planning Bayswater 97 Licensing Bayswater 100

HIGHWAYS AND TRAFFIC Highways Report 102 Traffic Bayswater 104 Curtailing Buses Affects Bayswater 106 Better Oxford Street Campaign 107

LETTERS AND ABOUT SEBRA Letters to the Editor 108 Join SEBRA 109 About SEBRA 111 SEBRALAND 112

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 1 From the Chairman Chairman: John Zamit Email: [email protected] Phone: 020 7727 6104 Mobile: 077 6806 8277 Address: 2 Claremont Court Queensway, London W2 5HX

Don't forget: t seems like just a few weeks ago that Nor are we against taller buildings in This year’s we published the previous edition of appropriate locations, but they must SEBRA AGM SEBRA NEWS W2, yet here we are preserve or enhance Westminster, Nov again with another bumper issue! especially in our treasured Conservation Weds 22 I Areas. Tall buildings can be acceptable in Porchester Hall This time round we have a special section on Tall Buildings, so head over to page 12 certain locations and we have supported 6:30pm for 7pm to read all about our hot topic. tall buildings in our area in places such as Merchant Square and Central. THE NEW LORD MAYOR What SEBRA opposes is tall buildings for BAYWATCH Page 18 features an article from the new the sake of growth. We do not believe such I am not talking about Pamela Anderson Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Ian buildings are necessary to achieve that or the latest Baywatch movie but about Adams. We offer him our congratulations aim. Indeed, Westminster City Council’s SEBRA's constant desire to improve the on his appointment and hope he has a present planning policy on building height area. Every year we report thousands of wonderful year in office as Westminster’s has generally worked very well. Where issues to the council on your behalf: from new 'First Citizen'. We look forward to there has been a failure it has been lack fly-tipping and fly-posting to dangerous welcoming Ian to the summer garden party. of provision of affordable housing. Time paving slabs and potholes, to broken lamp and time again we’ve seen developers columns, graffiti and much more. THE GENERAL ELECTION claim that such a provision is not viable I’m pleased to say that our efforts have As we go to press, campaigning in our due to affordability issues. We believe met with a great degree of success. We two constituencies is in full swing. By the this situation comes about because many also work hard to get major repairs and time you read this article the results will developers pay over the odds for the sites. improvements to SEBRALAND and we’ve be known. In Westminster North Karen This has to stop. enjoyed many notable achievements over Buck (Lab) is running for election against the years. However, we need your help Westminster's current policy states that Councillor Lindsey Hall (Con). Karen has a to tell us of problems on the street and on all housing developments over 10 units, majority of just 1,977 so there’s little doubt suggestions for improvements. Please keep around 30% of the site should be dedicated that this will have been a very close-run me informed of such matters and we can to affordable housing. If we made sure this contest. There’s no UKIP candidate this work together to make Bayswater an even time round and whilst there is a Liberal policy was adhered to there would be better place to live in. Democrat standing, the party is unlikely no need to saturate the skyline with ill- to receive a significant share of the vote. conceived inappropriate eyesores. Better use SUMMER PARTY AND AGM must be made of existing buildings rather As I write I’m certain that your MP for I hope to see many of you and your guests than fast buck projects focused purely on Westminster North will be a woman! at our summer garden party on Thursday profit. Such projects are to the detriment of 29 June - let's hope the sun shines. residents, visitors and tourists alike. PIE IN THE SKY Also we have fixed a provisional date for the When the Council first announced the THE LONG & WINDING ROAD 2017 AGM of Wednesday 22 November. consultation on 'Building height: Getting You’ll be advised once the date has been the right kind of growth for Westminster' In my previous 'From the Chairman' article confirmed. I wrote on our 'Field of Dreams' hope for I was very sceptical and I believe I have Best wishes and happy reading! been proved right. It seems clear that the the future of Queensway. I’m sorry to consultation has been designed with a single report that we've heard no more on the long outcome in mind, to get the green light for overdue Public Realm improvements and no taller buildings. I have no doubt that should word from Councillor Robert Davis on the an upwards expansion become Westminster- matter. Now that Whiteleys has received an wide policy, it will ruin our unique part of amended planning consent (see page 98) it is the capital. SEBRA is not against growth, my hope that the various major landowners we want businesses to be attracted and to in the street can use their influence with the flourish here. Council to progress matters further. 2 www.sebra.org.uk From the Editor Editor: Steve Olive Email: [email protected] Phone: 01823 661008 Mobile: 077 8606 6141 Address: 13 The Gables, Wellington Somerset TA21 8JB

hen I took on the role of and behave differently. A good friend of Chase it was a place that I loved to visit Editor I considered that mine summed it up when he said; "Women and at some point around 30 years ago I looking after three issues aren't just female men". I'd agree with that. discovered the reasoning behind the name. of SEBRA NEWS W2 each Take shopping for example. Mrs Olive It turns out that “Eagles Nest” was what a Wyear would neither be too taxing nor too certain Elvis Presley called his innermost bought a new pair of rather fine shoes. time consuming, but having reached my I commended her choice and asked how sanctum at Gracelands. fifth publication I must admit to having a much they had cost. "They were in a sale." This made perfect sense as Uncle Brian slightly different view. I gave her one of "those" looks which adored Elvis. He had the sideburns and Taxing? Well it's not too bad. In fact the she then countered with: "Oh I don't an eight-track of his Greatest Hits in his job can be very enjoyable, especially know, forty pounds, something like that." Jaguar. The memories came flooding back. now that I'm getting more familiar with (Another common response is; "They were Weekends on the Isle of Wight, my first the people involved and the subjects we half price".). In my mind I settled at fifty ever Chinese takeaway, taking bites out of cover. However, when it comes to the time pounds and everyone was happy. apples still hanging on the trees in Auntie required to put a magazine together my Us men on the other hand, well we just Gwen’s garden and best of all, caravanning assumption was rather wide of the mark. can't resist a bargain. The 300 wall tiles in the New Forest. Even before John Zamit has signed off on that I have in my garage are testament to We’d spend the weekends there, my one issue the next one is in production, so that. They'll never see a wall, just a skip, brother and me, my Mum and Dad, and there's a certain 'Forth Bridge' aspect to but they were very cheap. Uncle Brian’s equivalent family. They had the pages you're now reading. I was going to give another example of more room in their caravan, and I suspect In truth the bridge comparison is only valid the planetary gulf between the sexes, the Jag towed it a little more easily, but from September through to June, but even I have many, but having reached the when it came to telling jokes around the so I pretty much have SEBRA NEWS W2 halfway point on the page I decided to camp fire my Dad took centre stage. on my mind all year round. I work for other move on. clients of course, but SEBRA takes up as And then there was the toast. I remember much time as everyone else combined. BIRD BOXES… it to this day because it was toasted on forks fashioned from coat hangers. Hot, And so it came to pass that I was in Hyde THE THIRD INSTALMENT Park, both wandering and wondering. buttered and perfectly browned. Simple My first 'From the Editor' was easy enough Wandering to take the photograph of the and spectacularly tasty. to write, being dedicated to introducing closed bike rack that you’ll see on page 77, To my dying day I will never forget the myself and explaining how I ended up and wondering about what to write in the toast made on a camp fire, whilst the doing this job. The second offering, which second half of “From the Editor”. punchline of “It’s a long way to tip a Rary” I likened to 'That Difficult Second Album' Then I saw the biggest bird box I have ever left us all in stitches every time. I didn't took a little longer. This time round I was seen in my life and everything became even understand the joke, and although struggling to think of a subject or two, clear. “That” I said to myself, “would the burning embers were accompanied by but then my wife came home with some make a cosy home for an eagle”, setting "Burning Love", in this suspicious mind my new shoes... in place a train of thought that took me Dad was the real King. to the literary destination below. (Which VENUS AND MARS? So a simple (albeit huge) bird box took me ironically I find myself writing on an actual back 45 years and 70 miles south-west, I'm sure everyone has heard the suggestion train as I travel home to the sanctuary of to some of the happiest days I ever spent, that men and women hail from different deepest Somerset.) delighting me with memories that will be planets, and many will know this was the As a boy growing up in Hampshire, some forever saved as testament to the idea that idea behind a best-selling book on the of my earliest recollections are of how my it’s not about the size of your caravan, but differences between the sexes. Uncle Brian seemed to have a bigger house where it takes you. Whilst almost everyone I've ever met is and a better caravan than his brother (my from Planet Earth, there's little doubt in Dad). I don’t recall any kind of envy, it my mind that when it comes to certain was just a fact, and that bigger house was things men and women really do think named “Eagles Nest”. Located in Waltham 4 www.sebra.org.uk SAFETY VALVE

GWR 4900 Class Locomotive No. 4936 “Kinlet Hall”. Built in 1929, she’s pictured at Bishops Lydeard Station.

Safety Valve

This edition of Safety Valve section focuses on a very hot topic, with SEBRA member David Hexter's letter expressing views on Nando's and Deliveroo that many of our members and Councillors share. The response from Westminster City Council makes very interesting reading. Also Ian Lieber lets off steam about works on Bayswater Road and there's further complaint about the A6 National Express bus along Westbourne Terrace. THE BLIGHT OF NANDO’S David Hexter Kensington Gardens Square W2 ngry residents, with the support of SEBRA, have asked the Council to undertake a license review of Nando’s at 63A Westbourne Grove on the grounds of increased public nuisances over the past year or so associated with its online delivery service, for which it has no planning consent. The planning use consent for 63 Westbourne Grove is limited to A3 (restaurant) use only. Nando’s has a large frontage on to Kensington Gardens Square, overlooking attractive listed residential buildings. The restaurant has a large first floor dining area for which it appears, again, to have no planning consent. Several years ago the Planning Department rejected an application to convert the first floor from residential to restaurant use, but today the first floor is used as a dining area of the restaurant. How this happened remains a mystery. How Westminster Council handles the case Nando's at 63 Westbourne Grove. will be a test as to whether it can come to grips with the challenges of the “gig" Nando’s was for years a small eat-in Nando’s then designated its Westbourne economy and companies such as Nando’s restaurant operating under what planners Grove facility as one of the 30 outlets out which actively promote online delivery call an A3 consent. This caused few of its 380 nationwide branches that fulfils services, in conjunction with delivery nuisances for residents. Then along came online order services. Yet, it does not have companies such as Deliveroo. Deliveroo and other home delivery services. an A5 consent for takeaway use or a mixed 6 www.sebra.org.uk SAFETY VALVE The case raises general issues that go far beyond the Nando’s case. First and foremost is whether the Westminster Licensing regime is fit for purpose. Most restaurants have licenses that were issued before the "gig economy" took off a couple of years ago. In the past, a few companies employed their own delivery staff to fulfil telephone orders, so the kind of nuisances described in the Nando’s case didn’t happen. As the companies employed their own staff, they were in a position to control their behaviour. But, with the explosion in Deliveroo and like suppliers the dynamic has completely changed. There is no point in complaining to Nando’s about the behaviour of delivery drivers. They pass the buck to the delivery company which, in turn, deny responsibility on the grounds that they do not employ the drivers who are technically "self-employed" even though many sport the livery of a A very large HGV parked in Kensington Gardens Square. delivery company. This causes of serious traffic congestion. SEBRA is astonished that so many of A3/A5 consent. This suggests, at best, lax After 7pm there are normally three or these drivers sport “L” plates. It seems enforcement by Westminster City Council. four bikes parked up at any one time. that delivery companies can use someone This means that online orders from a huge On weekends a resident has estimated who has mounted a motorbike for the first catchment area, probably much of North that several hundred deliveries time to make a delivery if he exhibits an and West London are being serviced from are being made from this facility. "L" plate. The healthy and safety risks are this facility, resulting in manifold nuisances As is to be expected the collateral nuisances pretty obvious, but no one seems to be doing to local residents of a conservation area in from this level of activity are extensive. anything about it. breach of planning consents. Most mornings passers by will notice the huge Bidvest trucks parked up on double yellow lines on the wrong side of the road at the junction of Kensington Gardens Square with Westbourne Grove. A resident supplied us with photographic evidence that showed one such truck stationary outside Nando’s for an hour and a half the other morning. The truck started unloading before 7 am. Pallets were thrown into the street waking up residents. By 8 am the traffic at the junction becomes busy, so the presence of this behemoth causes traffic congestion that spills over into Westbourne Grove. Residents are wondering how many chickens can be unloaded in an hour and a half. Surely many times more than are consumed by the "eat Delivery scooters congregate in Kensington Gardens Square. in" clients of Nando’s. Those of you who have visited will recall that the seating areas are quite limited. Litter dropped by Nando’s customers and Westminster Council updated its statement Seven in the morning is only the start of the delivery riders is widespread. Numerous of Licensing Policy in 2016. The Council nuisances. By the time Nando’s opens the examples have been reported of clients claims to be "an essential buffer to Deliveroo bikes are already buzzing about and delivery riders eating their dinners on residential interests and concerns". For the neighbourhood to make their deliveries the steps of residents. Drivers frequently the granting of new licenses it lists all the to sate North and West London’s passion congregate in groups on summer evenings, nuisances to be taken into account when for chicken piri piri. holding impromptu street parties creating granting a new license or a variation of a The noise intensifies as the day goes on. lots of noise to the annoyance of residents. license. All these nuisances are evident in the Nando’s case. But Nando’s has an In the evening hours there is a constant Several residents have reported instances flow of bikes into Kensington Gardens of verbal and physical abuse when they ask old license with no conditions other than Square disturbing the peace and quiet of delivery bikers and Nando’s customers to opening hours and refuse collection times. the residents. quieten down. Continued on page 8

