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Blears calls in brewery scheme backed by Boris
Mira Bar-Hillel and Katharine Barney20.02.09
HAZEL Blears has stalled a second major development in London in a week - both of which were backed by Boris Johnson.
Earlier this week the Communities Secretary called for an inquiry into the building of the 25-storey "pennywhistle" tower in Ealing. Now she has done the same to the £1 billion redevelopment of the famous Ram Brewery site in Wandsworth - putting her on a collision course with the Mayor.
Mr Johnson has said he would give the boroughs more power to make their own planning decisions and nodded through both applications.
When outlining her latest decision, Ms Blears said "she ought to decide herself because she considers the proposals may conflict with national policies on important matters".
These include building heights, landscaping, hazardous installations (the site contains gas holders) and affordable housing.
The Wandsworth application submitted by developer Minerva will now have to be considered at a public inquiry, with the final decision resting with her.
The plans, which include 11 towers, including one of 42 and another of 32 storeys, had been nodded through by Wandsworth council in December.
The letter in which Ms Blears spells out her reasons for calling in the development says her intervention was attacked by Wandsworth council leader Edward Lister. He said: "It's unbelievable that in the depths of a recession we have a Government that would put at risk £1billion of investment in a suburban town centre.
"The Ram Brewery development would have been the catalyst for the wider regeneration of Wandsworth town centre. It would have created 1,000 new homes, 400 new jobs and helped solve the traffic problems in a problematic one-way system."
The approved scheme, on the site where Youngs beers had been brewed for decades, would have restored listed buildings, including the Brewer's house and the stable block, and provided space for new community facilities including a micro-brewery.
The proposals also set aside more than 200,000 square feet for bars, restaurants and shops, designed to complement existing shopping centres.
Three new footbridges were proposed across the Wandle, as well as public squares and a new riverside walkway.
Minerva was also prepared to sign an agreement promising £41million for transport-related improvements and £1million for Wandsworth Station.
Wandsworth's planning applications chair Leslie McDonnell said: "This is an ambitious scheme that has the potential to transform the town centre."
Mr Johnson supported the tower which, he said, met his requirements for the highest-quality design, and the traffic improvements.
But Ms Blears said the application raised issues that went beyond the locality and had to be debated on the basis of national planning policies. Mr Lister said this was a waste of time and put the entire enterprise at risk.
"The council set three main tests for the development, and the answer was yes on all counts", he said. "The scheme is backed by the Wandsworth Town Centre Partnership, which described it 'pivotal' to their vision for the area.
"It was also backed by the Mayor who said the tall buildings met his requirements for the highest quality design and confirmed that were no another means of funding the transport improvements needed." Deputy mayor for policy and planning, Simon Milton, said: "The Mayor supports the Wandsworth proposal because of the major improvements it would bring. This decision by Ms Blears will delay crucial development in this period of downturn that will be damaging for London's future prosperity." However, he did not want to comment on the wider issue.
Other proposals which could also be called in include the Victoria transport interchange and the Heart of Battersea development.
Reader views (20)
So Boris Nodded through these plans- Nice to know London now has a "Nodding-Donkey" as Mayor well he seem to be an expert at making a complete ass of himself and London!
The fact is the site contains Gas Holders and therefore poses a possible danger of soil contamination. Therefore, sites like these can not just be developed without first assessing the state of the surrounding area.
It appears Tory Wandsworth and Boris dont seem to think this matters!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
Is this woman real. Looks more like a Punch and Judy show puppet.
- Albert Hall, hove england
Blears seems to think that if you keep a stupid, fixed rictus grin on your face at all times everything will turn out fine. Her facial muscles must hurt like crazy by the time she gets home every night.
