Hondo's plans for a huge tower on Pope's Road, Brixton and the Brixton Project
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wurlycurly
diss member
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
I'm sure that will happen.
BakeRecords
Active Member
Fuck me. Thanks for all your reporting. It was brilliant.
I second that. Thanks Gramsci for your live reporting and all the analysis of this scheme - superb.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
These senior officers spend their time talking to people like Savills. Use the same jargon
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Cllr Kinds questions about the community space ad the answers he got made me think the community space idea that the officers were promoting as a benefit was not thought out.
As Cllr Kind said the space looks tacked on.
Then officers said it might be moved somewhere else for example. That community "engagement" was still going on.
Its this kind of thing that looks good at planning committee but is actually quite vague and wooly. In danger of being watered down as scheme is progressed.
As Cllr Kind said the space looks tacked on.
Then officers said it might be moved somewhere else for example. That community "engagement" was still going on.
Its this kind of thing that looks good at planning committee but is actually quite vague and wooly. In danger of being watered down as scheme is progressed.
editor
hiraethified
That didn't stop the Brixton Project rushing to become Hondo's lapdogs.
editor
hiraethified
I'd love to see the IP addresses for this sudden, last minute outpouring of support for the scheme.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
The Ecosystem.
Idea is one starts at the bottom of the Tower ( where I notice the affordable office space is located) and if one becomes a great entrepreuner you gradually work your way up the building get bigger more expensive office space. In end you get one of the offices at the top with a balcony.
{ The balconies the officer was saying at meeting that had great views across Brixton- I think he thought he was working for Savills at that moment.}
The ecosystem idea reminds me of Ballards High Rise.
The way officers were going on about the Ecosystem made me think of a dystopian form of capitalism.
Idea is one starts at the bottom of the Tower ( where I notice the affordable office space is located) and if one becomes a great entrepreuner you gradually work your way up the building get bigger more expensive office space. In end you get one of the offices at the top with a balcony.
{ The balconies the officer was saying at meeting that had great views across Brixton- I think he thought he was working for Savills at that moment.}
The ecosystem idea reminds me of Ballards High Rise.
The way officers were going on about the Ecosystem made me think of a dystopian form of capitalism.
After looking at their website I have no idea what they do. Is like someone used a buzzword generator to spit out 10 paragraphs.
editor
hiraethified
editor
hiraethified
Important point:
bit.ly
Hondo Tower and the promise for Brixton
Tonight the Lambeth Planning Committee meet to decide on whether to grant approval to a huge office block in the centre of Brixton. It…
Rushy
basically a scrotum
editor
hiraethified
Superb, in depth reporting here
www.brixtonbuzz.com
Lambeth Planning Committee votes 5-2 in favour of deferring Hondo Enormo-Tower application for Pope’s Road in Brixton
Lambeth Council’s Planning Committee voted 5-2 in favour of deferring a decision on the Hondo Tower application for Pope’s Road on Tuesday evening.
www.brixtonbuzz.com
Agree. Excellent report. Just wondering if anyone reading these posts could estimate how much of the estimated £2.4 million annual income from business rates would be retained by Lambeth. The situation re business rate retention is changing all the time - you'd need Phd in local government finance to keep up - but my understanding is that in 2020/21 the situation for London councils is that 33% of business rate income is handed over to the Treasury, 37% goes to the GLA and just 33% is retained by the local authority which collects it. On top of that, London Councils entered into a voluntary arrangement a couple of years ago whereby they and the GLA put their 33%/37% shares into a London Pool, which is then shared out between the boroughs and the GLA. If these arrangements continue, then Lambeth's share of the business rate income from the Hondo monster will be a lot less than the £2.4 million a year claimed by planning officers.
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
A bit of a detour to West Africa - to report on progress on Ghana's $100 million mega cathedral, designed by David Adjaye. I have attached an FT article from 2018 which was quite critical at the time. A $100 million cathedral in a country where the per capita income is $2,000. The FT ironically says "Plans to build a colossal cathedral by renowned Ghanaian architect David Adjaye in Accra have resurrected a species thought to be extinct — white elephants."
The article then goes on to make out this is a political project comparable with the “Basilica in the Bush”, the largest church in the world built in the 1980s by the then life-long leader of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Another factor is the recent building of a Mega-Mosque in Accra, courtesy of the Turkish government.
All this spiritual building can only benefit large project architects.