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 7 SAFETY VALVE

Continued from page 7 The residents of Kensington Gardens So Nando’s and Deliveroo are doing Square have asked the Council to review nothing "illegal" from the point of view the Nando’s license and to impose a of the licensing perspective, although the condition to stop the home delivery consequences of the Nando’s home delivery service that is the root cause of all these service causes a nuisance to local residents, nuisances. They have made it clear that as has been extensively documented in if the Council will not do this, they will statements to the Council. request a review themselves, either Clearly the licensing and planning processes through the Licensing framework or the are not seamless. One might reasonably Planning framework. Residents have assume that if a property, such as 63 asked the Council to get information from Westbourne Grove, is being operated Nando’s as to the amount of their turnover in violation of its planning use consents, represented by home deliveries. then this would be reflected in its licensing status. But, this is not the case, to the Nando’s have admitted that its 30 home consternation of residents. delivery outlets make up 15% of their total UK sales, so its seems highly likely that a significant portion, if not the main part, of Nando’s Westbourne Grove turnover is home delivery and takeaway. If this is the case Nando’s is clearly in breach of its A3 Nando's branding makes the source of planning permission and will need to get litter very clear. an A5 or mixed use license to continue its Ideally Nando’s would supply their home operation. delivery service from an industrial estate It has been suggested by a resident to where there would be no disturbance at all Nando’s that they voluntarily relocate its to residents, whether local or elsewhere. home delivery service to one of its many We await their response. As yet, the Congestion builds as soon as any other London locations, where there would constructive suggestion has not been delivery lorries arrive at Nando's. be less of a nuisance factor to local residents. taken up.

8 www.sebra.org.uk SAFETY VALVE NANDO'S - A RESPONSE FROM PLANNING ENFORCEMENT WCC (Printed with the kind permission of David Hexter and Westminster City Council).

Dear Mr Hexter excess of 10 years. In support of this with my Department. It would appear Thank you for your email addressed to evidence there is further information on the face of it that there has been a my colleague Elliot Fairon. from our planning archives that indicate breach of planning control; the property that the use of the first floor as an Mr Fairon is our Planning Inspector who does appear to be in use as a mixed extension of the restaurant has occurred conducts the initial site inspection; I will restaurant and hot food takeaway. for over 10 years. In 1991 the City be the lead case officer investigating the However, before we consider further Council received a complaint in respect alleged breaches of planning control action, I intend to serve a Planning of an extract duct. The complainant and any future correspondence can be Contravention Notice (PCN). Under refers to the use of the premises as directed to me. the terms of section 1 of the Planning six flats and "a restaurant at basement, and Compensation Act 1991, where As you are aware, the controls conveyed ground and first floor level". under the Town and Country Planning it appears that an alleged breach of I must draw your attention to Section Act 1990 extend to changes in use of planning control has taken place, 171B of the Town and Country Planning buildings or land. Accordingly, planning local authorities are entitled to ask Act 1990 which places a time limit on permission is normally required for for detailed information by way of a when planning enforcement action can material changes of use. Judgment of Planning Contravention Notice. be taken. The Section advises that no what constitutes a material change of enforcement action may be pursued in Such a Notice is in the format of use is a matter of fact and degree to respect of any other breach of planning a questionnaire and provides the be determined in each case. The City control (including a material change opportunity for the City Council to Council has two open investigations of use) after the end of the period of obtain particular details of how a in respect of change of use at 63 10 years. business operates including in this Westbourne Grove, namely: Accordingly, whilst planning permission instance specific information in respect 1) Use of the first floor as an extension has never been granted to use the first of the hot food takeaway services of the A3 restaurant at ground floor floor as an extension of the restaurant, it operating from the premises. A Planning level; and appears that the use is now time immune Contravention Notice is a formal notice 2) Material change of use from a from planning enforcement action. to which the recipient must reply within restaurant (Class A3 use) to a mixed I therefore regret to inform you that 21 days. restaurant and hot food takeaway use I cannot purse planning enforcement It is an offence not to reply to a PCN. (Sui Generis use). action against the use of the first floor If false or misleading information is I refer to each investigation below: as an extension of the restaurant; the provided in response to a PCN the file opened in respect of this matter will respondent could be liable for a fine 1) Use of the First Floor as an be closed. extension of the Restaurant. of up to £5,000. Accordingly, this is a very useful tool to obtain information in I have reviewed the planning history and 2) Material change of use from respect of how a business is operating. I am aware that the City Council refused a restaurant (Class A3 use) to a planning permission under reference: mixed restaurant and hot food The PCN will be prepared and sent out 90/02449/FULL for “conversion of takeaway use. this week. As aforementioned, there is a first floor residential to restaurant use; The Courts have held that the first thing 21 day response period. After the 21 day new mansard roof extension to replace to consider in determining whether a period the Planning Enforcement Team residential areas lost to restaurant use”. material change of use has occurred is will review the returned information and I have recalled the planning history the existing primary use of the land. take into consideration the information/ file from storage to aid both of the Each case will always be a matter for intelligence you have already provided enforcement investigations and to individual determination by fact and to the City Council. further my understanding of why this degree. Where the primary use of land We will then assess the expediency of planning permission was refused. or premises is a mixture of different formal enforcement action. The PCN will Notwithstanding the foregoing, I note uses, such mixed use does not fall be sent to all parties with a legal interest from the City Council’s licencing archives into any of the classes set out in the in the restaurant and a separate PCN that there is compelling evidence that amended Order. will be sent to Deliveroo. the first floor was in use as an extension The use will therefore be sui generis. Please though rest assured that this of the Nando’s restaurant in 2005. I have The question is whether or not the matter remains a priority and I will revert seen a drawing dated July 2005 labelled change of use is material, in planning back to you when I am in possession of "existing floor plans" which show that terms. Where the change of use does the responses to our PCNs. the first floor was already in use as an not amount to a material change, there extension of the restaurant. will be no development, and no need to Kind regards This evidence indicates that the use obtain planning permission. Martin Sone of the first floor as an extension of the The information/intelligence you have Area Planning Officer restaurant has occurred for a period in provided to Mr King has been shared Development Planning

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 9 TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL "BUILDING HEIGHT: GETTING THE RIGHT KIND OF GROWTH FOR WESTMINSTER’

Westminster City Council's Building height questionnaire.

how our residents, workers and visitors London’s population is expected to grow by feel about future growth and tall buildings. almost 25 per cent by 2041. Westminster is at the centre of this transformation and Councillor Daniel Astaire The consultation is a once-in-a- we cannot stand still. Cabinet Member for Planning generation opportunity to find the best and Public Realm way to manage growth and protect We will have to, where appropriate, increase the density in order to cater for Westminster’s outstanding heritage and the expected growth. environment. estminster is at the heart However, this doesn’t necessarily mean We wanted to give people an active role of a global city undergoing tall buildings but making efficient use of exciting and inescapable in shaping this unique city of which we are opportunities on existing brownfield land. growth. fiercely proud. W Above all, we are committed to delivering Our consultation "Building height: Getting The results from the survey will be used to the “right kind” of growth that ensures the right kind of growth for Westminster" form future policy and important decisions Westminster remains an unrivalled place came from a genuine desire to understand in Westminster. to live, work and visit. SEBRA'S RESPONSE TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE

SEBRA contacted its members to notify Westminster level) which would • Seeking to address the housing stock them of the survey and to encourage them penalise the holding of dwellings should give priority so far as possible to complete it online. empty; the requirements for new to affordable housing for key workers We included a draft version of SEBRA’s house-build should be set on the basis in local services, whilst recognizing that of successfully reducing the number of own response and virtually all feedback to the demand for housing in Westminster empty dwellings, by a lot. this has been positive. Our response has is insatiable and therefore that now been submitted online, as revised. • We believe that intensification does not intensification of dwellings may have A version in PDF format will be forwarded require tall buildings, especially in the to take place mostly in other Boroughs. shortly, for ease of reference. case of dwellings. Responses to the somewhat loaded • Intensification has to be consistent with To the extent that the format of the online questions of the questionnaire, set other established, and well supported questionnaire permits, we have made out in a "ticking" format, are open to principles, such as conservation and these points in its Boxes 2 and 25-27. misinterpretation as confirming support for respect for maintaining the general The last two bullet points, however, tall buildings as the only solution, which it character of Westminster, which is a were not included in our response to the is not. Question 1 is rather like asking ‘are major element of its appeal to tourists, questionnaire. you in favour of low taxes?’ as well as to workers and residents. In general, it was clear from the WASF The questionnaire appears to be not so • New residential dwellings should include meeting attended by Councillor Astaire much about "growth", whatever that may open space, which is consistent with that virtually all present were against mean, but about "tall buildings". We do intensification, as is well demonstrated not accept that the latter follows from the by the development on the old site of the the approach to tall buildings policy former, because school that was located between Harrow as portrayed in the questionnaire, and • Economic growth should be planned and Road and North Wharf Road, W2. There felt that very tall buildings were not a implemented at Metropolitan level, not should be a new policy that such open necessary consequence of the evident just at Borough level, with the aim to space should be open to the public, as it need for an active policy, at Metropolitan limit further increases of density at the will be in that site, but unfortunately not level, to accommodate economic growth. centre and increase it in the outer areas. elsewhere, as in the case of the Berkeley • House-build in Westminster should Development’s site called "West End John Walton start from a new set of policies (at Green", in Road. President, SEBRA

