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King's Cross
objectors to take concerns to Mayor
Talks with Ken's team before Town Hall considers £2bn project
MAYOR of London Ken Livingstone has demanded a meeting with
objectors to the massive redevelopment of King’s Cross
who claim they have been ignored by major developer Argent.
His planners are due to meet members of King’s Cross Railway
Lands Group (KXRLG) to discuss concerns surrounding the £2
billion project.
The group maintains the blueprint for the giant site needs an
overhaul. Chairwoman Una Sapietis said the meeting with Mr Livingstone’s
team was likely to take place within the next seven days and
definitely before the plans are discussed at the Town Hall for
the first time early next month.
Mr Livingstone, who has the power to veto the scheme and tell
developers to go back to the drawing board, has raised his own
concerns about the project, including worries over how his Cross-River
Tram project will be affected. But he will now hear what residents,
businesses and conservationists in the area think in his first
meeting with objectors.
Issues to be discussed include the potential destruction of
King’s Cross industrial heritage, the row over how many
homes should be built on the site, claims that the development
breaches Camden’s planning guidelines and the possibility
of including more education provision in the area’s overhaul.
Ms Sapietis said: “We are very pleased to be working with
key local groups in this broad-based campaign and we urge all
groups who have concerns about the proposed development to join
us.
“The Mayor’s office has said they have concerns. We
have said we have concerns – it is a matter of getting
together and discussing them.”
The first applications submitted by Argent will face the Town
Hall’s planning committee on March 8.
n Campaigners fear a money-spinning casino could open in the
new- look King’s Cross unless planning chiefs take a tough
stance.
KXRLG has written to the Town Hall calling for a complete ban
on a casino. The sticking point is the D2 land classification,
which some campaigners fear could be interpreted as allowing
room for a casino in years to come.
Ms Sapietis said: “There is local concern about the possibility
of a casino on the site.”
A spokeswoman for developer Argent said: “There are no
plans for a casino on the site.” |
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