Sunday 4 March 2012

A Vision for Vauxhall - Open Days coming up

Oh no, I hear you say, not another bloody consultation event on the future of Vauxhall.

I think it's more important than ever to get along to it and provide feedback, partly because loads of skyscraper developments are already going to planning committee and partly because I think that Lambeth Council might actually be working hard to get to a sensible proposal for their residents (including the many thousand anticipated to dwell in the Vauxhall to Waterloo mini-Manhattan area).. Here are the details so please get along and check that a gastric band will be applied to needless motor vehicle journeys in favour of more sustainable means of transport and a better urban realm for those living in the skyscrapers adjacent to the current gyratory.
"Vauxhall and Albert Embankment are part of an area earmarked for major redevelopment. What should the Vauxhall area look like in the future?
Lambeth Council are preparing a supplementary planning document (SPD) for the Vauxhall and Albert Embankment area that will set out a vision for the future and provide a guide as to what kind of development will be acceptable. We’d like you to help us to shape this document. Come along to the event below, meet the urban designers and council officers involved and have your say.
Wednesday 14 March 2012 / 3pm to 8pm
Thursday 15 March 2012 / 3pm to 8pm
Unit 13A, St George Wharf, Vauxhall SW8 2LL"

I also hope that the outcomes are published more speedily than the master document for the area, the "Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework" or VNEB OAPF for short which I believe is still in draft format in March 2012 despite an intention to publish it during 2011 following public consultation ending March 25th 2011 and previously in November 2009. Does it really take a full year to absorb what was said in response to your draft, make appropriate changes and publish it?