12 www.sebra.org.uk TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL IS “HIGH RISE” THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR LONDON? Sophie Massey Cook - Bark Place W2

ondon’s rapidly changing skyline is a matter of controversy and concern, with developers and local councils pitted against residents over the Ldesirability and need for taller buildings and skyscrapers. WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TO LONDON? The skyline of London is famous the world over. Tourists come in their millions to see the dome of St Paul’s, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the precious views down the Thames. Ask any visitor what they like about London and they will often tell you it is the “village feel” which differentiates London from other cities. London’s character is intensely local – a conglomeration of mixed use, walkable neighbourhoods; the sometimes chaotic co-existence of shops and businesses, restaurants, housing, offices and theatres gives London its DNA. Westminster in 2017; is this the vision for Westminster 2027? contains the highest concentration of historic assets in the country, including consultation, which is a precursor toa ENVIRONMENTAL RISK UNESCO World Heritage sites - its historic revision of the City Plan; Councillor Robert Scientists have blamed air pollution for cityscape is an art form in itself. Davis is “leading on the design strategy”. more than 40,000 p.a. premature deaths in It is estimated that two thirds of tourists are More buildings are needed, they say, to cater the UK. Pollution readings in Westminster drawn to London because of its history and for growth and to reflect the needs and have been amongst the most serious heritage – an industry which is projected aspirations of the modern city, its residents, and in January residents at risk were to increase 50% by 2050. The combined visitors and businesses. The public are not advised to stay indoors. Congestion and membership of all the UK heritage being asked if they support and agree with air quality issues are exacerbated by the organisations is six million; more than all the growth strategy; they are only being construction of tall buildings; tall buildings the political parties put together. This is asked how to deliver that growth. increase energy consumption and cause a testament to the importance so many wind problems at ground level. There is a people attach to heritage, which provides DO RESIDENTS danger of our city centre being abandoned us with identity, inspiration, aspiration and SUPPORT THIS? by residents and small businesses alike as an antidote to the contemporary sense At a recent meeting between Westminster has happened in Bangkok. Certainly, until of “placelessness”, as well as a strong City Council (WCC) and residents’ amenity pollution has been effectively addressed contribution to our economy. societies, the tall buildings consultation we should not seek to develop, densify Views belong to all of us and the skyline met with considerable criticism. Residents’ or intensify. is considered a cherished public realm, representatives questioned the wisdom of as shown by the outcry sparked after the putting development and growth before DO TOWER BLOCKS WORK? intrusion of the new 42-storey building preservation, conservation and residents’ The social enterprise Create Streets in Stratford on the “protected” view of St amenity. highlighted in a recent publication the Paul’s from Richmond Park. It was noted that a special characteristic of social issues and family breakdown A proper assessment of what gives London Westminster is that 85% of VAT registered prevalent amongst those living in high rise its unique character would reveal that it is businesses employ fewer than 10 people. blocks. Research indicated that 79% of NOT the high-rise blocks which are valued; The office towers which accommodate people believe high-rise living would have it is the quaint Victorian terraces, public corporations in Canary Wharf are not a negative impact on their wellbeing. It is parks and cherished views, as well as the suitable for these small enterprises, which harder for families to bring up children in human scale of our lovely city. are the life-blood of Westminster. large blocks of flats; children spend more Residents are doubtful as to whether time indoors, alone and in restricted play WHY CHANGE IT? London, and Westminster in particular, – with wide-ranging social impact. “Growth”, says Councillor Astaire (Cabinet must grow, when there are suburban areas Adults felt that high-rise living had a Member for Planning and Public Realm), and brown field sites in other boroughs dehumanising impact and crime and fear “is the central tenet of Westminster City which could more easily be densified. The of crime is greater. The report suggested Council policy”. The Council has decided that UK is already over-centralised; shouldn’t that since tall buildings are more expensive it wants to accommodate 77,000 extra jobs we be encouraging business and property to build and run, if the higher management and 40,000 additional residents over the investment in declining areas of the country charges cannot be met, the result will be next five years. As part of its plan to drive – exactly the reverse of what is now being degradation of the communal areas and, this change, it has launched a tall buildings pushed by WCC? eventually, the creation of slums.

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 13 TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL Concerns have been raised about the effect of overshadowing by tall buildings. Scientists agree that light has an important impact on wellbeing – all the more crucial in London, where sunlight is in short supply and winters are dark. Is it a coincidence that the most valued parts of our city contain smaller terraced housing, often with detailed façades on garden squares or alongside green spaces, with soft edges and human-scale detailing? People want to live in homes rather than tower blocks. Research has shown that streets that are integrated into the surrounding city are associated with numerous positive wellbeing outcomes. Traditional street grids of differing natures and sizes with multiple junctions and route choices are the components of the rich texture which characterises the most popular parts of London. They allow for lively neighbourhoods with diverse businesses and people, mutually supporting each other. While tall towers are successful in attracting wealthy investors, they are unlikely to provide a solution to London’s social housing crisis as they do little to provide genuinely affordable housing or workspace for entrepreneurial businesses. ARE THERE ALTERNATIVES TO TALL BUILDINGS? A competition by Create Streets (for which I was on the judging panel) to produce alternative designs to the Paddington Pole demonstrated that tall buildings are not necessary for densification. Our magazine cover - A future vision of Bayswater Road in 2037. The winning designs provided a higher This surely would be the "Height of Folly". number of housing units than were proposed by the Pole, whilst also offering a human-scale development with open While well-designed tall buildings in the Almost by stealth, there are now 455 tall public spaces, which would have fitted in right context can be very beautiful, they buildings consented for London. Planning the context of historic Paddington. WCC are often merely clones of globalised consultations are conducted locally despite were notably uninterested in exploring mid- architectural brands and serve to create a the fact that tall buildings have a wider rise alternatives for that site and ignored sense of placelessness. WCC’s own scrutiny impact, well beyond the consultation area. the results of this public competition – committee revealed that last month This means that most Londoners have preferring instead to follow the lead of UNESCO inspectors raised concerns over been unaware of planning applications the developers. the effect of tall buildings granted for the and suddenly find themselves looking at south bank of the Thames on the setting WHAT IS OUR EXPERIENCE of the Palace of Westminster. growing monstrosities, such as those at OF TALL BUILDINGS IN Nine Elms around the treasured WESTMINSTER? SHORTFALLS IN THE Power Station. Let’s take a look at the design of the tall PLANNING PROCESS An erosion of conservation controls is buildings which have been approved for Developers and architects are so taking place as cash-strapped Councils Westminster. For the most part they are habituated to opposition that they expect increasingly leverage their approval of tall unmemorable, save for the damage they and ignore it. They are used to working buildings to extract cash from developers have inflicted on their surroundings; against, instead of in harmony with, the uninspired lego-like elongated boxes clad for the public realm. The justification broader population. Residents are simply in glass. The hardness of the materials given by Westminster for the Paddington seen as hurdles to overcome. and their bland form has no architectural Cube was not that it is beautiful but that connection with detailed, smaller scale “Architect-speak” is poetic in its description the developer offered to build a much of tower blocks; “sky gardens”, “green walls”, surrounding architecture. needed ticket hall with escalators for the privately-owned “public realm” and words The recent claustrophobic developments Bakerloo line. However, this cost belongs around Victoria station are a case in point: such as “iconic” anaesthetise the public in the TfL budget, as the beneficiaries their main benefit seems to be the profit to what are often sterile developments. will be travellers, most of whom are non- they extract for the developers and the Hazy, computer-generated images seduce views from inside of historic vistas around the planners through the decision-making resident commuters. What we are seeing them, to which their own building does process whilst the reality is often something is one public benefit carelessly traded off not contribute. quite different. against another. 14 www.sebra.org.uk TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL HOW DID WE GET THERE? A CALL TO ACTION Instead, WCC must commit to finding out what residents and other stakeholders A 2017 study by researchers from Lyon It is a false premise that we must value about Westminster as it is today University on the impact of skyscrapers accommodate development and cater for and what they think could be improved. across Europe concluded that the growth ever increasing numbers of Londoners; agendas of local government have we should be ensuring that the economy Westminster faces the greatest crisis in compromised and interfered with heritage spreads throughout the country – exactly its 1,000 year history; the gravity of the preservation. the reverse of what is now being pushed decisions now facing WCC cannot be The fault lies with planning controls, which by WCC. overstated. It is of paramount importance are defensive rather than proactive, and that Council heed the opinions of their unequal resources and expertise amongst Sadly, the questionnaire issued by stakeholders, which have made the Westminster Council is not objectively electorate, rather than the mighty developer disproportionately powerful. designed to find out what the public developers. The consequence of a distorted London has become the playground of really want – like a disingenuous customer planning system is that the views of local property investors, aided and abetted by satisfaction survey, the questions are residents are not properly assessed or the public custodians who sanction it. cannily designed with leading questions, taken into account unless they orchestrate Along the way, the electorate has been which solicit positive responses. The a strong campaign. It is therefore essential sidelined: vast areas of London are being focus is on high level outcomes about that residents take this opportunity to make emptied of ordinary people by the ever- their opinions heard before it is too late. increasing property prices and diminution which none of us are likely to disagree. of social housing. It seems that good WCC can then say that they “consulted” Email your opinions to: architecture and high quality design have before implementing devastating and [email protected] become irrelevant. permanent change to the heart of London. and please copy to SEBRA.

SIMON JENKINS' ARTICLE FROM THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD Published 28 March 2017 "WESTMINSTER COUNCIL’S PRO-TOWER POLICY IS A DISASTER FOR LONDON" "Easing restrictions on high-rise buildings and riding roughshod over conservation areas is scandalous".

ews that Westminster City Council is to abandon the planning policy of its late leader, Sir Simon ​"NMilton, is devastating. The Council intends to inflict on the finest low-rise city in Europe — that is Westminster, not London — the same rash of “random towers” now being inflicted on the City of London, and . The “anti-planning” contagion initiated by Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson has become a raging capitulation to the great god greed. An early sign came this month when London’s philistine mayor, Sadiq Khan, and now the planning minister, Sajid Javid, both refused to call in the Paddington “cube” for review. This was despite its crushing under tons of glass the whole concept of a London conservation area, in which it will sit. Javid is permitting, without so much as a public inquiry, the dream of the late property speculator, Irvine Sellar, to build something very big looming over glorious Paddington Station. A protected neighbourhood of Victorian alleys and Let us clear away one thing for a start. for high-density low-rise streets on the warehouses is to be wrecked to grant a These towers have nothing to do with site. Like the majority of such luxury dead man’s whim. Westminster clearly has density or with “London’s housing needs”. towers in today’s London, they are no intention of enforcing its own policies. The box is a replacement for Sellar’s intended to sit empty in the balance Every Westminster conservation area previous 72-storey “pole”, which was sheets of oriental savers. The pole was must be considered up for grabs, with for luxury flats. But it delivered fewer about personal vanity not housing. Government approval. flats than alternative local proposals Continued overleaf...

