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Should changing our borough be left to delegated powers?
THE moves by uber-rich celebrities to create new homes by knocking two houses into one is yet another indicator of the growing inequality in Camden.
While many couples with two or three children are squeezed into small two bedroom flats our glitterati find they cannot manage unless they are able to inhabit 27 or 33-room mansions.
When Alastair Campbell and Fiona Millar extended their Gospel Oak home with a take- over of their neighbour’s flat it seemed an act of no social significance.
But then came the transformation of Jamie Oliver’s home in Primrose Hill a few months ago – the work is still in progress – and now this week news of an approved planning application to transform the Belsize Park homes of actor Gwyneth Paltrow and singer Chris Martin.
At one point a fair question could have been put to the very rich: If you feel the insatiable need to possess giant mansions then why not move into Bishop’s Avenue or the outskirts of the capital?
Is it really necessary to acquire two large houses in Hampstead or Primrose Hill or Camden Town and knock them into one?
Do you not have a conscience about the obvious housing shortage in the borough?
In fact, questions along these lines were sent off by at least one objector in Regent’s Park Road, Primrose Hill, when Jamie Oliver’s application became known.
But questions now arise that in comparison may appear to have less social significance but which, in fact, require investigation nonetheless – investigation by our elected representatives.
There is one common denominator to the recent applications – they have all been approved by unelected officials acting under the protection of “delegated powers”.
What these “delegated powers” are remains unclear.
Naturally, the planning committee, whose actions are determined by elected councillors, cannot be expected to vet every application. The task would be too great. Common sense dictates that certain applications should be determined by officials under “delegated powers”.
But are these applications such that they can be left to unelected officials? Inevitably, central London will continue to act as a magnet to the very rich, so these applications will become more and more common.
Our councillors need to scrutinise the exact wording of the powers given to officials to make sure they are still fit for purpose in today’s world.
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