Hondo's plans for a huge tower on Pope's Road, Brixton and the Brixton Project

[editor]

Before and after illustrations. Apparently this has a positive impact on the landscape according to the developers.

Someone just commentated on the article:

Is the height and perspective realistically rendered based on plans for the building, or is it simply designed to encourage opposition to the project?

 

[editor]

I've only just noticed the proposed gentrification of the arches along Station Road:





Some of those arches are used by businesses who don't need plate glass displays (e.g. market traders who store their goods there).

Looks like the signalling equipment will all disappear too.

 

[Rushy]

Fight the Tower - now with bolted on greenery and footless people

Some sort of modern concrete equivalent of medieval stocks perhaps? It's a bold proposal but I quite like the idea.

 

[cuppa tee]

But he wasn't elected to protect his business interests....

do you mean elected as mayor or as a councillor?

 

[editor]

do you mean elected as mayor or as a councillor?

I don't know if he was elected or not to be a mayor, but he seems very keen to not have an opinion about anything. Was he any good as a councillor?

 

[cuppa tee]

I don't know if he was elected or not to be a mayor, but he seems very keen to not have an opinion about anything. Was he any good as a councillor?

I don’t live in Oval ward, so I could not say. People I know who do live in Oval are generally not big fans, but the same goes for the other councillors in that ward too ....I think the vote for mayor is in house, ie voted in by the councillors so possibly being a flamboyant local entrepreneur is a big plus in their eyes.

 

[editor]

Smell the bullshit. It's a fucking column, not an " art piece, a special artefact."

Clad in a rich and delicate material such as terrazzo, the new circular column will become a centerpiece of the new public square on Pope’s Road.

The use of curves softens the edges and in conjunction with the different tonality make it stands out from the rest of the structure.

Its scale and dimension expresses solidity whilst the shape of the integrated seating area invites the user to sit and to take a moment of contemplation.

Its unique design will become a recognizable feature of the square with the aspiration to grow into a new gathering point for the whole neighbourhood.

Brixton’s Hondo Enormo-Tower: where a structural column becomes ‘an interactive fireplace’ and an ‘art piece’

In an attempt to make their towering monstrosity more palatable, Brixton developers Hondo have been compelled to replace the ugly ground-level supports with a dirty great big column, which they&#82…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

3,700+ signatures in opposition to the tower!

Please sign here Sign the Petition

 

[editor]

Looks like Hondo's dodgy attempt to get random passers-by to sign their pre-populated letters of support for the tower failed to make much of an impact.

The current tally on the Lambeth site is:

• Total Consulted: 1851
• Comments Received: 1031
• Objections: 1015
• Supporting: 10

20/01347/FUL | Demolition of the existing building and erection of a part four, part nine and part twenty storey building comprising flexible Class A1 (shops)/A3 (restaurants and cafes)/B1 (business)/D1 (non-residential Institutions)/D2 (assembly and leisure) uses at basement, ground and first floor levels, with restaurant (Class A3) use at eighth floor level and business accommodation (Class B1) at second to nineteenth floor levels, with plant enclosures at roof level, and associated cycle parking, servicing and enabling works RECONSULTATION DUE TO EXTERNAL DESIGN CHANGES TO THE BUILDING FACADES AS WELL AS RELOCATION OF THE COMMUNITY FLOORSPACE AT THE FIRST FLOOR LEVEL. PLEASE REFER TO THE SEPTEMBER 2020 COVER LETTER FOR FURTHER DETAILS. This application is a DEPARTURE APPLICATION: The proposed development is a departure from Policy Q26, part (ii) and site allocation ''Site 16 - Brixton Central (between the viaducts) SW9'' of the Lambeth Local Plan (2015). | 20 - 24 Pope's Road London SW9 8JB

planning.lambeth.gov.uk

 

[brixtonpete]