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 15 TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL

Now the luxury flat market has collapsed, Javid, who carries the ironic title of In the event, Palumbo turned to the box is to be for offices. London “minister for communities”, has justified the postmodern architect Sir James does not “need” more offices. More non-intervention on the grounds that Stirling, whose building, No 1 Poultry, to the point, the jobs it does need are he is “committed to allowing councils admirably complements its setting in better suited to the informal spaces of a and communities to make their own the conservation area of the Bank and conservation area than the old-fashioned Mansion House. Valued buildings were corporate high-rises that often stand decisions”. Tell that to the community lost but the consensus was that the empty for years. From to of Paddington. Tell it to the hundreds to , older buildings supply of local communities whose plans Javid conservation area was enhanced. That is lettable, adaptable workspaces. When the overrules almost to aid the volume- how London should renew itself, not by good times pass, as they always do, it is housing speculators. Westminster’s lurch back to the dark ages. London’s conservation areas that will offer The point of having ministers who can The justification given by Westminster for the jobs, not frigid office towers. intervene is to uphold the spirit of the Sellar’s box is not that it is beautiful but Sellar apparently wowed Westminster’s that he offered to build a new entrance law when a council has failed in its duty. impressionable former planning boss, to the Bakerloo line platforms next door. Westminster has flagrantly failed. It was Robert Davis, with a “signature” building That is Transport for London’s job. Public for this reason that Javid’s predecessor, towering over by the Italian benefit is not grounds for destroying architect of the Shard, Renzo Piano. Since Eric Pickles, intervened two years ago public benefit. It is like letting the the pole was howled down last November, to protect Smithfield Market from the Grosvenor Estate build a tower block in Piano conceded that “I am not going to grasping City of London Corporation. Belgrave Square if it repairs the sewer. insist”, with that starchitect disdain that Instead of another office block London will assumes the decision is his, not ours. Is that Westminster’s next scheme? get an exciting new Museum of London. Sellar and Piano then played the old Irvine Sellar died before the approval of Another case in point is currently on show speculator’s gambit of proposing a lower his block by Khan and Javid. I can think building but with twice the floor area. at the Royal Institute of British Architects. of no better memorial to him than for This is supposed to induce gratitude and In 1985 Lord Palumbo sought to demolish his firm to imitate Palumbo and return relief among naïve planners. It worked a the Victorian district west of the Bank of to the drawing board. Send Piano back dream. I cannot believe even Piano thinks England in the City, replacing it with an to his vanity projects and put forward this is his finest work, it looks like it was off-the-shelf glass tower by Mies van der a mixed-use development, such as that run up on a laptop in an afternoon. But Rohe. It was rejected by the then minister, proposed by the think tank Create then unlike residents of Paddington and Patrick Jenkin. The grounds were that it Streets for the Paddington community. Bayswater, he lives in Paris and will not have to see it every day. The sole virtue was “a bold and imaginative endeavour to There is no good reason to refuse. The of this 19-storey lump is that it is not achieve a development of real distinction’’ development would still make a fortune. a 72-storey pole. Is that really the best but would dominate the area around it “to It could be called Sellarstown and stand modern Westminster can do? a wholly unacceptable extent”. to the old man’s credit."

SKYLINE CAMPAIGN PETITION ATTACKS COUNCIL POLICY SHIFT TO ALLOW TALL BUILDINGS IN WESTMINSTER he Skyline Campaign launched a petition against a potential change to Westminster City Council’s policy on tall buildings, Targuing it would be the ‘kiss of death to conservation'. The council is running an eight-week public consultation, "Building height: Getting the right kind of growth for Westminster" to garner opinion about expansion in the borough, 75 per cent of which falls within designated conservation areas. Results of the discussion will help the local authority draw up planning policies, but the Skyline Campaign has called for the "devious and dishonest" questionnaire to be disregarded. The petition states:“In reality the majority of Towers of London - Could this be the future for Westminster? the questions are phrased and grouped in such the views of as many people as possible is an important balance to strike to ensure a way as to ensure that hapless respondents who live, work, visit or have an interest in we do so while delivering the jobs and homes will be acquiescing to more and taller buildings without even realising that they are doing Westminster, so we can plan for the continued that will continue to position Westminster as such a thing.” and future success of the city. the centre of London as a leading world city. A Westminster City Council spokesperson "Protecting the unique character of "We cannot stand still. London’s population said: “Protecting the Westminster skyline is of Westminster, as well as the World Heritage is expected to grow by almost 25 per cent paramount importance to us, and we welcome site, is absolutely key to this. However, there by 2041 – which means we must act now.” 16 www.sebra.org.uk TALL BUILDINGS SPECIAL LABOUR CHALLENGES CONSERVATIVE COUNCIL PLANS FOR YET MORE TALL BUILDINGS Councillor Adam Hug, Leader of the Opposition at Westminster City Council, outlines the party's position on the taller buildings policy that has been put out for consultation by the council. He asks what "The right kind of growth" entails.

estminster Labour Group that benefits Westminster’s residents. city where it delivers significant levels of has a number of concerns So Labour does not automatically oppose social and genuinely affordable housing that about proposals set out in plans that would add a small number of local people can actually live in, affordable the Conservative Council’s floors to existing buildings (as mentioned workspace for small business and start- W‘Building height: Getting the right kind of in the consultation) or well designed, ups or where it provides other substantial growth for Westminster’ consultation. appropriate schemes within the existing benefits to the community such as properly Paddington, Victoria and Court While couched in somewhat vague language, designed public open space. it is clear that the push from the Council is Road "opportunity zones". Westminster already contains some of to spread the construction of tall buildings However as the recent research from our the most densely populated wards in the "wider" across Westminster and that they West End action team shows residents country, as recent research by former Labour are in favour of "significantly taller buildings". within the opportunity areas already have deep concerns about the current approach AM Murad Qureshi shows. This approach would see the spread of to tall buildings, let alone about a further Labour is firmly opposed to the planning new tall buildings well beyond the existing loosening of the council’s policies. opportunity areas, particularly around framework consultation for the Harrow Edgware Road and across the "North Westminster Labour believes that higher Road-Woodfield Road area or the Church Westminster Economic Development Area" building density is often a preferable Street master plan being used to promote the new areas identified in the proposals. approach to greater height to achieve the spread of ‘significantly taller buildings’. the same number of units when trying to There are also deep concerns about the These proposals come hot on the heels of develop schemes that benefit the local Council’s plans to potentially encourage tall the controversies over the failed 72 storey community. Through effective design, lower Paddington Pole (now the Paddington Cube) buildings in the areas along the Grand Union rise schemes can be made to work better canal being vacated by Crossrail. and the 30 storey West End Green, as well as for the local community, who often get all the 14 storey Hathaway House development of the pain but little of the gain of large Labour Group Leader Adam Hug said, deep into the low rise residential area behind tower schemes. “Westminster’s planning policy needs to meet Harrow Road. Lower rise, higher density schemes may the needs of local residents and businesses that Getting the right kind of growth for have less of a negative impact on the employ local people. It does not need policies Westminster is a laudable goal but Labour look and feel of Westminster protecting that could give developers carte blanche to and the Conservatives have different ideas the streetscapes, views and heritage build ‘significantly taller buildings’ all over our about what "the right kind" entails. Our that many residents value. However any City. Westminster Tories should think again city needs growth but it must be growth increased density would only enhance our about their plans for more tall buildings.”

A city full of millions of people - Is it not crowded enough already?

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 17 AROUND BAYSWATER

WESTBOURNE PARK VILLAS - REGENERATION TIME? Ian Hessenberg Westbourne Park Villas W2 With a huge project to rebuild Westbourne Park Baptist Church underway, much-needed improvements to Hampden Bridge taking shape with the installation of street art by Urban Eye, SEBRA member Ian Hessenberg concludes that a "moment for regeneration" has arrived.

e in Westbourne Park huge amounts of steel girders and building Villas have the distinction equipment, skip lorries etc., skilfully driving of having two bridges, one in reverse to deliver or collect their loads for traffic on the eastern from the church being rebuilt on the corner Wend and one for pedestrians, cyclists and of the Villas and Porchester Road. pushchairs on the western end. The pedestrian bridge, after years of After years of neglect, as we have watched wrangling with WCC and Network Rail, these edifices slowly deteriorate under a both protesting that repair work would rust attack with local graffiti holding that cost too much, has had a make-over. rust in place, someone in high places has The southern end of the bridge now decided to give our bridges a new lease has a smart new tarmac ramp installed, of life. with bright lights which at night light the The result of this has been that our road pedestrians’ way on to the bridge, and the has been shut to through traffic for the cyclists speedy descent down it. Once on past week and will stay closed for another the bridge the metals panels on either side, three weeks in order that this work can with again brighter lights installed along it, be completed. have been decorated by Urban Eye using Installation of Urban Eye artwork on This has led to the interesting views of a design produced by students at the Hampden bridge. concrete lorries, large lorries delivering nearby Westminster Academy. This definitely cheers the process of walking over the bridge, BUT this is pure decoration as many of the metal panels are still in an unstable condition and worse than that, the dog-leg in mid-crossing has not been corrected despite endless requests from local residents as the bridge (particularly at night) is a gift for potential muggers as one cannot see them lying in wait until rounding the blind corner, walking straight into them. This part of the bridge is apparently owned by Network Rail who say they cannot afford to straighten it out. The ramp end has apparently been paid for as part of the Crossrail initiative, and the two parties have not been able to meet and agree on a solution for this problem. The new tarmac ramp, complete with lights, installed at the pedestrian bridge on This then would also explain why the Urban Westbourne Park Villas. Eye design (financed by Network Rail or 28 www.sebra.org.uk AROUND BAYSWATER

Construction works in Westbourne Park Villas at the junction with Porchester Road. maybe WCC) stops as it comes to the end of the bridge leaving three or four blank metal panels leading on to the ramp and steps, now already attracting the local graffiti artists.

Architect's impression of the new church. Temporary boxing, finally removed. measure when the gas pipe was found to new plastic pipe was hastily fitted and At the other end, Lord Hill’s Bridge has be in a severe state of disrepair when the temporarily contained in its blue box. now removed the blue boxing which has Crossrail digging started, causing some Urban Eye is reportedly looking at the contained the main gas pipe for the past pale Gas Board countenances when this six years. This was installed as a temporary potential crisis was discovered and a panels on this bridge, with a view to renovating them in the same vein as our pedestrian bridge and Acklam Bridge. Who has decided that our moment for regeneration has arrived? We are not absolutely sure – maybe WCC, perhaps Crossrail (as part of their contract), or Network Rail, but with our new church and our repaired and brightly decorated bridges we will have been smartened up maybe in readiness to join the Paddington regeneration plans, whenever they go ahead, but when the schemes are completed we will certainly no longer regard ourselves as the poor neighbours Gas main removal in Westbourne Park Villas. to Westbourne Park Road.