I wondered if the project has got stuck - but apparently not. In April there was a ground-breaking ceremony, complete with a foundation stone donated by the state of Israel. The Embassy of Mali and the Ghana Passport office were imminently due for demolition to clear the site of the new cathedral. I append a Youtube report.
So beware - David Adjaye associates seem to get what they want. Or rather their clients do.
This is now the world of Boris Bikes, Emirate Airline cable cars, $100 million cathedrals - and Utterly Useless Brixton office block complexes:
The article then goes on to make out this is a political project comparable with the “Basilica in the Bush”, the largest church in the world built in the 1980s by the then life-long leader of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Another factor is the recent building of a Mega-Mosque in Accra, courtesy of the Turkish government.
All this spiritual building can only benefit large project architects.
I wondered if the project has got stuck - but apparently not. In April there was a ground-breaking ceremony, complete with a foundation stone donated by the state of Israel. The Embassy of Mali and the Ghana Passport office were imminently due for demolition to clear the site of the new cathedral. I append a Youtube report.
So beware - David Adjaye associates seem to get what they want. Or rather their clients do.
This is now the world of Boris Bikes, Emirate Airline cable cars, $100 million cathedrals - and Utterly Useless Brixton office block complexes:
editor
hiraethified
Well, that sounds like a wonderful scheme. Just what the country needs.
Can't say it's particularly attractive either.
David Adjaye unveils plans for National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra
Architect David Adjaye has revealed designs for a cathedral in Ghanaian capital Accra, which will host a 5,000-seat auditorium beneath a concave roof
www.dezeen.com
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
Great to see Tricky Skills back in action on a Lambeth story!Superb, in depth reporting here
Lambeth Planning Committee votes 5-2 in favour of deferring Hondo Enormo-Tower application for Pope’s Road in Brixton
Lambeth Council’s Planning Committee voted 5-2 in favour of deferring a decision on the Hondo Tower application for Pope’s Road on Tuesday evening.
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
There were quite a lot of whispered "WTFs" about the bombastic and over-scaled nature of this project from fellow visitors to the David Adjaye "retrospective"/vanity exhibition at the Design Museum last year.Well, that sounds like a wonderful scheme. Just what the country needs.
Can't say it's particularly attractive either.
David Adjaye unveils plans for National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra
Architect David Adjaye has revealed designs for a cathedral in Ghanaian capital Accra, which will host a 5,000-seat auditorium beneath a concave roof
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
There was a pilot of "business rates retention" which all London boroughs have been part of since 2018, by which they (and the GLA) can keep 100% of the "real terms increase" in their business rates. However, not sure what the baseline is - presumably a lot of business rates has been lost to "permitted development" conversions of office space to retail in recent years?
100% business rate retention pilots: what can be learnt and at what cost?
Thanks for that. My understanding is that the scheme that enabled London boroughs and the GLA to retain 100% of the increase in the value of the business rates they collected was a pilot and the Government decided not to continue it in 2020/21 so we're back to the pre-pilot arrangement with the Treasury taking 33% and the remaining 67% going into the London Pool. I think would be good if someone could get a response from the Council on this. One of us could do an FOI, but would be quicker if one of the councillors could do a members enquiry (have suggested this to Jessica Leigh).
editor
hiraethified
I'm curious where all this outpouring of support is supposed to have come from when the Lambeth planning site still shows just 6 people in support of the scheme
One of the councillors asked about this at the meeting last night. From memory, so can't swear on this, the answer from officers was that a majority of respondents had a Lambeth address and were local businesses. The councillor who asked the question tried to probe a bit more into this - e.g. how many were from traders who are tenants of Hondo - but didn't get very far.
editor
hiraethified
But did they privately mail in their messages of support because they're not listed on the Planning site where everyone else had to register their opinion. This seems extraordinarily fishy - a bit like the time honoured 'many PMs of support' line here.
lang rabbie
Je ne regrette les gazebos
I am suspicious as hell as to who solicited the extra 115 responses in support, but the way they were summarised in the first "Addendum" paper for the committee is the same approach as when loads of objectors sign a last minute petition or form letter against a planning application after the statutory deadline.
Edited to add: Another 23 even later responses in support were only in the second addendum paper, which officers oddly decided gave two new reasons why it was so good when in my view they duplicated early comments and therefore there was no need for those additional bullet points!
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