It’s sadly symptomatic of the malaise affecting the decision makers in our borough. Lots of talk about making it a ‘great, healthy place to live’, yet totally in the pockets of the developers so plenty of planned inappropriate and unnecessary blocks of over-priced flats set to spring up everywhere.Meanwhile services and facilities decline, even though demand for them is still there. They will have a new cinema in Chiswick by the end of the year, all mooted, planned and built in less than three years. What our councillors fail to understand is developers have profit margins in mind first and last. Maximise returns and hang the rest of us. It’s why so many new builds are so shoddy.It would have been fairly easy for the Council to ensure developers provided the infrastructure promised before allowing planning permission. But no, give them what they want and leave us to watch and wonder. Next in line is the Town Hall, from which community groups have been excluded since last May as a prelude to redevelopment. The Council gave Mastcraft, the developers, an indemnity of up to £350,000 if the hotel doesn’t go through. That’s our money, which we’re told they don’t have. And this indemnity was given BEFORE planning permission was granted. It defies all logic.
Simon Hayes ● 2174d