- Paul, London
'New' Labour has talked a lot about giving more power to local councils and ramping up localised democracy since it was elected in 1997 - the decision to establish a Mayoral Office that would have strategic governance responsibility for the the UK's largest and most cosomopolitan and economically important city was a good move. However Hazel Blears' decision to call in 2 planning applications smacks, not only of hypocrisy re Labour's supposed committment to local democracy, of political vanity and jealousy and, of course, economic ineptitude at a time when the UK economy is in dire need of an investment stimulus. American Mayors in comparable cities such as New York and Chicago would undoubtedly be scrathing their heads in complete bewildermnet as to such heavy-handed central state intervention/interference and asking: What's the point of having a Mayor for one of the world's top global cities if s/he can't make any real decisions? Like the Tories before them, Labour seems to think that just becasue it's been in power for so long that it knows what's best for Londoners (and the rest of us).
- Paul Maginn, Perth, Western Australia
Why does anybody listen to her silly pronouncements?"
We all do. She is a Govt. minister, after all
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Jacqui Williams#
You comment about Hazel Blears not writing her website correctly is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. What an earth has integration, or as you put it, 'intergration' and the fact that your family is 'tracable' back 500 years got to do with calling in building development in London. Get with the programme why don't you. This is her job, and Boris Johnson did say before he was elected Mayor that he would oppose the building of any more towers.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
Is this the same Blears who came bottom of the poll for deputy leader of the Labour party? Labour MPs have seen through her posturing. Why does anybody listen to her silly pronouncements?
- Tom Williams, Oxford UK
are we sure she's fom planet earth?
- Paul Lask, London UK
"I was never a fan of Ken's egomaniac towers, but now Boris is Mayor I am warming to them."
I agree Tom. We all wish London was being run by Ken. He isn't ever arrogant, doesn't run red lights or cycle on the pavements, and can always be trusted to tell the truth
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Now who's the "Do Nothing Party"?
- R King, UK
I would say Blears is doing this on purpose. I bet if Livingstone had been mayor this would have gone through without a hitch. Blears wants to keep her mouth shut about a lot of things she knows nothing about people. I do not live in London but from what I have seen of Blears in both Manchester and London she is silly. her information about herself on her website is not even written correctly and she is supposed to be a solicitor. she was the one who said we should intergrate more with the muslims well this is my country my family is tracable back 500 years or so so I think that I can speak of England as my country and I would not take lessons from Blears about anything she is typical nu labour speak.
- Jacqui Williams, peterborough cambs
"I was never a fan of Ken's egomaniac towers, but now Boris is Mayor I am warming to them."
Well, there's nothing like consistency, and that's nothing like consistency. If Boris actually thinks tall towers are a good thing, why did he campaign on a platform opposing them? Smacks of not really knowing what he wants, I think, which opens the way for others to impose their own views. What he's actually doing is letting the Tory boroughs sort things out themselves, which is why everyone mentioned opposing Blears above is a Tory borough man.
Boris would be well advised to come clean and say 'I'm going to let the Tory boroughs do what they want, chaps, don't come running to me if you don't like it, because I won't listen to you'.
- Tom, London, UK
The "do nothing" party ?
- Tony Gee, London
Good for Blears. I hate this whole idea that if you offer a bribe of community benefit you can build these horrible towers. There are already too many of them and Boris should stick to his election pledge of opposing them. And just because it is a recssion does not mean we should leave a trail of these scars behind for decades to come.
- Stephen, London
I'm glad Blears called in the Ealing proposal. As it stands it is a missed opportunity to design something sensible that will improve things for the future rather than cramming in thousands more people without improving the infrastructure and services.
- Allan, Ealing
"Well if Labour are going to destroy the economy "
Why on earth would they want to do that, Harry?
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Well if Labour are going to destroy the economy they may as well be seen to be doing it properly with no excuses.
- Harry H, London UK
Any chance of her 'calling in' the third runway?
- Mike B, London
I was never a fan of Ken's egomaniac towers, but now Boris is Mayor I am warming to them. If he supports this one then it must be a good design like the Gherkin. Blears, like the rest of NuLabour are simply trying to look busy during their last days of power.
- Peter, London
Well done Hazel. We have had enough of this Boris building-development madness. His ideas are wrong-headed and ill considered. Keep the guy in check, I say
- Keith Price, Luton, England
