ZuidWester
Well-Known Member
What\'s the point in policy?
The loss of boatyards and other facilities along the Thames and its tributarys is a subject close to my heart. The inclusion of the Blue Ribbon policies in the London Plan was thought to be a real step toard protecting them. I have just recieved a copy of a letter to the Times, which I hope gets printed, which states how ineffective policies can be if no one is interested in considering them. Here a copy of that letter:
Sir, I would like to draw the attention of your readers to a situation that is causing considerable concern to all those with an interest in London’s waterfront.
When Mr Livingstone was first elected Mayor, he was required to draw up a unified planning policy for London. In recognition of the importance of the Thames and other waterways around which London is built, three groups were set up to advise the GLA on policies affecting the waterside areas, that hitherto had been neglected throughout the boroughs.
As a result of several years of consultation and advice, the London Plan was published in February this year, with an entire section devoted to “cross-cutting” policies, chief of which were the so-called Blue Ribbon Network Policies. This was a ground breaking achievement, largely due to the volunteered time of dozens of interested parties, who hailed the publication of these BRN policies as finally granting a measure of protection for this invaluable core of London’s founding and development.
Tragically however, every major development proposal since then has either ignored, or paid only lip service to the policies, and vigorous protests from concerned groups on this score, have been dismissed.
As a Stakeholder Representative on the Mayor’s Thames & Waterways Steering Group, I wrote to the Mayor in September this year, expressing our deep concerns over the lack of implementation of the policies, but was told that this area was very low down on the list of priorities!
Since then various questions have been put to the Mayor by GLA members over these issues. One of the most pressing has been the closing down of London’s boatyards under development pressure. Without such vital services, river and canal transport for both commerce and leisure will inevitably decline. My own boatyard in Brentford is under imminent threat of closure, due to both lack of Council protection, and concerted efforts to break the company by a development group, determined to replace it with a restaurant, supermarket and cinema, all of which the area has already within a mile radius of the town centre.
In reply to the specific question as to what was being done to prevent the boatyards disappearing like this, Mr Livingstone commented that he has just begun discussions with government bodies such as British Waterways as to how best to provide protection for them. As British Waterways are partners in the attempt to destroy my own boatyard, this is of scant comfort. In any event, the leisurely process being followed will be too late for some of us.
As to the groups set up to advise and assist the Mayor in implementing the BRN policies, (as enshrined within the London Plan itself), the Mayor has answered that he is considering whether they will be continued or not, and that it would be unhelpful and unnecessary for them to assist in considering planning proposals within their remit!
Such offhand dismissal of any attempts to uphold the London Plan policies, has to be seen as an appalling betrayal of all those who worked so hard and long to bring them to fruition.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Moore
Stakeholder Representative,
Mayor’s Thames & Waterways Steering Group
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The loss of boatyards and other facilities along the Thames and its tributarys is a subject close to my heart. The inclusion of the Blue Ribbon policies in the London Plan was thought to be a real step toard protecting them. I have just recieved a copy of a letter to the Times, which I hope gets printed, which states how ineffective policies can be if no one is interested in considering them. Here a copy of that letter:
Sir, I would like to draw the attention of your readers to a situation that is causing considerable concern to all those with an interest in London’s waterfront.
When Mr Livingstone was first elected Mayor, he was required to draw up a unified planning policy for London. In recognition of the importance of the Thames and other waterways around which London is built, three groups were set up to advise the GLA on policies affecting the waterside areas, that hitherto had been neglected throughout the boroughs.
As a result of several years of consultation and advice, the London Plan was published in February this year, with an entire section devoted to “cross-cutting” policies, chief of which were the so-called Blue Ribbon Network Policies. This was a ground breaking achievement, largely due to the volunteered time of dozens of interested parties, who hailed the publication of these BRN policies as finally granting a measure of protection for this invaluable core of London’s founding and development.
Tragically however, every major development proposal since then has either ignored, or paid only lip service to the policies, and vigorous protests from concerned groups on this score, have been dismissed.
As a Stakeholder Representative on the Mayor’s Thames & Waterways Steering Group, I wrote to the Mayor in September this year, expressing our deep concerns over the lack of implementation of the policies, but was told that this area was very low down on the list of priorities!
Since then various questions have been put to the Mayor by GLA members over these issues. One of the most pressing has been the closing down of London’s boatyards under development pressure. Without such vital services, river and canal transport for both commerce and leisure will inevitably decline. My own boatyard in Brentford is under imminent threat of closure, due to both lack of Council protection, and concerted efforts to break the company by a development group, determined to replace it with a restaurant, supermarket and cinema, all of which the area has already within a mile radius of the town centre.
In reply to the specific question as to what was being done to prevent the boatyards disappearing like this, Mr Livingstone commented that he has just begun discussions with government bodies such as British Waterways as to how best to provide protection for them. As British Waterways are partners in the attempt to destroy my own boatyard, this is of scant comfort. In any event, the leisurely process being followed will be too late for some of us.
As to the groups set up to advise and assist the Mayor in implementing the BRN policies, (as enshrined within the London Plan itself), the Mayor has answered that he is considering whether they will be continued or not, and that it would be unhelpful and unnecessary for them to assist in considering planning proposals within their remit!
Such offhand dismissal of any attempts to uphold the London Plan policies, has to be seen as an appalling betrayal of all those who worked so hard and long to bring them to fruition.
Yours sincerely,
Nigel Moore
Stakeholder Representative,
Mayor’s Thames & Waterways Steering Group
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