Wornington Green planning application:
Golborne Forum response
With a full planning application for the regeneration of Wornington Green due to be considered by the Council in the Spring, Golborne Forum has submitted its response to the application. The Forum has made the following points:
- There should be a larger proportion of social housing instead of housing for private sale in the development.
- Despite previous assurances that no buildings would be higher than eight storeys, Kensington Housing Trust (KHT) is now proposing 15 storeys. There should be an impact assessment of this proposal on the Golborne environment and streetscape before granting permission for any tower blocks.
- More one and two bed units are proposed for both the social and market housing - consideration should be given to the needs of larger households.
- Greatly increased housing density means that a larger Venture Centre is required. The Council should enter into discussions (which the Forum is willing to facilitate) with both KHT and the Venture Community Association to create a community centre which will meet the needs of Golborne people in the 21st century.
- The Forum has concerns about sightlines from Portobello Road on to the new Athlone Gardens. The new Athlone Gardens should be both bigger and better, both to accommodate greater population density and also to compensate the wider Golborne community for the disruption which will be caused over many years by the redevelopment of Wornington Green.
- The Forum is pleased to note that KHT’s application now includes a commitment to reprovision of lock-up storage as this is essential to the continued flourishing of the Golborne Road Market.
- Regarding the reconnection of the junction with the external road network at Ladbroke Grove and Portobello Road and Wornington Road at Barlby Road, the Forum requests that a study is carried out of the effects on traffic flow and the environmental impact before planning permission is granted.
Visit the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s website for more on the planning application.