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Opposition to new Heath road is mounting
• YOU have already printed objections to the City of London Authority’s proposal to reroute the pedestrian path which now runs from Gordon House Road up to the tea rooms and Heath office and put in its place a “vehicle-only” 3.5metre wide road, intended for lorries servicing building works (Bitter opposition to new road on Heath, September 11).
Although strong opposition to such a road continues to gather, little has been said about whether many of these works and the expenditure they involve are either of benefit or appropriate at a time when reductions in public spending are sorely needed.
I will cite only a few of these proposed building works:
Perhaps it is useful to City of London personnel to build offices for themselves, but it does not seem to serve the needs of the public to demolish the much-loved existing tea rooms and resituate them beside these offices and the information centre.
Whereas “enhanced play facilities” for older children must be a good idea, plans to build a winding route in place of the path beside the railway (much used as a traffic-free shortcut to Pond Street and Belsize Park) and relocate the One O’Clock Club beside the playground serve no comprehensible purpose.
No one would argue with refurbishing the Lido – especially the changing rooms – but to run a service road in immediate proximity to this outdoor leisure facility outweighs any benefits to swimmers.
Walkers would obviously welcome a dedicated cycle route, but young cyclists obliged to share the new road with large vehicles over quite some distance would be unable to reach the route safely.
Details of many of these building schemes have not been adequately explained to those who live in and use this area.
MAVIS HAUT
Lissenden Gardens, NW5 |
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