• YOUR report of a Camden Council planning meeting where a West Hampstead resident threw a chair in frustration highlights how many residents in this area feel about the planning department.

Our experience as members of the Construction Working Group for 156 West End Lane is that the council are simply unwilling or unable to enforce the conditions they agreed with the developers to protect residents, and which are set out in the demolition and construction management plans.

To take one example: since August 20 noisy work has been starting at 8am in breach of the agreed conditions that noisy work would only start at 9am. Residents of Lymington Road, which overlooks the site, raised concerns with the developer and the council that day.

It took a week for the council to contact the developer and a month for the developer to provide any response, despite ongoing work and repeated requests including to senior officers and the cabinet member for planning.

Residents engaged with the demolition and construction management plan process in good faith and expect the council to be on their side when the agreed conditions are breached.

The West Hampstead community is losing faith in Camden’s ability to stand up to developers. This issue affects many more residents in the West Hampstead area.

Next month work will start on the blocks at Liddell Road, off Maygrove Road, with 18 months of construction work planned.

Before Christmas Landsec will submit their planning application for the controversial O2 Centre redevelopment, which could be 10 to 15 years in construction.

If the council want public support for these developments, they had better start listening and responding to their residents.

JANET GRAUBERG
Member, 156 West End Lane Construction Working Group