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BOTT'S MEWS - A VICTORY FOR CONSERVATION AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT! Bott's Mews Consultation Group eaders of the magazine who have followed the Bott's campaign over the years will be pleased to hear that WCC’s Planning Committee, Ras chaired by Councillor Andrew Smith on 28 March, unanimously voted to fully reject the developers’ latest plans to bulldoze the historic site in order to make room for a generic ‘luxury homes’ development. The planner’s report stated as reasons for refusal: “The proposed replacement buildings are of insufficient design quality to provide an enhancement to the character and appearance of the Westbourne Conservation Area and therefore they fail to meet the design requirements outlined in City Plan.” Our own words all along. This has been the culmination of a lengthy local residents’ campaign, starting well over three years ago, long before the The Bott's Mews Consultation Group in festive celebration. Brexit jitters in the luxury housing market were felt and speculative multi basements We asked that the long term benefit of the their architects, who despite our collective many and the area’s architectural integrity feedback seemed intent on recreating their ‘investment homes’ applications were still be prioritized over the short term profit trademark identikit trophy homes regardless at their peak. of the few. of the site constraints and heritage. Time When the first, of what was to become Our first major breakthrough came in after time we weren’t blinded by sleek several, controversial planning applications 2015 when the developers, after having computer generated presentations nor were was submitted it quickly became apparent their second application rejected by WCC, we phased by lengthy documents filled that only a few residents were notified. proceeded to appeal the council’s decision with ‘architect-speak’ jargon. Whenever Dismayed by the lack of initial consultation to the government’s Planning Inspectorate incomprehensive CMPs were presented, we we took it upon ourselves to inform all and lost! In the hearing both residents and simply carried out our own traffic counts. others in the area, thus forming the Bott's developers are allowed to put forward their Councillors retired, councillors got elected, Mews Consultation Group (which soon case. It was left to SEBRA and us to ‘widen’ new planning officers were assigned, grew to include residents from Bridstow the discussion and elaborate further on the planning committees were reshuffled, more Place, Hereford Road, The Gateway strong feeling in the community to protect opportunistic schemes were put forward Apartments and Chepstow Road who all our area’s character. and yet we persisted. back onto the site). The Inspectorate, having also carried We feel vindicated, glad to see conservation out a site visit, then deemed that the firmly back on the map and hopefully we’ve historic existing buildings make a set a precedent when it comes to other “positive contribution to the character unwelcome schemes in the area! and appearance” of the area and Our thanks again to John Zamit of SEBRA concluded by calling the developer’s and the Hereford Road Association who plans “unsympathetic” to the Westbourne Conservation Area. supported us over the years. Late last year yet another architects firm was hired and soon a third lengthy planning application, containing some 27 documents was submitted. Yet again we urged the community to individually Bott's Mews boarded up. make their comments onto WCC‘s website. Surprisingly ‘applications fatigue’ hasn’t Our only resources being a trusted old set in, if anything a stronger public outcry photocopier, clipboards and an abundance ensued, resulting in a record 76 households of community spirit, we asked fellow objecting, again backed up by SEBRA's local residents to sign our petition calling formidable objections. Indeed SEBRA went for tougher planning restrictions on further, prompting our local councillors to aggressive basement excavations and also send in their objection on the day of urged for community consultations. We the planning committee meeting. argued that the historic cobbled mews, Over the years we have seen off a in the heart of Westbourne Conservation succession of property developers each Area, traditionally a site for craftsmen and armed with an array of for-hire planning workshops and used as location for many consultants and PR professionals. We were Bott's Mews in Summer. period films, should be respected. labelled as "nimbys" and "sentimental" by

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 37 AROUND BAYSWATER Ian Lieber A personal profile By Julian Hale

erhaps the camera doesn’t do him justice, but there is a His mother found it hard to continue to send her sons to private distinct likeness to Prince Charles – or maybe the other school and, although the paternal grandparents could have helped, way round, as Ian Lieber is the Prince’s senior by seven they “turned a blind eye to my mother’s plight”. Ian then went to a years. He is often stopped in the street by people unsure state secondary modern school. “I was constantly bullied for the Pif they are seeing the real thing. Except Ian himself is the real way I spoke”, he tells me with a wry smile, “they were not happy thing – a man of superb good taste, elegant and with a profound times and I was quite happy to leave as soon as I could, at the affection for classical architecture and style. Indeed, as an interior age of fifteen.” He had long wanted to be a dress designer, so designer he has been creating beautiful homes and commercial he found a job in a clothes manufacturing company, where for a spaces for an international clientele, for many decades. time he learned to be a pattern cutter. Then he went into retail. Meanwhile his mother opened a haberdashery shop, the “Model Blouse Shop”. By the time Ian left school it was well established. Ian remembers that “she would often buy boxes of mixed buttons, and at weekends I would sort them into sets and stitch them onto cards to be sold in her shop”. His mother played a great part in Ian’s life. “She was a great teacher of life and had great style… and she was a stickler for good manners and behaviour”. At the age of 18 Ian opened an antiques shop, which he greatly enjoyed, though he kept many of the things he bought. His mother asked him, “Do you think you are a dealer or a collector?” When Ian Ian in a client's drawing room which he created some years ago. replied, “a collector”, she said, “then you had better get a job.” But this was not the world he was born into. His grandparents So he went to work for Jessops in Nottingham, which was part of on both his paternal and maternal side, were immigrants – they the John Lewis Group, in “piece goods and display”. All the time he came from Poland and from Romania - arriving in England before was learning practical skills and business acumen. In those days, the First World War and, like so many, settled in the East End of he tells me, “they sent shoppers round to check the staff service London. His father’s family developed a successful bakery business, and I earned a bonus for good service; I realised that being polite Ian’s father was the youngest of their two sons, born in 1918. and efficient was something of value.” At the age of seven he entered Trinity College and was a wonderful violinist as well as playing the piano. He married his teenage sweetheart who, like himself, was the youngest child, and they had three sons, the eldest of whom was Ian… then, three years later, twin boys (one of whom now lives in South Africa and the other in Australia). At the end of 1944 Ian’s grandfather moved his two sons and their families to Nottingham, where he started up a doll factory. One of Ian’s memories from that time was of his father playing the Flight of the Bumble Bee at great speed on his violin to distract him when he was in bed and frightened of loud thunder. “Ask for the Bee Page 9,” he was told so he didn’t have to remember the tongue-twister of a title. Always enterprising and adventurous, as well as a talented Ian's father had many connections with the sporting world. musician and ideas man, Ian’s father was sadly to die when still Here photographed with his parents and brothers and Ronnie in his young prime, at the age of thirty-four. This for his mother Clayton the British Feather Weight Champion in 1950. Ian is was as devastating as it was for Ian himself. At 11 years old, he on the left of Ronnie Clayton next to his father. was now the man in the family. 42 www.sebra.org.uk AROUND BAYSWATER

At the age of 22 he made a big decision and went down south… He has worked in many countries, including France, Switzerland to Brighton, where he had been offered a job (at £10 10s a week) and Portugal, in the USA and the Middle East – though London at Trevor Antiques. After a year he moved to Rings of Hove, a and English country houses have been his mainstay. He has done prosperous business which, with Maples, had a stranglehold on up hotels, offices, spas and airport lounges – and recreated the the furnishing and interior design business on this part of the Adam Room at the top of Richard Rogers’ Lloyds of London building Sussex coast. Again it was a learning experience – “far better than – as well as lecturing for the Inchbald School of Design and IPC a university”. Under Mr Ring he gained a great deal of experience, Magazine. His work has featured in many design magazines and working with him on refurbishing some of the rooms in the books and he is one of the forty designers in the world to be Brighton Pavilion, which has stood him in good stead right up featured in Erica Brown's book "Interior Views, Design at its Best". to the present day. Nowadays he is in semi-retirement, but still in demand asa Then came the “swinging sixties”. Ian was ready. He moved to design consultant with an enduring passion for design and visual London, where he worked for Ken Moore, a designer, window promotion. Last year he was involved with other residents in the dresser and artist, whose studio was above the re-development of Whiteleys. “I am at a loss to understand the photographer Terence Donovan. Here he met and mixed with lack of imagination the planners have, letting developers ruin the the trendiest artistic and design circles - Ozzy Clarke, Jean Muir, environment.” He has idea for Whiteleys. “There’s so much that Twiggy, Leonard the hairdresser, even the dark arts of Francis Bacon could be done with it. It could become a concert hall, another part at the Colony Club, all this became his life as he prospered as a could be a museum, like the Saatchi in Chelsea, as well as having designer, not just of interiors but whole structures and buildings shops and offices and flats which would boost commerce in the too. The word was getting around. area, making it an important destination.” This would clearly be a project he would love to be involved in more. At the end of 1969 he started his own business, saving all of £3000 in the first year. It was enough to start buying property. His ex-boss Despite a heart operation some years ago Ian is full of energy – he asked if he could become a business partner, and together they runs every day and looks, I have to say, fitter and younger than bought two houses in (at a time when you needed his actual years might suggest. He is a man whose talents should a lot of foresight to invest here). A year and a half later they sold certainly be put to good public use. them both well. He could now invest in a big mansion converted Meanwhile he takes great pleasure in his elegant home, where into seven flats in a very upmarket area of Nottingham called he enjoys entertaining his wide circle of friends. The Park, where he gave his mother one of the flats. This was a moment of great satisfaction, fulfilling an ambition he had conceived in his early teenage years after the death of his father. He also invested in property in Brighton. In 1977 he opened his first showroom in and four years later, with continued success, he bought in the Craven Hill area of Bayswater and opened his present showroom in 1990. By now he was one of the capital’s leading interior designers. His special talent was to “bring together the client’s wishes and the overall design – a room should embrace its owner. That has always been my philosophy. I am a little like a psychologist, working around the comfort, taste and life style of my client.” His priority is to “create good proportions within Truly an Aladdin's Cave - Ian's shop in Craven Terrace. a space if they do not already exist.”

