Down the tube

Roundup, The Resident

Unknown date

Kensington and Chelsea Council has been inundated with objections to the proposed redevelopment of South Kensington tube station. 153 people have sent in written submissions, ensuring the case goes before a planning services committee.

South Kensington’s residents are fuming on many fronts. First they had to deal with the shock of Sir Terry Farrell’s design for the commercial redevelopment, which includes a towering 15-storey structure, labelled the ‘glazed gasometer’ by the Chelsea Society. The glass structure is just part of plans which would see the existing station replaced by a ‘mixed use’ complex incorporating office, retail and residential spaces. And then, to add insult to injury, many locals suspect the council has pulled a fast-one by asking for comments on the scheme during the summer months while most people are away. Letters issued to local residents at the end of July came with a 21-day deadline for responses and many people received nothing.

“It’s been ridiculous,” says cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, President of the Onslow Neighbourhood Association. “I live in Sussex Mansions – you could throw a stone from us to the station – but nobody here has seen this supposed letter.” Lloyd Webber is convinced the council are trying to push the planning application through on the quiet. While he admits the station needs attention, he thinks what is called for is a clean-up, not the whole station being ripped down. “If London Underground think the station is an eyesore, then that’s their fault. They let it get that way. I haven’t met one person in this area who thinks the changes are a good idea.” Farrell’s proposed design will “ruin the area”, he says, adding that the central tower is totally incongruent with the local architecture. “Why can’t we have a development like the one opposite the Royal Marsden Hospital on the Fulham Road? Why must we have something that will make the station look as faceless as Hammersmith Broadway? I can’t believe they are going to get away with this”

But the council insists it isn’t yet fait accompli. For anyone who missed the mid-August deadline for written objections, there’s still hope. The chairman of the planning services committee, in this case Councillor Tim Ahern, is able to consider written submissions up to 24 hours before the planning services committee meet. As yet there’s no date set for that meeting – so get scribbling.