Could the Royal Free Hospital be secret headquarters for M15?

• IS the Royal Free a hospital trust or MI5? So the Royal Free trust didn’t know about the communities’ opposition towards their decision to develop essential workers accommodation in Queen Mary’s house, Hampstead?

I know that they did from the local residents meeting group that I’m a part of, but they were obviously trying to keep the wraps on their closed-door decision by keeping the Camden New Journal out of last week’s meeting with 10 residents, 10 RF trust management staff and Tulip Siddiq MP.

This is unacceptable in our area where we live. The management may be employed by the trust but they are making decisions in our neighbourhood where we live and they are obliged to consult residents’ groups.

They do the same, time and time again; the trust kept local residents out of any planning for the Pears building and now we hear through the “grapevine” that they are going to construct a Maggie’s Centre in the car park on Fleet Road, the very area that residents suggested for the Pears build. Of course, the Maggie’s Centre is a good thing but why can’t they be transparent with the community and discuss their plans?

Belsize Park, St Stephen’s Church and the homes on Pond Street have suffered greatly from the Pears build with cracking, noise and pollution. Luckily, residents have formed a group with the trust, Camden, Willmott Dixon and things are much more transparent now. But this only came about because residents were on the case.

The hospital has a fine team of volunteers. The trust would be at a loss without them. People want to engage, so why not use this valuable source around them instead of being secretive and us finding out information via the back door.

There is also the sale of The Hoo in Lyndhurst Gardens, where unwell folk have found solace and help from its dedicated team which has been put on the market.

I have visited and seen the friendly staff and the building who are shattered at the loss of their home. Can we not find a benefactor out their who can help this centre stay open? Our priorities seem wrong; next a private school will snap up the site and we again have four-wheel drives clogging up our streets with yet more pollution.

I would like to ask our elected councillors to take a visit to The Hoo and see if there is any way they can help with the sale of yet another NHS building.

LINDA GROVE
Belsize Park