Forum Topic

Getting High

Some of us might want to, but Acton (and Ealing, from what we hear) is coming out in force to say "We don't want to get high - no skyscrapers, no towers!"  If you don't want to get high, join us in a neighbourly demonstration at 6.30pm this Wednesday, 27th May, outside St Mary's Church, The Mount W3 (near Morrison's).  Various residents' associations are joining us too - it's not just Friary Park W3 we're concerned about - it's Acton & Ealing per se.  Many residents are very concerned about the creeping of towers into the Queen of Surburbia, Ealing (and Acton!)Bring your children, your dogs, your banners, your neighbour.  It will be fun as well.  Afterwards, at 7pm, it's the Acton Central Ward Forum, so if you can stay for that, where the Friary Green Residents' Association has asked for the Friary Park proposal to be put on the agenda, great.  See you there.I thank you.

Angela White ● 3906d19 Comments

Demo tonight, 6.30pm outside St Mary's Church, W3 near Morrison's.  No towers for Acton and Ealing.  Join us.  Should be fun too.

Angela White ● 3904d

I love the pub analogy!  Excellent.

Angela White ● 3905d

These proposed 'luxury' high rise developments aren't going to be priced affordably, they are to be priced at the top of the market, which is not a surprise since developers want to maximise profits - or in the case of Catalyst housing, want to maximise 'cash surplus' (they did well last year with a 'cash surplus' of £40m!). If anything pricing developments at the top of the market like this will add support to already over inflated house prices. Extra supply in the market will quickly be snapped up by overseas and buy-to-let investors that will only rent them out at standard market rates based on the high prices that they paid to buy - not good news for renters even if they are made available on the rental market.In most cases these developments also won't provide any additional numbers of social housing - again, not a surprise as developers want to maximise profit.The apparent shortage of housing and pressure on local government to meet unrealistic housing targets is creating the perfect storm for developers to get approval for plans that would typically have been laughed at.I think part of the solution is to continue investing in transport infrastructure. Crossrail is brining many places on the outskirts of Greater London into play as places where people can get more affordable housing while still living a commutable distance from the centre of London. Crossrail 2 would get my backing.Ealing and Acton have benefitted from good transport for a numbers of years. This has already been recognised by developers, which is why we are already fully developed.

Chris Petrie ● 3905d

& I agree about homing our children. any or all children, However the inns full, whether its Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool etc,I thought the high rise days were outdated, due as the lady said, to issues

Peter Yale ● 3906d

NG, prevention is better than the crime. I dont have a solution.In simplistic terms to me,its like being in a round in a pub.Three of you drinking each put a fiver in the pot, A 4th comes along & adds nothing, The money soon runs out.On a larger scale, however many millions needing a limited number of homes, space runs out.Nip it in the bud, at source

Peter Yale ● 3906d

Question:  would you live in London if there was equal amounts of work in other regions, with all the benefits that come with living outside London?  I'd be the first to move.

Angela White ● 3906d

No Nick, I never said that.I also never implied or said we should make it harder to work in London.  People amaze me.  We always read into things that which was never said nor intended.  INVESTMENT in other areas, I said.

Angela White ● 3906d

I did say something positive.  Invest in areas, towns and other cities away from London.  That means, for example, moving companies away, like BBC did to Manchester, and invest elsewhere.  And, even if that's not the answer, then let us all find one, because towers don't do it - they create depression, crime, prohibit social interaction (I've done lots of research on this).  You can't just build towers because we haven't been creative enough to find an answer.  It's making the problem worse.  These flats on Friary Park (by the way, the homes that have gardens there now, will lose them, poor kids) will not increase the social housing capacity but will create more flats for sale.  Does this mean they are more affordable?  No.  Predominantly, overseas buyers will snatch them up and either leave them in darkness or rent them out, top whack price, overcrowded.  Who's the winner here?

Angela White ● 3906d

Angela said:So, is your suggestion that we should make it harder to work in London, so people go elsewhere to find employment?

Nick Goodliffe ● 3906d

I hear you. You feel that building upwards is not the answer. But what do you feel *IS* the answer?Does anyone have anything positive to say here, or is it all about what we should not do, don't build homes for our children, don't create jobs for them?

Nick Goodliffe ● 3906d

So that's what you see as the problem, what's your solution?

Nick Goodliffe ● 3906d

You must visit Wornington Green, redeveloped by Catalyst Housing Group( the same people who want to build the skyscrapers in Friary Park). For a mere £600,000 you can have a 1 bed flat. If you would prefer to rent £560 per week will get you the same.Building upwards is not the answer. Affordable and Social housing is at the bottom of the ladder. For sale properties middle to top. That's is how the money is made. The sale properties are advertised overseas. When bought they are either rented at some amazing price so the investor can see some return on his/her purchase or the property is left empty. For visuals of this see Dickens Yard.

Jan Farlow ● 3906d

I'm impressed by the optimism in some of these posts. Have a stroll round Sickens yard some evening. Many of these expensive high rise apartments never have the lights on. Boris called them safety deposit boxes. They were neverintended for our children.Angela is talking about an 'iconic' 29 story tower whose apartments will be sold off plan to overseas investors. But I'm told some of them will be rented back to locals at market rents. Nice plan.

Maire Lowe ● 3906d

Take businesses outside London.  If you've ever been to parts of the UK where there sin't any work and miles upon miles of nothing but open space, it's so obvious to me.  You can't just say "let's build upwards".  That's treating the symptom, not the cause.

Angela White ● 3906d

May I suggest you look at Net Immigtration topic on this forum.We are an overpopulated island, space has run, or is running out.Lets sort out our own backyard first  there are not enough living spaces to go round.

Peter Yale ● 3906d

We should realise that we live in a major European city and that thousands of our young folk need places to live. Pwersonally, I don't mind building upwards like Singapore, New York, Hong Kong and the rest.

Gerry Tan ● 3906d

The big problem here is that we are getting very crowded as a city. Property prices are rocketing because we do not have enough places to live.It seems to me that the only real options are to build upwards or build outwards. Personally, I would be in favour of building on the green belt (as well as upwards), and recognise that London is getting bigger, but many would be against that.I understand that people are uncomfortable with change, and it is very easy to protest against things, but it's so negative. Young people leaving school have to find hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy a place, or throw silly money at rent. The solution is to have as many residences as there are people wanting to live here. If you do not want to build upwards, and hopefully would not want to build on our lovely parks and commons, what is your answer?

Nick Goodliffe ● 3906d

Good question, Gerry.  My understanding is that anything over 6 storeys, which then requires a lift, is high-rise.  What we're talking about in Acton Central as a proposal by Catalyst Housing is 20 storeys.  Traditionally this would be a skyscraper.  Anything that is of multiple storeys that dwarfs other buildings, usually over 10 storeys is a skyscraper, but it's also made of metal, whereas low-rise are made of brick.  Seems the world is redefining the meaning of skyscraper depending on which country you're in.  A 20 storey in Dubai would be lower-rise!  However, 20 storeys in Acton Central is a skyscraper.

Angela White ● 3906d

How many floors is classed as high?

Gerry Tan ● 3906d