Planning for Golborne
The Golborne Forum has responded to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Places and Strategic Sites planning document and to a supplementary planning document on Wornington Green, A Great Place to Live and a Great Place to be. Forum Chair Susie Parsons highlights some of the key planning points for Golborne.
We are delighted that the Council has now recognised the importance of Golborne Road Market and the shops in Golborne Road. This is a real change from a few years ago when we had to organise a huge public meeting to defend our local market from being planned out of existence. It’s a good sign that the Council has just appointed a new Markets Development Officer, Mark Atkinson, who lives in Golborne.
The Forum is keen to develop the idea of ‘Golborne Village’ and we will keep on promoting this to the Council. We have just heard that street lighting is to be improved on the stretch of Portobello Road leading up to Golborne Road north of Oxford Gardens, thanks to the efforts of Ward Councillor Bridget Hoier who is a member of the Golborne Forum Board. This will help to attract people to Golborne cafes, restaurants and pubs in the evenings.
It’s not all good news for Golborne though. On the subject of the Kensal Gas Works site, along the canal behind Sainsburys, we are much opposed to the threat in the Places and Strategic Sites document that this large site might become a waste management centre. Our preferred option would be a new town centre with more social housing.
We welcome the idea of creating a cycleway along the Westway, running from Golborne through to White City but we are not keen on proposals to redevelop the well-used skatepark under the Westway on Acklam Road, which draws children and parents into the area from all over London. Criticism that not enough local kids use it might be better met by targeted subsidies from the Westway Development Trust rather than by taking it away.
The Forum has a number of concerns about the proposed redevelopment of the Wornington Green estate by Kensington Housing Trust. It seems unlikely that the funding will be available in the foreseeable future for wholesale redevelopment and we do not want the estate to be blighted while attempts are made to finance it. A less financially ambitious refurbishment programme could be a better option.
If redevelopment were to go ahead, it would be very disruptive to the wider community in Golborne for many years as well as to people living on the estate. Athlone Gardens is a very valuable green space in Golborne and we are keen to make sure that any replacement park is bigger, better and at least as accessible to people from the wider Golborne area.
The Forum would like to see the land adjoining Trellick Tower and Golborne used for more care and provision for elderly people, including extra care and sheltered housing. We have rejected the idea that the adjacent housing in Edenham Way should be demolished as it is relatively new and in good condition.
We are happy to support the idea of developing the square beneath Trellick Tower on Golborne Road. It could become a lively outdoor venue and improvements to the appearance of the Golborne Road railway bridge would be welcome.
We will continue to campaign for planning improvements which will make Golborne an even better place to live and work.