ncs newsletter 2007

Tuesday 26 June 2007 at 7.30 pm in

St James Norlands Church

St James‛s Gardens, W11

All res i dents of theNorland Conservation Area are

welcome to attend.(Non-Members will be asked

to join at the door).Please join us, after the meet-

ing, for food and wine.There is no charge for this!

ANNUAL GEN ER AL MEETING

andSUMMER PARTY

2007

The Newsletter of the Norland Conservation Society June 2007

AGENDA1. Apologies2. Chairman‛s Report3. Planning Report4. Treasurer‛s Re port and Adop tion of Annual Accounts5. Election of Ex ec u tive Committee6. Guest Speaker: David McDonald Head of Conservation Policy - RBKC7. Any Other Business - Discussion Forum

A riot of colour at 29 Addison Avenue

NCS NEWS LET TER

Website: www.norlandsociety.org.uk Correspondence to: the Hon Sec, 32 Royal Crescent Mews, W 11

CHAIRMAN‛S REPORTNot a month goes by when we are not made abruptly aware of the importance of a Conservation Society like ours to protect and enhance the Area. The threats are multiple and sometimes seem to come from all directions at once! For example:• an application to completely al-ter the fenestration of a house at the south end of Addison Avenue (not listed), replacing traditional glazing bars with picture windows; fortunately we had just managed to get an Article 4 Direction applied to control such developments; •the proposal to further in-crease retail space in the White City development, more or less doubling the original permission, without adding any new car-parking space; Norland will be joined to White City by a pedestrian bridge, making our area a very attractive place for “overfl ow” car parking. Can Resi-dents Parking controls help? If so how? (See page 6)•Thames Water wishing to site a

permanent “kiosk” on the pave-ment just outside the church in St James‛s Gardens, to control a new Flood Alleviation Scheme to solve storm-fl ooding problems in Norland Square and Addison Avenue (see page 6);•“permitted development” claimed to apply to roofl ine and rear garden extensions (see page 3);•excavations to create subter-ranean basements for swimming pools, cinemas, squash courts etc;•a concern that in dealing with all these new developments, policy guidelines are lacking, and in-creasingly, Council Offi cers and members of the Planning Serv-ices Committee are at a loss to fi nd valid reasons to object;•Parking problems resulting from mosque activities in St James‛s Gardens – particularly during Ramadan. An extension of Residents‛ Parking Control hours could help to alleviate this grow-ing problem here too;•Rubbish left in the street, and

thrown into St James‛s Square garden, front gardens and the school by mosque worshippers.Nonetheless, we try to be posi-tive and pro-active as well:Clarendon Cross has been ac-cepted by the Council as a pri-ority for replacement of worn-

[Continued on page 2]

Norland Conservation Society Summer 20072

Treasurer‛sReport

The accounts for 2006 show a surplus of more than £1,000.This follows a defi cit of £105 in 2005 after a payment of £1,000 to the Norland Square Railings Fund.The 2006 surplus was achieved in spite of a reduction in income from subscriptions and dona-tions.Gift Aid continues to provide a welcome supplement to the amounts contributed by mem-bers.There was again a reduction in the cost of the newsletter, and printing, stationery and admin-istration costs were lower than in 2005.The annual lecture, with 56 tickets sold, once more made a profi t.Interest income continues to benefi t from the move of our deposit to a more favourable account.In 2007 expenditure is expect-ed to be a little higher than in 2006.For the Society to have a con-tinuing surplus of income over expenditure, it is important that members‛ contributions continue at the levels achieved in earlier years. The Society considers that it has suffi cient funds to meet the costs of its normal activities.John Hodgson

their subscriptions. This boosts our income by about 30%. All do-nations are gratefully received!Once again, our heartfelt thanks go to David Campion, Chairman of the Pembridge Association and a long-standing member of the NCS Committee, for his tireless work in setting up and maintaining our membership database, co-ordinating mem-bership subscriptions, creating and updating our website and composing the artwork for our annual Newsletter.Nonie WolffMembership Secretary

