With Lambeth’s planning site currently showing no less than 848 objections to Hondo’s proposed 20-storey tower in the heart of Brixton – and just 7 people in support – the company have started trying to solicit positive comments in the street.
Yesterday, we were approached by a young woman in Pope’s Road asking us to sign a pre-written letter to Lambeth (reproduced below) in favour of the controversial development.
The document spins the unpopular development into a hugely positive step for Brixton, reeling off numerous community benefits while making no mention of its domineering height, which breaks Lambeth’s own planning guidelines.
The letter also makes no references to the hundreds of objections which have come from local residents, Historic England, the Brixton Society, nearby Carney Place and Milles Square Residents’ Association, the Brixton Market Traders Federation, ward Cllr Emma Nye plus a particularly damning objection by local MP Helen Hayes.
Or indeed, the petition against Hondo’s 20-storey tower which has already garnered around 800 signatures.
Despite the Brixton Society describing the proposed tower as “intrusive and dominating the skyline,” with a bulk that would “totally dominate the approach from Brixton Road through Electric Avenue,” the form urges people to sign up for improvements to the street market, benefits for traditional traders (see: Save Nour campaign), new jobs a-plenty and new free public toilets.
Declared as a “huge boost to traders, shops and restaurants in the town centre,” the letter also promises “almost 2,000 new workers spending money each working day.”
And, of course, there will be immense fat profits for the development company behind this, who are backed by an ultra-rich New York investment company.
Planning meeting and the sudden pledges of support
In August 2020, the planning application was put to Lambeth Council’s Planning Committee, but this resulted in a 5-2 vote to defer the decision – see our full report here.
Curiously, it was claimed at the meeting that there had been “142 supportive comments” with the majority coming from “local addresses” and “thirty-one local traders in the markets.”
Strange then that Lambeth’s planning site still only shows a total of 7 people in favour of this development, nearly six weeks after the claimed sudden salvo of supportive comments.
If they exist, why aren’t these comments registered on the planning site where the public can see them?
The letter of support
Here’s the full text of the ready-to-sign letter of support addressed to Lambeth Planning that we were presented with in the street. No illustrations of the proposed development were offered.
Expansion of market / Office space
Mr Michael Cassidy
Planning Department
London Borough of Lambeth
Lambeth Town Hall
Brixton
SW2 1RS
My name is
I am a local resident based at
I’m writing in support of the 20/01347/FUL proposals for 20-24 Pope’s Road.
I support a new market space in this new development. Brixton Market is integral to the community and an expansion will help local business people continue to serve local people and allow for a range of services including traditional retailers.
Similarly, I’m very encouraging of increasing the number of good-quality jobs in Brixton town centre. Locally there are still serious problems with unemployment. The current economic crisis will cause many more people to lose their jobs.
It is critical that we do everything we can to support future economic growth and new job opportunities.
An expanded market will improve the overall shopping offer and experience for residents and visitors, increasing footfall for the whole Market.
A bustling new market space with many more small shops will provide more options and more attractive spaces to enjoy food and drink in Brixton town centre.
New free public toilets will also make the experience of shopping in Brixton more comfortable and pleasant. Brixton has become an increasingly-attractive place for people to set up businesses in the past few years, but there is a serious shortage of office space.
I’m supportive of these plans, which will encourage more businesses, particularly in the creative industries, to base themselves here. A critical mass of new office space will provide a huge boost to traders, shops and restaurants in the town centre, with almost 2,000 new workers spending money each working day.
Brixton’s markets have thrived in the past few years, this expanded Market will preserve space for traditional traders and provide opportunities for new businesses that can attract many more thousands of visitors to Brixton.
Helping Brixton become a significant office location should also take pressure off public transport, as more local people will have opportunities to work locally, and not have to commute to central London.
Creating a fantastic new market space will provide space for growth and a boost for the businesses within the existing market spaces like Brixton Village, Market Row and Electric Avenue.
The scale of this development will also enable more local residents to be supported with affordable workspace, helping them personally and boosting Brixton’s economy with more local start-ups and entrepreneurs.
At this difficult economic time it is more important than ever to build the new spaces that Brixton’s businesses will need to create jobs in the future.
Best
Join the discussion
Join in with the lively forum discussions on the Brixton forum:
- Hondo’s huge plans for Pope’s Road, Brixton (over 300 posts)
- Brixton Village, Market Row, Pope’s Road, Lost In Brixton and Hondo Enterprises’ Brixton empire (over 380 posts)
Have your say about the development
- Make an objection on Lambeth’s planning site
- Petition: Stop Hondo Enterprises building a 20-storey tower in the central Brixton heritage area (790 signatures so far)
Who’s behind the development?
The planning application says that the scheme “is a joint venture by AG Hondo Pope’s Road BV who have an agreement to purchase the site, currently occupied by Sports Direct and Flannels.”
It goes on to claim that Hondo is part of a property development company who have a “longstanding presence in the borough having purchased Market Row and Brixton Village” in, err, “March 2018.”
Housekeeping DJ and socialite Taylor McWilliams – the sole director of Hondo Enterprises who own Brixton Village and Market Row – is also a director of AG Hondo Pope’s Road BV, along with Robert Tieskens, a director of the Netherlands arm of the monster New York based investment company, Angelo Gordon.
Read more
- Brixton for sale: who are Hondo Enterprises, owners of Brixton Village, Market Row, Club 414 and more?
- Privilege, wealth and power: Brixton landlord Taylor McWilliams and his Housekeeping DJ Collective
- Brixton anti-gentrification crowdfunder raises over £10,000 in one day, as locals decry landlords Taylor McWilliams and Hondo
Hondo Shady
I was approached and very actively misled about the content of the letter. I was told that it was a letter in support of the developments community resource aspects being secured. If I wasn’t aware of the development I probably would have signed. The person in question also claimed to have nothing to do with Hondo!? Using her free time to trick people into signing support letters that are described as otherwise apparently.
This is really, really dodgy and I’m not sure if it’s even legal to solicit signatures in this way. People are clearly being misled by only being told half the story. If people saw the huge ugly tower that comes bundled in with these “community resources” I doubt if many would sign.
Not illegal to ask the passing public to sign in support of a issue you are PERSONALLY lobbying on.
BUT, if you are lobbying obo an organisation, you must identify yourself & carry ID, usually a neck lanyard.
This article infers that the young woman was working for Hondo, but does not explain how that was established.
The campaign groups against the development should stand next to this young woman offering an alternative letter with counter-arguments.
And also post up on the NextDoor app.
If it’s not Hondo directly it’ll be a PR company they’ve hired to do their bidding because they’re the only people with an interest in building this monstrosity.
From bitter experience, I think that Planning in this country has simply become corrupt, and could become even more so if the Government’s proposed further ‘relaxation’ of the process becomes law. It is a land-owner’s and developer’s gold mine. Interestingly, the big developers are significant funders of all the major political parties, just to make sure that the gravy train is never threatened with derailment. They call it ‘progress’.