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 43 AROUND BAYSWATER THE FRENCH CONNECTION - A TALE OF TWO CITIES From the Editor he previous edition of SEBRA NEWS W2 featured a page entitled "Fuelling Change in London and Beyond" which Tdiscussed electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure and the future for diesel and older vehicles. There is little doubt that the next decade will witness big changes at the heart of car travel and it's become very clear that such change is really gathering pace. The two cities I refer to in my title are, as in the Dickens novel, London and Paris. Frédéric Le Ballois - Project Manager, Maryline Marilly - Stakeholder and Partnership Manager, Marian Iftinca - Ambassador, Christophe Arnaud, Director BPL and the I'll discuss the Paris reference in a moment Bluecity Electric Car that you'll be seeing a lot more of. but it was in Cavendish Square that I visited Blue Solutions, who are at the forefront of electric transport in London. THE BLUE CITY CAR finished with the car it's just a matter of following directions to the nearest charge The company is a subsidiary of the Bolloré As you'll see from the images there's a point and plugging in for the next user. Group, a French multi-national with interest vehicle from Blue Solutions too. It was in fields such as telecommunications, designed specifically for the job, it's built in Costs will be around £5.00 for 30 minutes transportation and logistics, plus electricity Dieppe and carries battery technology that of use and with a usable range of at least storage and solutions, and they're going to represents an advance on that powering 100 miles, a flat battery isn't ever going to change the way that Londoners use cars. cars from mainstream manufacturers. be an issue. Leading that change is the takeover of the Should you find yourself in Paris anytime Source London network of charge points, soon you'll see plenty of these. (I promised which are now under Blue Solutions we'd get to Paris). 4,000 of them are in use in management. the city with 7,000 charge points installed to power them. (Truly a "French Connection"). The plan is to expand the network to 6,000 charging points, each of which will have a dedicated parking bay. All types of electric vehicles will be able to access those and Charging points being installed in continuous monitoring combined with Cavendish Square. dedicated maintenance staff will ensure a highly reliable system. As Christophe Arnaud from Blue Solutions (Having covered 30,000 miles in my Nissan pointed out "Bays are the key thing. Leaf EV, I'm feeling "charge point envy". Ultimately we're building a network for London will have 100 times as many charge people to charge our batteries and they'll points as can be found in the equivalent be doing so from 100% renewable sources. area here in Somerset). We want people to have the option of Of particular note is that none of the The car interior is simple and giving up their cars". charging point costs are being passed functional, but packed with technology. The question that SEBRA members might on to London boroughs and of course well ask is; "When will the scheme be everyone benefits from cleaner air and The cars aren't for sale, purely for rent on a coming to Westminster?" quieter vehicles. pay-as-you-go basis, and if you consider it Well there's no answer just yet, with Whilst discussing costs it would seem to be to be a "Boris Bike" in four-wheel form you'll decisions down to individual boroughs, but a good time to mention that Source London have pretty much got an understanding of it is surely just a matter of time. As readers membership costs £4.00 per month and how things work. will know, ZipCar is already successfully £2.00 per hour to park and charge at an Right now, in and , operating a similar program, so chances are on-street bay. these cars are in use on the roads as part that we'll be regularly spotting Bluecity EVs of a research program. It seems that EV owners in London are in on the streets of Bayswater very soon. very capable hands in the drive towards a Users simply locate a car via a phone app, cleaner and greener capital. book it and use it. When the driver has

Green Supercar - A BMW i8 EV parked in Bayswater.

44 www.sebra.org.uk AROUND BAYSWATER AN EYESORE ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE he concrete mix silo on Orme Lane facing Bark Place and Caroline Place is a disgrace, truly a major blot on the landscape and on the TBayswater Conservation Area. It is bad enough that Westminster Council have allowed the development at No 2 Orme Square to completely close a public road (Orme Lane) for nearly two years, but surely they shouldn’t also allow industrial equipment with advertising to scar the landscape in this way. I hope the council is charging rent for taking over this public right of way. A resident of Caroline Place W2

NOTE FROM SEBRA

We agree that the silo is quite an eyesore and can confirm that a planning enforcement case is currently open with Westminster City Council with respect to the advertising/branding which is clearly on display.

STOP SIGNS AND NOW SPEED SIGNS ON GLOUCESTER TERRACE urther to my last letter I'm writing Since these stop signs were introduced, with an update to the measures there have thankfully been no further introduced on Gloucester Terrace serious accidents to my knowledge. to reduce the number of accidents However, during a recent 15 minute spell Fand injuries involving motor vehicles. waiting for a cab on one of these corners, Following a series of bad accidents and I counted one single vehicle observing the resulting injuries as well as damage stop sign and every other vehicle merely to buildings on Gloucester Terrace, a slowing down or at most, pausing. In this campaign by concerned residents with time I observed several near-misses and valued support from SEBRA has resulted several vehicles hooting at each other. in Stop Signs replacing the Give Way signs Unfortunately this would seem to indicate on the junctions with Chilworth Street and it's only a matter of time before we see Stop Press - New speed-sensitive Cleveland Terrace. warning signs installed. another accident. I hope I am wrong. Several "Community Roadwatch" sessions in conjunction with the police also captured On the subject of motoring on Gloucester Although John Walton's article did evidence of a number of speeding vehicles, Terrace, I would like to comment that despite balance this out; I for one felt the content some doing more than 50MPH on all the good work SEBRA does I thought the of the letters section was definitely not Gloucester Terrace. We appreciated the letters section in the last edition SEBRAof representative of my views and several of support and involvement of the police in NEWS W2 news showed a rather one-sided the viewpoints expressed seemed rather these events. view towards the cycling lanes in W2. short-sighted to me. Whilst I certainly agree that the traffic delays resulting from the road works are frustrating, we have to start considering how to make a sustainable future for transport in London if this great city is to continue to grow. The answer cannot be more and more motor vehicles on the roads. Don't forget, every cyclist is one less person driving a motor vehicle or adding more pressure to public transport. I look forward to a wider representation of readers' views in the letters section of future editions ofSEBRA NEWS W2.

New bigger STOP signs at the junction of Chilworth Street and Gloucester Terrace. Mark Watters Gloucester Terrace W2 52 www.sebra.org.uk THE ROYAL PARKS

SerpentineGalleries

very year thousands of Londoners and tourists visit the Serpentine Galleries during the summer season, both for the Serpentine Pavilion, Ethe most visited architecture exhibition in the world according to The Art Newspaper, and for the programme of exhibitions. This summer, between 8 June and 10 September, the Serpentine Galleries are pleased to present British artist Grayson Perry and the acclaimed American filmmaker, cinematographer and artist Arthur Jafa. One of the most astute commentators on contemporary society and culture, Grayson Perry, will present a major exhibition of new work at the Serpentine Gallery. The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! will tackle one of Perry’s central concerns: how contemporary art can best address a diverse cross section of society. The works will touch on many themes including popularity and art, masculinity and the current cultural landscape. Grayson Perry, The Digmoor Tapestry, 2016, Tapestry, Photography: Stephen White © Grayson Perry.

Perry’s abiding interest in his audience around them. What kind of art do people informs his choice of universally human like? What subjects? Why do people like subjects. Working in a variety of traditional going to art galleries these days? What is media such as ceramics, cast iron, the relationship of traditional art to social bronze, printmaking and tapestry, Perry media?” The Serpentine, with its global is best known for his ability to combine reputation as an open landscape for art delicately crafted objects with scenes of and ideas, free entry and accessible location contemporary life. His subject matter is in a park, is an ideal venue drawn from his own childhood and life as for Perry to pose these questions. a transvestite, as well as wider social issues ranging from class and politics to sex and A new Channel 4 documentary Grayson religion. Perry: Divided Britain, will follow Perry as Perry said: “I am in the communication he creates another work for the show: an business and I want to communicate to attempt to capture the thoughts of a divided as wide an audience as possible. Nothing country a year after the EU referendum. pleases me more than meeting someone Harnessing social media, he has invited the Grayson Perry, Death of a Working Hero, 2016, at one of my exhibitions from what British public to contribute ideas, images Tapestry, Courtesy the artist, Paragon Press and museum people call ‘a non-traditional and phrases to cover the surface of two Victoria Miro, London, Photography: Stephen background.’ The new works I am making enormous new pots: one for the Brexiteers White © Grayson Perry. all have ideas about popularity hovering and one for the Remainers. 72 www.sebra.org.uk THE ROYAL PARKS Explaining his favourite medium, Jafa has said: ‘Film is one of the few things, particularly in the theatrical context, that takes up as much space as architecture but like music is fundamentally immaterial.’ June will also see the unveiling of the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion, designed by award- winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré.

Love is the Message, The Message is Death (still), 2016; Video (colour, sound); 7 minutes 25 seconds; Courtesy: The Artist and Gavin Brown's enterprise (New York / Rome). Serpentine Pavilion 2017, Designed by Francis Across the bridge, at the Serpentine Sackler Originally trained as an architect, Jafa Kéré, Design Render, Exterior ©Kéré Architecture. Gallery, Arthur Jafa will be having his first made his cinematic debut as director of solo UK exhibition. In three decades, Jafa photography for Julie Dash’s 1991 film Opening to the public on 23 June, the has developed a dynamic, multidisciplinary Daughters of the Dust, for which he won Pavilion will host the annual Park Nights practice ranging from films and installations best cinematography at the Sundance Film series of live performance, literature, to lecture-performances and happenings Festival. He has also collaborated with music, film and dance on Fridays as well that tackle and question prevailing cultural directors ranging from Spike Lee (Crooklyn, as Radical Kitchen, a weekly takeover by assumptions about identity and race. Jafa’s 1994) to John Akomfrah (Seven Songs for community groups on eight Wednesdays work is driven by a recurrent question: Malcolm X, 1993) and artists including Kara in July and August. how might one identify and develop a Walker and Fred Moten. Grayson Perry: specifically black visual aesthetics equal The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! to the ‘power, beauty and alienation’ of 8 June - 10 September 2017 black music in US culture? Serpentine Gallery - Free Arthur Jafa: A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions 8 June - 10 September 2017 Serpentine Sackler Gallery - Free Serpentine Pavilion 2017 Designed by Love is the Message, The Message is Death Francis Kéré Courtesy: The Artist and Gavin Brown's 23 June - 8 October 2017 enterprise (New York / Rome). Serpentine Gallery Lawn - Free

Jafa has also been recognised for his work Serpentine Galleries on the Solange Knowles videos, Don’t 020 7402 6075 Touch My Hair and Cranes in the Sky. www.serpentinegalleries.org

Arthur Jafa, Omega Sci Fi, 2014. Images courtesy of the artist and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome.

His new exhibition, titled A Series of Utterly Improbable, Yet Extraordinary Renditions, will transform the gallery into a montage and assemblage of images, artefacts, source material and found footage. With reference points ranging from Fang sculpture to Mississippi juke joints, Duchamp’s urinal to jazz, Jafa is a film and video maker with a uniquely black understanding of how to cut and juxtapose a sequence to draw out maximum effect. His works from a set of source books of images he has been assembling since the 1980s and this ongoing archive has proved an enduring resource for works such as Apex (2013) and Love is the Message, The Message is Death, shown at Gavin Brown Serpentine Pavilion 2017, Designed by Francis Kéré, Design Render, Interior ©Kéré Architecture. Enterprise, New York, last year.

