Friday 2 March 2012

Green Mayoral candidate backs 'Keep Willesden Green' campaign

The Willesden Green redevelopment became an issue in the London Mayoral and GLA contest today when Jenny Jones, the Green Party candidate for London Mayor, added her voice to the  campaign to save Willesden Green Library from ‘flawed’ private development
 
Green Mayoral candidate Jenny Jones has backed Brent Green Party’s involvement in the campaign,

Under Brent Council proposals a private developer will be given a portion of the land to build 90-95 residential units at market prices despite the Council’s long waiting list for affordable housing.

Both Jones and local Green candidate for Brent and Harrow, Dr Shahrar Ali, added their voices to the ‘Keep Willesden Green campaign’, stating that the council has pushed through plans without proper public consultation, prioritising the concerns of a private developer over those of the residents they serve.

Dr Ali said: "I am full square behind the campaign of local residents to have the Willesden Green redevelopment proposal properly reconciled to the needs and wishes of those most affected by it.
“If necessary, it should be kicked into the long grass. I well understand, time and again, residents’ sense of betrayal in the hands of a Council whose library decimation smokescreen seems to know no bounds."

Jones said: “Not satisfied with closing half its libraries, Brent Council is now proposing a flawed redevelopment of Willesden Green Library.

“The plans will see the much loved and locally listed Old Willesden Library bull-dozed with the closure of the renowned Willesden Bookshop, a shop that has served Brent's diverse population, especially its children, for more than 20 years.

“Brent Green Party has been fully behind the local library campaigns and I applaud the people of Brent who are challenging the Council's cultural vandalism.

“Greens respond to the aspirations of local people to participate in developing and enriching their neighbourhoods and shopping streets, rather than letting developers dictate regeneration in the interests of private profit.”

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