Public Inquiry Into The 32-Storey Chiswick Curve About To Begin
The Chiswick Curve from Strand on the Green
The Public Enquiry on the 32-storey Chiswick Curve will start on Tuesday, 12 June.
It opens at 10 am at Brentford Free Church, Boston Manor Road, Brentford, TW8 8DW and expected to last four weeks. You can read more about it here.
Marie Rabouhans, chair of the West Chiswick & Gunnersbury Society has appealed for local residents to set time aside to turn up saying that our "precious heritage" is at risk if the development goes ahead.
To that end, The Chiswick Calendar has set up a rota to which people can sign up anonymously, so that it can be seen that members of the public are present to show that there is public interest in the matter.
"The public needs to let it be known how strongly they feel about the matter. If it goes ahead it could open the floodgates to all sorts of tall buildings. For example, we know Lendlease is selling Empire House so what's to say the new owners would not seek to make it even higher?"
Starbones, the developer of the Chiswick Curve is appealing against Hounslow Council's refusal of the 32-storey building and the media screens.
For weeks one and two, Hounslow Council, with a full legal team and expert witnesses, will present its case for turning the application down.
This will be followed by the Rule Six parties, including Historic England, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and the Kew Society. The local groups, including the West Chiswick & Gunnersbury Society (WCGS), Strand on the Green Residents Association, will then have an opportunity to put their case.
Starbones, the appellant, will present its case in the third week, followed by the closing submissions in week Four. There are two parts to the appeal, the first is against the planning refusal, and the second is against refusal for the advertising.
"This Public Inquiry is immensely important for the future not only of this part of the borough of Hounslow but also, more generally, of West London. The outcome will set the scene for other developments in the area. What is at stake is our precious heritage, the character and context of our neighbourhoods and the quality of our lives and those of future residents.
"Please attend as much of the Inquiry as you can; your support is especially requested on Days 1 and 2 (Tuesday 12th June and Wednesday, 13th June), when the Society and other resident groups speak on Day 7* (Thursday 21st June) and for the Closing submissions on Day 13* (Wednesday 4th July).
A view from the A4 of rejected scheme
The appeal will be decided by Inspector Paul Griffiths and a report will be compiled for the Secretary of State.
The borough’s planning committee unanimously voted to refuse permission in January 2017. A report by the planning officers concluded that the plan would cause ‘substantial harm.’ They recommended rejection due to the impact that the building would have on a number of local heritage sites particularly Kew Gardens. It also said that the large structure would be "at odds with the wider urban and historic character of the area" and criticised the design saying it was not of the highest quality.
The developer had already confirmed that they were appealing against refusal of an application to build three large digital advertising hoardings at the site.
June 8, 2018