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 73 POLITICAL & LEGAL NEWS TACKLING AIR POLLUTION FOR THE GOOD OF ALL As the local authority for Westminster we are doing what we can to bring down pollution by improving the environment but it requires a commitment from all if we are to make a difference. Building on the work Boris Johnson had already started on cleaning up London’s toxic air, the Sadiq Khan’s green initiatives include the introduction of Low Emission Neighbourhoods (LEN’s) targeting the worst pollution hotspots, proposals to introduce the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) by 2019 for all vehicles, and an Emissions Surcharge for those entering Central London dubbed a T-Charge. Decommissioning beckons for older taxis. And here in Westminster, we have launched our ‘Greener City Action Plan’ This ranges from the Mayor of London Councillor Robert Rigby which provides a vision on how we will announcing a new tax on diesel cars Deputy Cabinet Member for City improve the environment for our residents, driving into Central London (T-Charge) Transport, Highways & Parking businesses and visitors. to Westminster’s plan to charge more Some of the Borough-wide measures we for older diesel vehicles to park up in the are undertaking to improve our air quality LEN. The dangers posed by this fuel are ir pollution is one of the most and create a cleaner environment include well known although some years ago the significant challenges facing tree planting, encouraging the use of Government of the day was assuring us London today which has some electric vehicles with recharging points, that they were better for the environment of the highest pollution levels in asking drivers not to leave their cars idling than the petrol alternative, with Gordon theA country. Despite being a global centre (in the coming weeks we will be inviting Brown, as Chancellor overhauling the car of culture, commerce and politics it lags them to sign our #DontBeIdle pledge), tax system in order to encourage a switch behind other major cities when it comes using planning policy and sustainable to diesel. to air quality. infrastructure to promote clean air, Emission problems are made worse by It is reported the equivalent of up to 9,400 creating a Low Emission Neighbourhood vehicles having to drive over road humps (LEN) in part funded by the deaths per year in London are attributed or having to negotiate grid locked roads. Mayor and local stakeholders, encouraging to air quality related illnesses so poor Some would argue that the traffic is now schools to deliver sustainable travel plans, air quality has a direct impact upon our worse in certain parts of Central London as promote cycling and walking, improving a result of the introduction of cycle lanes. health and life expectancy. Many parts of Westminster’s own vehicles fleet emissions London continue to breach the legal limits and supporting consolidation of freight. It is true to say cycling has a positive effect in terms of the health of those who engage for Nitrogen Dioxide and are currently not We are also working with the Mayor to with it and they undoubtedly help to reduce forecast to be met until after 2025. improve certain hot spots especially Oxford pollution. The need to put in place measures Street and helping to facilitate the reduction Here in Westminster the issues to tackle this which protect cyclists is to be commended; of the emissions from taxis and private problem are complex given our geographical however the introduction of segregated hire trades with the introduction of new location and unique circumstances. Unlike cycle lanes is contentious and some would black licensed cabs from 1st January 2018 any other UK city the population in argue making the air pollution worse. which will have zero-emission capability Westminster increases each day by over and the decommissioning of diesel taxis One only has to look at the build-up of a million as workers and tourists enter its more than 15 years old. Diesel vehicles are traffic caused by the segregated cycle lanes boundaries so adding additional pressures. now considered to be the most polluting on the Bayswater Road on approaching It has a higher density of development and and there has been much press coverage Lancaster Gate to jump to the conclusion a larger volume of vehicle movements which recently on actions proposed to tackle that the knock-on effect of giving priority offers unique challenges. these polluters. to cyclists at the expense of other road users and by slowing down vehicular traffic, is actually having the opposite effect, as vehicles stand idle for longer periods. There is no doubt a need to tackle air pollution and radical new ideas and incentives are required. Improving the air quality is one of the biggest challenges facing our generation and within Westminster, we are playing our part by seeking ambitious and decisive steps to tackle this serious issue. (This article originally appeared in the St John’s Having an opposite effect? Traffic slowed by cycle lanes could worsen air quality. Wood Society Magazine Spring Issue but has been adapted and updated.)

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 79 POLITICAL & LEGAL NEWS Social Affairs Jack Gordon Jack is a SEBRA Committee Member and Chairman of the Safer Neighbourhoods Police Panel for Westbourne Ward. In this edition of SEBRA NEWS W2, Jack explores the science fiction of his childhood and modern-day science fact, before turning his attention to the very serious matter of increasing levels of knife crime on London's streets. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO POLICING

hen I was growing up in the 50’s I was in the imaginative grip of futurism as vividly illustrated by the wonderful Wpossibilities of space travel and all the marvels that science fiction presented particularly to young boys. In fact, it was more a form of retrofuturism where depictions of the future are created in a much earlier era: the future seen from the past. Retro-styled technology of the future may be another way of putting it. However, looking back it may have constituted a form of ‘faux nostalgia’ – the nostalgia for a future that never happened but, at the time, it was never-the-less The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has entirely absorbing. beyond other than the pages of the Eagle. been exploring Saturn and its moons Yet, then, having read the War of the This highly stylised comic-strip magazine, since 2004. Worlds where could we turn now for the with powerfully strong graphic colour excitement that could only be found around images, was an art form in itself. And, along with so many people my interest our solar system and in inter-planetary adventurism stayed with Here we could remain in awe of the me boosted by Sputnik 1 and Yuri Gagarin, wondrous exploits of Dan Dare, Pilot of the in his Vostok spacecraft, and as I watched, Future, Digby, Sir Hubert Guest, Professor in sheer wonderment, Apollo 11 landing Peabody, the only woman in the cast of on the moon. characters, Christopher ‘Flamer’ Spry, Colonel Wilf Banger and of course the super- intelligent ruler of the Treens, Dan’s arch enemy, The Mekon. I was just spellbound. At the same time, I managed to frighten myself stiff listening, enthralled, to the BBC Radio science fiction programme, Journey into Space, which incidentally was the last radio programme to attract a bigger evening audience than television. So I wasn’t alone as I was glued to the adventures of Captain Andrew “Jet” Morgan, Doctor Daniel “Doc” Matthews, Stephen “Mitch” Mitchell and Lemuel “Lemmy” Barnet as they embarked on the attempt to reach and explore Mars in the series "The Red Planet". Yet, that radio series seemed to pale Eagle Comic, first published in 1950, into insignificance with the advent of the Yuri Gagarin - The first man in space. featured the exploits of Dan Dare. seminal and scary Quatermass Experiment 1934-1968 which came onto TV screens in 1953. 86 www.sebra.org.uk POLITICAL & LEGAL NEWS The most recent space adventure, to The Evening Standard of 12 May launched in the inner-city which offered so much capture our collective imagination, is the a major investigation into the appalling help, support and succour to young people. Cassini-Huygens unmanned spacecraft knife crime on the streets of London. What we at the Panel see as a vital buttress sent to the planet Saturn. Now, the most A senior detective fighting knife crime in to the rise in knife crime and the blight fascinating part of this particular space the capital was reported as saying that of other forms of anti-social behaviour probe is that Cassini discovered, we police are engaged in the “business of are Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panels understand, that the icy Saturn moon, murder suppression” as the Met fight the supported by a greater police resource at known as Enceladus conceals a sub-surface, growing menace of knife-related violence. salty ocean beneath its crust and, therefore, the local level. the molecular hydrogen in icy plumes may Panels are, in many ways, on the front line in be able to support life albeit in the form of protecting our neighbourhood and making living microbes. life safer for everyone who lives, works, The police are engaged in studies or visits here. The reduction in the 'business of murder police numbers does not inspire confidence suppression'. but rather leaves us with a feeling of loss and abandonment as the Met, it seems just sleepwalks away.

I believe that the reaction to the explosion of knife crime, particularly from families of victims, is more than a moral panic. It has The reduction in police been with us in urban centres for quite a numbers does not inspire considerable time and seems to be running confidence but rather leaves out of control as more stabbings prompt young people to carry knives to protect us with a feeling of loss and themselves, thus perpetuating the spiral abandonment. of killings. We have reached a point where Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, carrying a knife can be as natural as carrying as photographed by Cassini. a mobile phone. And, whilst this scourge is particularly There was a time, only a very few years ago, prevalent within the black community it is although it seems like a previous age, when It is the idea of alternative forms of life now far more widespread, posing a threat at Panel meetings there would be a regular that sparks the imagination and sustains to youngsters from wider backgrounds. contingent of police officers, support all the constant interest in scientifically managed space adventures; much more My conversations with police officers, officers, sergeants and, at regular intervals, than the exploits of "Rocketeers" that have as previous chair of Hyde Park SNP and inspectors and even chief inspectors. spent decades wrestling with the problems currently Westbourne SNP suggest to me Now, at the moment of writing, we have surrounding flying from earth into space that stop and search can be an important one police officer. element in tackling knife crime giving and back again to create a form of inter- I tend to agree with Police Federation experienced members of the force the planetary tourism. Chair Steve White when he said at the freedom to use their own initiative in what BACK DOWN TO EARTH can be a very sensitive process. organisation’s Annual Conference in May that policing is in intensive care and pointed In my own way, I have been looking for Pastoral initiatives by the police are, out that: “We are a police service envied forms of life, although my searches have also, especially critical to deal with this the world over. Without question, the been conducted much closer to home. increasingly more serious problem such Government of the day must invest to keep In fact my own neighbourhood; and you as visits to schools by community officers it that way. We’re not close to breaking can’t get a great deal closer than that. starting with children as young as five. Yet, point, we’re at breaking point.” I have been trying to examine if there were it is worth pointing out that this crucial any discernible signs of life in our Safer outward-looking strategy by the police If you were a Trekker you would understand Neighbourhood Ward Panels. Not, I must coincides with the closing of youth clubs that it’s life but not as we knew it. say, throughout the membership, which is very much alive but rather amongst the police ranks with numbers suffering due, it is fair to say, to reorganisations brought on by cuts to operating budgets. Since the cuts have taken their devastating and destructive toll tearing at the fabric of our public services there have been sightings of police support but only, it seems, temporarily. And, at a time when there has been, according to a recent account in The Guardian newspaper, steep increases in gun and knife crime in London over the past year. The Metropolitan police have said that gun and knife crime rose 42 per cent and 24 per cent respectively On the streets, but due to budgets cuts, officer numbers are dwindling in figures released just after commissioner at Neighbourhood Ward Panels. Cressida Dick took over.

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 87 HIGHWAYS & TRAFFIC

CURTAILING OF BUSES ON OXFORD STREET AFFECTS SEBRALAND n page 98 of the Spring issue Route 332, which runs to , this year we reported Transport will also be extended from Paddington to for London’s consultation on Lancaster Gate and, instead of going along changing bus routes, so as Praed Street and Maida Vale on its way Oto reduce by 40 per cent the number of northwards, will travel by way of Warwick buses in Oxford Street. We and others Avenue to Kilburn, avoiding Maida Vale had objected because of the loss of some altogether. Route 46 will remain but be through services to central London. curtailed at Paddington. Thus the number TfL had said that they planned to introduce of bus routes connecting Paddington and the changes after Crossrail opens, late in Lancaster Gate, by way of the southern 2018. Since then, the Mayor of London, section of Westbourne Terrace, and Spring Sadiq Khan, has launched a further Street, in the other direction, will increase consultation on three options for reducing from one route, as now (route 46), to two traffic in Oxford Street even more radically, which is still open for responses (see (routes 23 and 332); however, earlier, a opposite page). second bus (route 436, now removed) did use the same roads on its way to its stand It was therefore a shock when TfL at Lancaster Gate. announced, this Spring, that they have concluded that the case for doing the ‘40 Routes 7, 27, 36 and 205 at Paddington per cent’ changes to Oxford Street buses will be unchanged, as will routes 94, 148 Route 46 - To terminate at was so strong that they would implement and 274 along Bayswater Road. Of these, Paddington and not Lancaster Gate. them this summer, almost entirely as only routes 7 and 94 will go along Oxford originally proposed, but eighteen months Street as far as Oxford Circus. Route 6, be dropped – we have suggested that no earlier. They claim that the buses are which runs along Edgware Road will also ‘stand’ at Lancaster Gate is necessary, just underused. But they did not say exactly be diverted away from Oxford Street, by a single point for final set-down and first when this summer. way of Park Lane and Piccadilly, from where pick-up, which would make transfer to To recap, route 23 will no longer go into it will resume its normal route. the 94 bus easier. Such an arrangement central London but will be diverted at SEBRA and PRACT are in touch with TfL would also reduce the present congestion Paddington to a new terminus at Lancaster seeking information about where the bus Gate station where, with no extra fare (due in Westbourne Street (which is due to the ‘stands’ for routes 23 and 332 will be at to ‘bus hopper’), a link to route 94 will be new road layout there), through eliminating possible. A link to route 7 could also be their new terminal point of Lancaster Gate the need for the 23 bus to make a double station, also raising the possible need to made at earlier points – there will be no circuit on its way to and from a stand. alteration to route 7. Route 390 will no relocate the existing ‘stand’ there for route For route 46, it seems likely that, up to longer run along Bayswater Road. Instead 274. Since route 23 will now become a route 94 must be used with a "bus hopper" very short route – the proposal to extend the full reopening of Eastbourne Terrace connection to other routes in Oxford Street. it westwards to Park is likely to at the end of 2018, the last stop will be on Bishop’s Bridge and its first stop, in the other direction, will be in Bishop’s Bridge Road, at stop M outside Brewer’s Court. This is the present arrangement during the resurfacing of Bayswater Road. But we do not know yet where these stops will be after Eastbourne Terrace fully reopens in 2018, and have asked TfL for a dialogue. There will be bus stops on both sides of the road which would be more convenient for interchange. Nor do we know where its "stand" will be.