I've just formulated my objection on the Planning website quoting parts of Lambeth Local Plan 2015 which it contravenes, as follows:
"The proposed tall development is close to and south east of the Grade II listed Brixton Recreation Centre (the 'Rec'). The Rec will be preserved but it has high energy consumption which needs addressing if Lambeth is to meet its climate change targets. Solar panels on the flat roof of the Rec could make a very useful contribution to this aim and would be compatible with its listed status due to being invisible from ground level. This proposed development would completely block any sunshine from the roof of the Rec for a large part of the day and therefore contravenes Policy EN3 (Decentralised Energy) of the Lambeth Local Plan 2015. This development would also contravene Policy Q2 (Amenity) and in particular the following paragraphs:
"Development will be supported if:
(i) visual amenity from adjoining sites and from the public realm is not unacceptably compromised;
(iv) it would not have an unacceptable impact on levels of daylight and sunlight on the host building and adjoining property;"

 

[editor]

It really is a hugely unpopular development

Fight The Tower: over 1,000 planning objections and 5,000 signatures registered against Hondo’s proposed 20-storey tower in central Brixton

Hondo’s attempts to boost support for their unwanted Enormo-Tower in Brixton are continuing to fail as more and more objections are flooding into Lambeth’s planning website.

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

I meant to add this too:

Grade 2 listed Brixton Recreation Centre ignored in planning assessment for proposed 20-storey tower in central Brixton

Opponents of Hondo’s proposed Enormo-Tower for the centre of Brixton are highlighting the fact that the existence of the Grade 2 listed Brixton Recreation Centre has not been taken into accou…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

From Hondo's pals The Brixton Project

We have been working on the final stages of Lambeth Council’s Brixton Townscape Heritage Initiative, a scheme which aims to preserve and enhance the unique architecture and historic character of central Brixton.

 

[editor]

Excellent stuff

Campaigners bring the fight against the Hondo Tower to the streets – and they need your help

With public support for Hondo’s 20-storey monolith in Pope’s Road, Brixton, remaining near non-existent, campaigners were out today inviting people to voice their concerns about the hug…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

A bit more about the Brixton Project who have taken it upon themselves to fully ingratiate themselves with Hondo's enormo-tower plans and put themselves forward as the (unelected) representative voice of Brixton's cultural community.

In Hondo's latest PR spin, it says:

The Brixton Project will ensure that it is local groups and charities that celebrate and promote Brixton’s culture and heritage that will have access to this space for activities, training and event

Binki Taylor is an experienced coach-mentor, creative producer, community activator and partner at The Brixton Project. She is a long-term Brixton resident, with 5 years experience of owning and running a business in Brixton Village and a decade of championing Brixton as a creative and cultural destination.

She is an advocate for genuine community involvement in the local economy and the potential for fusing the skills, knowledge, culture and heritage of a community into its future development. Her work with Brixton Design Trail and now The Brixton Project creates fertile common ground for this to happen in ways that are productive and offer everyone a chance to be represented

She is quoted:

In a first for Brixton the public community facilities of Pope’s Road will be in the hands of the local people it will serve. The Brixton Project have worked to make Brixton’s landscape a stronger reflection of its people and culture. Now we have the chance to deliver a new approach to how communities participate in development which is ground-up.”

 

[editor]

One of the main guys behind the Brixton Project runs this agency. Their close involvement with XR seems to be a bit of a conflict of interest. Since when did they back US-backed mega towers being imposed on communities against their will?

This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll

This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll identity and design for causes and culture soince 2009

www.thisaintrocknroll.com

 

[editor]

Here's the tweet they declined to answer

 

[DietCokeGirl]

Its all jobs for the boys innit? TBP seems to be a rebrand of Brixton Design Trail (previously Brixton Design District) who enjoyed funding from BID.

 

[editor]

Its all jobs for the boys innit? TBP seems to be a rebrand of Brixton Design Trail (previously Brixton Design District) who enjoyed funding from BID.

It seems that whenever a big outside benefactor rolls into town (Squire/Hondo), up they pop all ready to 'represent' Brixton's creative community and do very nicely out of it for themselves.

