Northfields Allotments Building Plans Reaffirmed By Landlord |
Local MP Rupa Huq urges the charity to consider other options Concerned residents turned out in force last weekend ( 12th Nov) to see a public exhibition showing controversial proposals for Northfields allotments. Housing charity Pathways want to develop a section of London's oldest allotments to build affordable housing and rehouse current residents from Dean Court Since they revealed the plans and were met with huge opposition the development has been scaled down and would now see five percent of the historic site built on, down from the ten percent cited in the original proposal. This reduction has been achieved by shrinking the volume of social housing units on the site from 18 to 15 and removing all parking provision from the plans. In addition to the 15 social housing units, Pathways intends to build four townhouses on the allotment site to sell on the open market. Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, Labour councillors from Walpole ward, and Conservative councillors from neighbouring Northfield ward, where many plotholders live, are all unanimous in their opposition. The allotments have been designated a Community Open Space and a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), by Ealing Council, a designation that would normally give the site protection under the Council’s own planning guidelines.
17 November 2016
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