John Walton Route 23 - Soon to terminate at Lancaster Gate instead of Liverpool Street. Hon Secretary, PRACT 106 www.sebra.org.uk HIGHWAYS & TRAFFIC SAY "NO" TO THE PEDESTRIANISATION "TRANSFORMATION" OF OXFORD STREET Michael Bolt - Better Oxford Street Campaign t was realised last year by all of the major West End Amenity Societies, throughout , Marylebone, Soho, and , that Ithe Mayor's proposed pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, although completely unworkable, might actually be pushed through in order to satisfy the rash electoral promise that he had made on the subject. There was a need for an organisation that could speak for those who live and work around Oxford Street to point out the consequences of Oxford Street closure, as we could not expect this to be done by either TfL or the Mayor. And indeed that has proved to be the case. Pedestrianisation is being presented as a win-win scenario with no mention of what would happen to all the displaced traffic - and this is very misleading. It is the job of BETTER OXFORD STREET to redress the balance - otherwise the public The campaign leaflet - 10,000 have already been delivered. will get only one side of the story. They all have a large number of long not calling it that they are confusing the standing residents, and small businesses, issue they are consulting on. Further they as well as medical institutions and schools. present this as a scheme to improve the What none of them need is more traffic, “Oxford Street Area" when it is simply a It fails to confront the more pollution and more congestion than scheme to "improve" Oxford Street by reality of what will happen they already have, but that is what they will closing it to traffic to the detriment of get if the Mayor's scheme is implemented surrounding areas. to all the displaced traffic because there will be nowhere else for the It fails to confront the reality of what will that will result. traffic to go. happen to all the displaced traffic that Now we have TfL attempting to play the will result; it relies on the same computer honest broker with their consultation traffic modelling with has so far been seeking the views of all on pedestrianisation, consistently wrong on its post cycle super- although they do not even dare call it that. highway predictions on the Embankment BETTER OXFORD STREET was formed in They call it “transformation” although the and elsewhere, where congestion on the June 2016 by our West End Amenity groups vast majority of people they will ask will not areas surrounding these schemes has been in order to speak out against this Mayoral be equipped with the information to assess made even worse. the full consequences of Oxford Street folly, to spell out the drastic affect it would However, the Mayor’s agenda is to close closure. They will be equally ill-equipped have on all the areas surrounding Oxford Oxford Street and thinks he can do this even if they take the time to read the TfL Street. Its consequences would be felt not by only taking out 40% of the buses that guidance on this, which is misleading. just in a single part of the West End, but all use it at present. So 60% of the buses of it, across Marylebone, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, The consultation guidance is heavily biased have somehow still got to find alternative Soho, Bloomsbury and beyond. in favour of total pedestrianisation, but by routes, which on present projections will be 65 to 80 buses an hour that will have to find their way through already congested streets alongside all of the taxis and all of the commercial vehicles that service Oxford Street. And he claims that this can happen without affecting the surrounding areas! This cannot be put down to naivety. If he drives such a project through, regardless, after he has been acquainted with all the consequences, this will show a callous disregard of the very many of those who live and work in central London in the areas surrounding Oxford Street. Campaign links: [email protected] The consequences of closure? Oxford Street traffic will have to go somewhere. @BetterOxfordSt www.betteroxfordstreet.org

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 107 LETTERS & ABOUT SEBRA

Your Letters

We welcome your letters on any subject that you feel might be of interest to the readers of SEBRA NEWS W2. Send your contributions to: [email protected] or by post to John Zamit, Chairman (address on page 2). Please note that contributions may be subject to minor editorial changes. Please include your full contact details. The writer of the "Star Letter" in each edition will be presented with six bottles of wine.

OUTWARDS, NOT UPWARDS There can only be one reason, and that is to sell off more skyspace to billionaires Thank you for the excellent SEBRA circular and foreign investment funds, as part of about the new wave of Tall Buildings. a desperate attempt to shore up the As usual, not a single word coming national economy, which is about to be from WCC or Central Government on smashed by the insane, self-harming, this subject can be taken at face value. project of Brexit. On the other hand, I am disappointed by The irony is that it will make London, the new mayor, who has no excuse. which voted "Remain", richer; while So, what is the real justification for all ensuring that the rest of the country, these proposed clusters and streets of and especially the old rust belt, will Super Buildings in prime Westminster continue to get poorer (not what they locations? voted "Leave" for). Such is the logic of people like Cameron, Well, one thing it won't be is population Osborne, Johnson and May - our Leaders! growth. Westminster is already full, and The Paddington Opportunity Area never underprovisioned with amenities like It is all theatre - props and sound-bites. made sense, it just further overloads our schools and truly affordable housing. Enough to last until the next election, transportation system and further sterilises It is also highly polluted and congested and then the next. There is no vision our community and poisons our air. with traffic. and no courage - just foolishness, which All for vanity. But then there are those will remorselessly convert Westminster apparently, who live in London, but don't If London is going to continue growing, into a Kuwaiti style Manhattan - global, like it as it is. They want it to be made of with no management or control to spread characterless, mostly unoccupied and the economic and employment expansion dangerous at night. steel and glass, with buildings 100 metres more evenly across the country, then, tall and empty wind tunnel plazas, full of Hopefully we can stop it. It begins with the least we should expect is that the polluted air. reversing the decision in favour of the increased London population would Paddington Cube and insisting on plain, Why? Is it only a matter of taste? spread outwards along the communication transparent government at all levels here This is the question we should all be corridors and around the M25. in Westminster, and holding to account asking. Why? Instead they talk of walls of skyscrapers those who have already imposed this here in the cultural and heritage centre skyscraper super-sized world upon us Edmund Hornby of London. in London. Westbourne Terrace W2

108 www.sebra.org.uk LETTERS & ABOUT SEBRA ALL CHANGE AT PADDINGTON LIBRARY These have proved invaluable as they offer opportunities to network with SEBRA members and Council colleagues in other We would like to update readers of SEBRA NEWS W2 on some staff changes at Paddington Library. departments, as well as raising the profile of the library among the wider community. The changes form part of a much larger Council-wide library reorganisation which started on 1 April 2017. We are sure Jono Willis will be pleased to contribute a piece about the library to the next SEBRA magazine. Some of the existing Paddington Library staff will continue to be based there and some will move to other libraries. In addition there Best wishes for the future. will be a few new faces next week. In particular, my colleague Laurence Foe and Elizabeth Williams Jonathan Willis (Jono) will be the new Service Delivery Manager. Westminster City Council

A RECONNECTION TO HYDE PARK I saw that many residents commented on the new cycling lanes in the last edition of SEBRA NEWS W2. As the point of view of people in our building is slightly different, I thought it would be worth forwarding our thoughts. We believe that the new lanes have been hugely beneficial to the neighbourhood. It has made walking in and out of Hyde Park a much safer and more pleasant experience. In many ways, we feel it has reconnected Paddington with the park. Furthermore, now that they have been in place for a few weeks, the impact on traffic has disappeared. Our only disappointment is that the segregated cycling lanes do not continue further along Westbourne Terrace, as was originally Elizabeth Williams will move to St John's Wood Library and I shall planned. Without the protection from traffic offered by the cycling move to Maida Vale Library. lanes, the stretch of Westbourne Terrace North of Craven Road We want to thank SEBRA for its unstinting support of Paddington is more or less impossible to walk on, given the very high level Library, most recently for its support of the Under 5's Christmas of noise and pollution. event and the Christmas community choir sing-along with Gem Thank you for all your hard work. and the Westbourne Park Baptist Church. On a personal level we have greatly benefited from attending the Howard Metcalfe annual garden party in Cleveland Square and the AGM. Westbourne Terrace W2

Join SEBRA

EBRA welcomes new members, making our voices heard when planning A membership application form can be whether individuals or households, applications have flown in the face of found overleaf and once completed please those working in the area, or common sense, but equally we’ve strongly send it to SEBRA Chairman John Zamit. businesses and other organisations S supported developments that benefit the SEBRA members receive our magazine with a connection to the Bayswater area. area and improve the public realm. We're continually working towards the SEBRA NEWS W2 three times each year. improvement of life in our unique part If you’d like to be involved with SEBRA We also host a very popular summer garden of London and we enjoy considerable please take out a membership. Subscriptions party and AGM each autumn. influence with Westminster City Council, start from just a few pounds and you’ll be If our readers have any questions about Transport for London (Tfl) and Crossrail. helping us continue a job that we genuinely membership or any other aspects of the For more than 45 years we’ve helped feel has brought great benefits to those work that SEBRA undertakes then please to preserve the essence of Bayswater, who live in, work in, or visit Bayswater. email us: [email protected]

SEBRA NEWS W2 - SUMMER 2017 109 LETTERS & ABOUT SEBRA A DATE FOR DIARIES IN 2018 £500 FINE FOR TAXI DRIVERS? It was great fun taking part in the New Year's Day Parade with I am very concerned about the huge amount of diesel fumes my wife Sue and meeting up with members and officers that polluting our air, particularly in Praed Street and Craven Road I had previously worked with. at the junction of Eastbourne Terrace and Westbourne Terrace. The article on page 24 of Issue 89 of the Spring 2017 edition of During the day, when trains are arriving from Heathrow, there can SEBRA NEWS W2 brought back very fond memories, despite be up to 25 cabs parked on the double yellow lines in the above some rain that got us soaked. streets with their engines running. I have personally witnessed, on a number of occasions, blockages caused by these cabs taking a whole traffic lane thereby preventing ambulances being able to access or leave the hospital, often incurring delays of many valuable minutes. TfL personnel appear from time to time to move them on but they reappear again once TfL have gone away. Maybe a fine of £500 per offence would discourage this ongoing antisocial and medically unsafe behaviour.

It was a wonderful start to 2017 and my retirement from Westminster City Council where I started my career in 1974. I would like to thank SEBRA and many of your readers for the time that they spend making Bayswater a very nice place to work, live and visit. You are lucky to have John Walton and John Zamit amongst your members who between them put in many hours of work. Put 1 January 2018 in your diaries and go and watch the New I am suffering from chest infections, which I have never experienced Year's Day Parade that starts about 11 am outside The Ritz Hotel in Piccadilly and see what Councillor Robert Davis dresses up as! before, and I blame these fumes in our streets for these conditions. Martin Low Jillian Dart Transport Adviser (Rtd) - Westminster City Council Gloucester Terrace W2

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110 www.sebra.org.uk