Residents battle to block affordable towers in Notting Hill Gate saying 'we don’t want this monstrosity'

“Overbearing”: Sadiq Khan will decide on the proposal to redevelop Newcombe House
ES Local Feed

Sadiq Khan was today urged to throw out new plans for a residential, shopping and office development in west London.

Revised proposals for the Newcombe House site in Notting Hill Gate actually raise the height of two of the six buildings, but also increase the amount of affordable housing. One building will be increased from five storeys to seven, while another will go from four to five storeys to allow for the extra homes and more office space. Residents who oppose the scheme say it is a “monstrosity” that will bring months of chaos and create an “overbearing” skyline.

Peter Thompson, chairman of Hillgate Village Residents’ Association, said: “Everyone is complaining about the height and bulk. The revised application has increased the height.”

The Mayor had seized control of the planning decision from Kensington and Chelsea council in March, arguing the council was “significantly underdelivering” on its affordable housing targets .

He has launched a fresh round of consultation. Resident Ann Smith said: “I am staggered that the Mayor feels he has a right to interfere, We don’t want this monstrosity, it is an eyesore.”

Under the previous plans, rejected twice by the council, the 14-floor Fifties office block would be demolished and replaced by six buildings including a 17-storey tower. The new blueprint, submitted to City Hall this month, raises the height of two buildings but increases the number of affordable housing units from nine to 23, meeting the Mayor’s 35 per cent target. The original application by property firm Brockton Capital led to 727 letters of objection and 177 of support.

Opponents included CNN host Christiane Amanpour, who told the council that the tower will “stick out like a sore and ugly thumb: think the grotesque Montparnasse Tower in Paris which continues to stand as a sole finger in the air and a monument to disastrous planning decisions in the City of Light”.

Locals are unhappy that City Hall has set an August 10 deadline for their views, saying many will be away on holiday. Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea, said she would ask Mr Khan to extend the consultation: “The Mayor took this application out of our hands and is now seemingly hell-bent on upsetting every resident. He has chosen to ‘consult’ during the height of summer — when people are away.”

Brockton say the scheme would create a “new urban quarter” with a GP surgery and a “permanent home” for Notting Hill Farmers’ Market.

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