 

[editor]

Loads more about the Brixton Project here in this illuminating article

The extent of Hondo’s community engagement seems to comprise paying someone to gather signatures of support on a pre-written letter to the council, and now, very late in the day, a new survey and “community co-creation group” organised by The Brixton Project less than a week before the deadline for objections to the planning application.

The Brixton Project has recently distributed a survey to its networks on the proposed tower development. The organisation claims that its survey will “actually respond to the needs of local people” but it is unclear what mechanisms are being used to solicit this opinion-making, and who in the Brixton community is being engaged.

According to documents prepared by Hondo as part of their planning application, the Brixton Project is one of the few open backers of the Hondo tower project.

Brixton Project ‘community’ group team up with developers to facilitate construction of unpopular 20-storey Hondo tower block

Community groups are concerned that there has been nothing like enough community consultation over the imposition of Hondo’s 20-storey tower over Electric Avenue. Now an emailed ‘survey…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

Illuminating insight into Hondo's opportunistic bezzies, the Brixton Project - Brixton Project ‘community’ group team up with developers to facilitate construction of unpopular 20-storey Hondo tower block

 

[DietCokeGirl]

Its the same people behind that ill-convinced giant Bowie zigzag statue crowdfunder. Still unsure if that was very naive or a publicity stunt.

 

[editor]

Its the same people behind that ill-convinced giant Bowie zigzag statue crowdfunder. Still unsure if that was very naive or a publicity stunt.

They wanted nearly one million fucking quid for their self-promoting statue that no one wanted.

David Bowie Brixton memorial abandoned as crowdfunding project fails to reach its wildly ambitious target

Last month, we reported on an ambitious proposal to crowdfund a hugely expensive permanent memorial to David Bowie in the centre of Brixton. With the money being pledged only reaching 5% of the int…

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[DietCokeGirl]

Again, different brand name but same individuals.

 

[editor]

Here's how much floor space the community part is going to get in the mega tower. Less than 1%.

 

[editor]

I think I might merge this thread with the main Hondo one as there's an obvious overlap given that the Brixton Project are now filly intertwined with the development.

Exhibit A (from Hondo's Community and Commercial Use Strategy document 2/7/20) :

 

[friendofdorothy]

there is so much jargon in that, that I have no idea what it means.

 

[editor]

there is so much jargon in that, that I have no idea what it means.

And that's just how they like it. It means ordinary people can't get involved or comment on their plans, so they end up getting exactly what they want while claiming that they consulted the community.

 

[editor]

Brixton Rec User Group opposes the Hondo Tower. Brixton Recreation Centre User Group voices their opposition to the Hondo Tower

 

[Gramsci]

I have put this into to the planning comments:

Customer objects to the Planning Application
Reasons for comment:
Comments:	I have already put in objections to this application first time around. This is comment on the reconconsultation. After lengthy planning committee meeting where it looked like committee might reject application the decision was deferred. This has given the applicant more time to tweak the application along with planning officers. I was particularly upset at the last planning committee meeting where this application was discussed to see planning officers promoting the application. IMO planning officers should be neutral. Presenting the pros and cons of an application and advising committee. What I saw was officers being partisan for the application. Lengthy pre application meetings mean that officers get to close to developers. This application is not in line with planning policy due too height of tower. Officers have decided that the beneifts to the local community outweigh the detrimental affect of the tower. This is not a decision officers should take. The planning documents Local Plan/ Brixton SPD were developed with consultation with local residents. I took part in these consultations for Brixton. Now the planning officers have taken upon themselves to see the planning policies as flexible. That if they think a tall tower is ok it is alright to set aside planning guidelines. This goes against a Cooperative Council. This application due to its height should never have been allowed in the first place. Given that I do not think the cosmetic changes the applicant has put in deal with the over riding issue that it is to high. Also i see the applicant says it will be Breeam Excellent. But Im not clear if applicant is going to ensure any new development on this site will be designed to be able to join a Local Energy Network in the future. As envisaged as long term aim of the Brixton Masterplan.