Shout Out from Fight the Tower Campaign

Final Days to Object to Sadiq Khan about the Building of the Hondo Tower.  Deadline is 17th December!

Object in two minutes.     #FightTheTower are asking for your help.

Hondo Enterprises want to build a 20-storey monstrosity in the heart of Brixton.

They have valued it at £250 million.

In March 2021 this plan was ‘called in’ by Sadiq Khan, to be decided at a public hearing.

In November 2021 Hondo updated the plan -just a tiny bit, but these new crumbs will not help Brixton.

The mayor and the GLA now want to hear what you think about this ‘revised’ plan.

Deadline-17th December 2021.       

ADD YOUR OBJECTION HERE 

�https://planning.london.gov.uk/pr/s/planning-application/a0i4J000002gBW8QAM/20210265?tabset-c2f3b=3
Here’s why we are objecting. You can copy these points and use them yourself.

The ‘revisions’ only deal with two things: 

A) Employment 

B) Affordable workspace. 

Nothing else has changed.

A) Employment

1. According to Hondo, only 14% of jobs in the Tower would go to Lambeth residents, let alone people in Brixton. 

Hondo say they can’t provide the 25% local jobs required by Lambeth, as most workers in the tower will be from outside the borough. That is 367 jobs short of the 25% target.

What’s more, they admit there is no way to guarantee that businesses in the tower would even offer these jobs anyway.

2. Hondo are now offering a ‘Brixton job training fund’ of just £40K per year, & 13 extra apprenticeships (39 apprenticeships in total)- spread out over 25 years.

That would only cover either- training five local unemployed people each year, OR fewer than two apprenticeships.

3. Hondo’s offer of £150k upfront, is just a ‘one off’ and wouldn’t go far either.

4. Hondo are not increasing support for unemployed people locally, beyond the minimum of 10 required by Lambeth.

B)  Affordable workspace

1. Hondo say they would offer the ‘affordable’ workspace in the Tower until the year 2090, instead of for 25 years.

Office tower blocks only last 30-40 years at best. The tower will be long gone by 2090.

Plus, there is no increase in the affordable workspace offered (still just 12.5%) and no reduction in rent. 

2. ‘Affordable’ means 50% of their full market rent. This will an expensive building and this amount will be unaffordable to small Brixton businesses.

3.Within 30 years, maintenance costs, service charges and ‘affordable’ rent will increase too.

Meanwhile the amount of ‘community space’ is still less than 1%.

Sadiq Khan, please say no to the Hondo Tower

This tower is a threat to the heritage and culture that makes Brixton our home. It will put Brixton out of business.

The height, the design, and the environmental & economic damage the Tower would do to Brixton have not changed. There is no proven demand for costly office space in Brixton, and we do not need the tower converted into luxury flats either.

Three or more years of construction will devastate local businesses and severely disrupt the lives of thousands of residents. 

Brixton does not want or need this tower.
Read more about other harms The Tower will bring about here. 

Thank you.   #Fight the Tower  Find out more at: www.savenour.com