Membership

The strength of the Society‛s voice in protecting, preserving and enhancing Norland depends very much on the strength of our membership which is down from last year. We shall be launching a new membership drive for 2007.A new leaflet has been cre-ated by Veronica Scott, Tara Stack and Libby Kinmonth. Please spread the word to your friends and neighbours. If any members have not yet renewed their subscriptions, please could they renew, either right away by contacting their Street Representative (listed on the back page) or at the AGM and Summer Party on Tuesday, 26th June starting at 7.30 pm.It would be a great help if our existing members could take the time to update their personal details including correct name, address, telephone number and e- mail address.E-mail addresses: We now have e-mail addresses for some 120 members. This enables us to communicate quickly about any up-coming issues and remind you of Society events. If anyone is on e-mail and has not yet let us have their e-mail address or if you have changed your e-mail ad-dress, please send it to me at: [email protected] Orders: To simplify the collection of subscriptions, and to save you having to write a cheque every year, why not join the increasing number of members paying by Standing Order?Gift Aid: We would appreciate it if all members who pay income tax would sign a Gift Aid form as this adds to the value of annual subscriptions and donations and costs individual members noth-ing.We are very thankful for our existing life and other members who have been kind enough to send us a donation in addition to

out concrete paving stones with York stones as already installed in St James‛s Gardens and in Norland Square to set off the fi ne new railings.West London Tram: this threat may be receding. All the Councils along the route, Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing and Hillingdon are opposed to it, as are all po-litical parties on these Councils. They now plan jointly to work on alternative solutions to traffi c demand on the Uxbridge Road - a demand that will grow when the White City redevelopment opens in 2009. Nevertheless Ken Livingstone is likely to take the WLT to another costly and time-wasting public enquiry.We are working with RBKC on proposals to strengthen control of windows, doors, balconies, ar-chitectural details of façades, railings and front garden en-closures in order to ensure the protection of our street scene.David McDonald will be address-ing this need in his talk at the A.G.M.Committee: subject to decision at the AGM, Libby Kinmonth (our Hon. Secretary) has agreed to become Chairman-designate to succeed me when her day job al-lows; Catherine Wilson will then take over as Hon. Secretary, and we will need to fi nd new street representatives for St James‛s Gardens and Royal Crescent.Clive WilsonChairman

The new Norland Square railings were being installed in 2006; see

page 7 for further information.


PLANNING 2006-2007

Some 70 applications have been received. We have made some 20 objections. A number of these have been sustained by the RBKC Planning Services Committee.Applications have related to the usual mix of new mansards (sometimes acceptable, some-times not), rear extensions and conservatories (sometimes aw-ful double-height glass boxes, to which we regularly object), ret-rospective applications of many kinds, front steps replacements (often necessary and usually en-tirely acceptable), replacement windows, and much else. Applica-tions for replacement windows are often excellent. We were however saved from plate glass windows at 28 Addison Avenue by our recently acquired Article 4 Direction for this southern section of the Avenue.Excavations under houses and gardens remain a major problem here, as elsewhere, de profun-dis, in the Royal Borough. We object to them, fully supported in the major objections by the Kensington Society on grounds of alteration of character, ob-struction of water percolation and drainage, and because of the aggregate environmental effect of such structures. 13 Norland Square has focused the attention of both societ-ies; and other such applications increasingly come within our purview. The Kensington Soci-ety has alerted the Council to the particular dangers of the cumulative effects of subter-ranean development; protective measures, if slow to implement, may eventually become available to the Council.Three well-designed proposals were: i) a single-storey infi ll at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue at 8 St James‛s Gar-dens; ii) a change of use from café-restaurant to B1 Office use and a new mansard second storey for residential use at 116 Princedale Road (formerly the Marquess of Zetland public house); and iii) an elegant infi ll at 40 Portland Road entirely

consistent with other infi lls in that terrace.The Prince of Wales public house in Princedale Road, at last under well-structured management, has regained the respect of the community, and we have asked whether funding can be found for a traditional pictorial sign on both sides of the building and for repainting the dingy up-per south facing façade, omitted during the recent earlier refur-bishment.

