In the Harrow Times on May 20th, MP Gareth Thomas, representing Harrow West and together with Labour Councillors, called upon the Government to rethink proposed planning reforms.

He maintains that proposed changes to ‘cut red tape’ and streamline the planning process, would take power away from councillors and the public to make it easier for developers to get permission for damaging schemes.  

If the plans, designed to speed up the housebuilding process, are allowed to go ahead he believes it could have a negative effect resulting in not developing “the right sort of homes, in the right standard, in the right places”.  

This highlights the thousands of objections against the development at 265 The Ridgeway as the photo showed him beside allotments on the West Harrow site.

He said “This will drastically reduce the role of councils and communities, making it even harder to stop completely inappropriate developments and ministers urgently need to think again.”

He referred to a plan to erect a 12 storey ‘Aparthotel’ on Vaughan Road car park which was refused by Harrow Council and noted it may not not have been able to be turned down under the proposed new system.

We seem to be living more and more in the sort of plots in science fiction movies where people are controlled by an all powerful governing body and are unable to air opinions which do not comply with the malevolent force!

Imagine what Harrow will become if they loosen planning rules and speed up the building of more ugly square blocks than there are already?  It will be unrecognisable as the ‘leafy suburb’ it once was, where people came to escape built-up central London.