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| Spend £1.4m on youth,
says Miller |
Jonathan Miller in broadside against
market plan
PLANS to renovate a street market have been criticised by opera
director Jonathan Miller as a waste of time and money. He has called
on the Town Hall to plough the £1.4m into youth clubs instead.
Dr Miller, who lives in Gloucester Crescent, Camden Town, said the
Town Hall had done “absolutely bugger all” to improve
the area around Inverness Street market.
He added young people who gathered in the street needed better facilities
to keep them out of trouble. Two years ago, he complained the Town
Hall had done nothing to deal with ‘feral children’ who
had made the street a no-go zone at night.
Discussing the Town Hall’s latest plans to re-vamp the street
– which has been plagued with drug dealers – Dr Miller
said he believed planners were being short sighted.
Talking about a giant street sign over the road which announced
it was a market, he said: “Instead of spending money on ridiculous
signs, they should be putting up some sort of facility for young
people so they don’t have to gather in the street making a
nuisance of themselves.
“There should be somewhere for them to go.”
Dr Miller, who called for a zero tolerance policy last year to rid
the street of drug dealers, added he had seen little change in the
area.
He added: “They have these idiotic ideas of turning the place
into a piazza when it just needs to be properly looked after.”
Town Hall chiefs will be meeting the public on Thursday to discuss
plans to revamp the market, following an announcement last autumn
of a £1.4m windfall from government.
Market trader John Taylor said: “It’s typical Camden.
All talk but nothing’s been done. We don’t know what’s
going to happen with the market stalls but from what I’ve seen
I don’t think they want us here.”
A Town Hall spokeswoman said the consultation was “an on-going
process”.
She said: “The cost of the consultations come out of the budget
allocated for the project.
“There are already a number of youth initiatives, including
the Haven in Castlehaven Road. Camden Youth Services are working
in the Inverness Street area.” |
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