Planning consent has now been granted.Last year we reported on Tesco in Holland Park Avenue (in fact slightly outside our area) whose glaring lights and design and whose obstructive lorries might-ily concerned us. Meetings of the Kensington Society with se-nior design staff of Tesco, led vigorously by Amanda Frame, Chairman of the Planning Com-mittee of the Kensington Soci-ety, have secured a change of heart and a wholly acceptable, indeed excellent, change of de-sign. Tesco has fully admitted its error in trailing its corporate design indiscriminately across the UK, and is now rolling out such individual variations both in London and elsewhere in the country. Negotiation rather than opposition can be effective. We still pursue the matter of obstructive lorries. Applications for tables and chairs on the pavement we also monitor, and object to, if we consider the application to be excessive. The application by 119 Portland Road was rightly refused by the Council since the pavement is far too narrow. We have successfully opposed the very evident creep of Ju-lie‛s tables and chairs across the paved area at Clarendon Cross. Other applications we have sometimes successfully re-duced in the interests of pedes-trian overcrowding and personal safety. Given the Mayor of London‛s determination to snatch planning powers from local authorities, the price of freedom is indeed perpetual vigilence. However dire things are at the moment, local control of our unique and irreplaceable built environment has to win in the end.Robin PricePlanning Secretary

The Prince of Wales Pub

Tesco, Holland Park Avenue

12 Addison Avenue remains a problem. In July 2005 plan-ning consent was granted for the property, which was previously used as offi ces, to be converted to four fl ats with a mews house to be built on the rear yard including parking for one car. The project involved excava-tion under both the main build-ing and the rear yard. Probably because of a legal restriction barring residents of new dwell-ings from applying for a parking permit, the property was sold in May 2006 to be retained as offi ces but without any excava-tion. This was much welcomed. However, despite a number of unacceptable aspects of the revised plans, to which objec-tions have been submitted, de-molition and building work were under way before the application came to committee.

Executive Director of Planning & Development

With the retirement of Michael French on 2nd May the Council‛s new Executive Director of Plan-ning and Development is now David Prout.


THE ANNUAL LECTURE

A Look at London‛s Iron Railings and Balconies

This year‛s talk was given by Treve Rosoman, a member of the Curatorial Team responsible for the London houses of English Heritage; it took place at the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School on 14 March. Mr Rosoman looks after English Heritage‛s collection of some 4,000 architectural fragments ranging from fi replaces and plasterwork to pieces of wrought and cast iron. These fragments testify to the way people lived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how architectural features affect not only the buildings but also their setting in the street.First, Mr Rosoman described and illustrated the difference between wrought and cast iron and their respective attributes and applications. Wrought iron is very malleable and can be hammered and welded into marvellous shapes; an example is the gates at Gray‛s Inn Fields (1723). Although it delaminates, it can also be repaired. Cast iron, on the other hand, is brittle and is diffi cult to repair. Examples of cast iron can be seen in the railings around St Paul‛s Cathedral (1714) and the Wellington Arch gates put up in the 1820s. Often the two types of iron were

combined, with wrought iron fi nials being fi tted on cast iron standards. Many of the shapes and designs for railings, gates and balconies were taken from pattern books, in particular Smith and Founder‛s Directory 1824 by the little-known artist L N Cottingham whose aim was to promulgate good design. Some 30,000 of his books and objects have survived, many of which are now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.Since the leases of London houses tended to be for about sixty years, different elements, such as balconies, were often added sixty years later as part of house improvements. When balconies became fashionable, the windows were lowered to accommodate them as can be seen in the cast iron balconies in Red Lion Square. Verandas became very popular and, surprisingly to us today, in the early nineteenth century, were often painted white to imitate wood, with striped canopies above. In fact, colour is missing today as most ironwork is painted block, whereas originally it would have been blue, red or often green to imitate bronze. The 1830 railings around Apsley House have now been restored to their original green.Before the Second World War a movement was started to remove the gates and railings around London squares as they were considered anti-social,

