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Labour MP Paul Stinchcombe and former Camden councillor
Ernest James outside one of the historic buildings at
King’s Cross |
SPECIAL REPORT: AS THE TOWN
HALL PREPARES TO GIVE THE GO AHEAD TO A £2BN SCHEME THAT
WILL CHANGE KING’S CROSS FOREVER, RICHARD OSLEY INVESTIGATES
Legal challenge looms in row over 'debate
stifled' claim
CAMPAIGNERS are threatening legal action against the Town Hall
unless it postpones next week’s decision over the King’s
Cross site.
They say they have been denied a role in the debate because
of a dictact which banned councillors who will make the decision
from talking to objectors.
They also claimed that they have been forced to merge deputations
to save time during the planned discussions.
In a legal letter to council chief executive Moira Gibb, campaigner
Rupert Perry, from the King’s Cross Conservation Area Advisory
Committee conservation group, said that the Town Hall had acted
unlawfully and in a manner that stifled debate.
The complaint, which invites Ms Gibb to postpone the hearings,
demanded a response by noon tomorrow (Friday).
Former councillor Ernest James said: “This letter is a
marker. If these issues are not dealt with then there could
even be a judicial review. The meetings should be delayed if
they are not going to be run properly.” Mr James helped
shoot down plans to turn King’s Cross into an ‘office
city’ more than 10 years ago, with the former Labour MP
Paul Stinchcombe. The two were reunited on the site on Tuesday
to issue the new warning to the council.
They want developers Argent to find a way to retain existing
buildings on the land.
Mr Stinchcombe said: “You have the chance here to have
a setting where the old can mix with the new. There is no reason
to knock down some of the old buildings in King’s Cross.”
The two were members of the council’s planning committee
in the early 1990s that stopped the Rosehaugh Stanhope consortium
from filling the land with offices. They were the brokers in
a deal that ensured the transport hub at King’s Cross was
built before any new offices. The scheme later collapsed during
an economic recession.
Mr James, from the King’s Cross Conservation Advisory Area
Committee, said: “They are trying to shut down the debate.
First they say that we can’t talk to the councillors, then
they say that when you do get the chance to make your points
you have to merge your deputations.” |
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