a l t h o u g h they were o r i g i n a l l y i n s t a l l e d for security r e a s o n s . B e d f o r d Square, for example, had o r i g i n a l l y been gated. The War was t h e r e f o r e used as a good excuse

for removing them although the metal was in fact unsuitable for armaments and they were all dumped.Today we value our railings, gates and balconies as important architectural features, many examples of which can be seen in the Norland conservation area. The railings around Royal Crescent have now been restored and those around Norland Square are in the process of restoration. Through Treve Rosoman‛s fascinating and informative talk we shall now, hopefully, be able to distinguish cast iron from wrought iron and will appreciate even more the range and beauty of this important architectural heritage.Kathleen E Hall

Addison Avenue railings

Addison Avenue railings Queensdale Road railings


GARDENING IN W11In 1951 David and I moved into a little house in Notting Hill Gate with a tiny yard at the back enclosed by high walls. Hardly anyone at that time thought it possible to make such a small space into a garden - too shady, too sooty, fi t only for dustbins and cats. There were no garden centres in those days, no books had been written on small town gardens and the word “patio” had not yet entered the English language.I was determined to try my hand at gardening so we set to work, colour-washing the walls, laying paving with gaps between, and experimenting with all sorts of plants. It was great fun and soon looked really pretty. Although I loved my back yard I pined for something bigger.In 1974 we bought our present house in Addison Avenue. Here the garden was large by London standards, about 70 feet long and 35 feet wide, but more than half the space was taken up by a huge corrugated iron shed. This had been erected in about 1900 as a Chapel, to provide a place of worship for some sect favoured by the then owner of the house. After her death the building had gone through various phases as a music studio, drawing offi ce and so on, and by now was just a shabby eyesore.

Our intention was to demolish it and clear the ground for the longed-for garden.Just as we completed our pur-chase the housing market went into one of its periodic slumps. David‛s architectural fi rm suf-fered and we had to economise, doing most of the repairs and improvements to the house our-selves while our furniture was stored in the shed. Work in the garden was limited to a narrow border on each side planted with shrubs, and a small lawn around the best feature, an ancient pear tree. But there was still no room for my favourites, the summer-fl owering perennials.Six years went by during which the “Tin Tabernacle” was quite a talking point as everyone was curious about its history and strange appearance. David did not want to get rid of it, in spite of my nagging about how much better it would be to have a bigger garden. Eventually we agreed a compromise: one third would be taken down and the rest re-clad in proper building materials to make a little studio house.What a difference this made - more light and air and twenty extra feet of sunny open ground for me to play with. We made two raised beds in the centre and did lots of planting. The result was most successful and we have had masses of colour here from June to August ever since.I can‛t resist buying unusual plants to go with old favourites, so the mix is always changing, but we keep to a scheme of white, pink and blue, feeling that to introduce hot colours would be too strident in such a confi ned space.Quite early in our married life we discovered the National Gar-dens Scheme. This was founded in 1927 to raise money for the Queen‛s Institute of District Nursing.In the fi rst year 600 private gardens volunteered to open for

a small sum (a shilling was sug-gested) on one afternoon of the year. This proved such a success that the concept was expanded and there are now 3,500 gardens (ranging from very small to very large) which open on a day of the owner‛s choice, usually a spring or summer Sunday.Last year £15 million was raised for ten charities, among them Macmillan Cancer Relief.We joined the scheme in 1983 and have welcomed people every year since then.Visitor numbers vary, from around 60 to 150. Nothing could be more fun than meeting and greeting other garden lovers, talking about fl owers, answer-ing questions, and spreading so much enjoyment.David and 1 work hard to get the garden into tip-top condition for the big day, but the pleasure we get far outweighs the effort.

The “Tin Tabernacle”

The garden at 29 Addison Av-enue has been illustrated in several gardening magazines, and was on BBC2 Gardeners World in 2004. It is open this year on Sunday 29 July, from 2 to 6pm.Shirley Nicholson

[Shirley Nicholson is the author of “Nymans, the Story of a Sus-sex Garden”].

Back yard, Notting Hill Gate


Flood alleviation scheme in Addison Avenue

There has been a long-standing problem with storm fl ooding on the west side of Norland Square and in Addison Avenue, as the existing sewers are inad-equate to handle large volumes of water. Thames Water is therefore planning a fl ood al-leviation scheme comprising a large holding tank deep under the northern end of Addison Avenue, with a pumping station and controls at street level. The tank would be pumped out into the existing main sewer on the south side of St James‛s Gardens after the storm.We were approached about the positioning and appearance of the above-ground facilities required for the control equip-ment which, for technical rea-sons, need to be sited at the junction of Addison Avenue and St James‛s Gardens. These consist of a large controls “ki-osk” which can be constructed of materials to fi t in with its surroundings, and a vent column 4.5m high.Since the Council is on a drive to get rid of all extraneous street furniture, it would strongly resist siting these facilities on the pavement against the wall of No 56 St James‛s Gardens, as has been

CURRENT ISSUES

Planning ControlsContrary to resident‛s belief, Conservation Area status con-fers little legal protection, except against demolition and the pruning and felling of trees. And that demolition has to be substantial, i.e. 51% of the site, for permission to be refused. Listed buildings of whatever size, whether within or without a Conservation Area, are of course protected.Where buildings are not listed, it might be thought necessary to seek Article 4 Directions for all our vulnerable areas. But general vulnerability conveys no right to an Article 4 Direction: the rules require evidence of a direct threat to the architec-tural integrity of a structure or series of related structures, or area. On this basis we were able to gain Article 4 Direc-tions for Norland Place and the southern half of Addison Avenue.The Conservation Area Policy Statements (CAPs) arrived at under the old UDP process with so much diffi culty, expense, and consultation do however morally oblige the Council to consider planning applications within that framework of the CAPs, the whole UDP, and the whole London Plan. This moral duty (for what it is worth, in degenerate times) does lay a pattern for developers, owners, and planners to follow in order to maintain the quality of a Conservation Area. Since some 75% of the Royal Borough is now in Conservation Areas, this duty is taken seriously by our planners, perhaps more than residents tend to think. Nego-tiations against this considered and structured background can, and often do, achieve accept-able results, vitiated only on occasion by the weakness of current planning controls. It is often not appreciated that many applications, originally

very dire, are greatly improved by RBKC planners before they come to formal application.The recent Barker Report and a White Paper (soon to be published) on the radical revision of planning law appear unsurprisingly to be a form of Developer‛s Charter. This will be fought by the Council and, I hope, by all Societies such as ours. Local authorities need more, not less, planning pow-ers. HMG protests its wish to devolve powers. Joined-up gov-ernment suggests it will not.Robin PricePlanning Secretary

proposed by Thames Water: in this position, the clear lines of the Avenue would be blocked and there would also be loss of parking spaces. A possible and less obtrusive alternative siting might be among the trees in the Square garden at the east end of the church. Whether this would be acceptable or not is entirely a matter for the St James‛s Garden Committee. Following preliminary discus-sions, they are now waiting for a proposal from Thames Water.Clive Wilson

The Prince of WalesPublic House

Ena O‛Neill, the new manageress of the Prince of Wales pub in Princedale Road, is keen to in-stigate improvements and would be pleased to meet neighbours and pub-goers for informal talks on how the pub can be part of the community. She is available every Saturday at t he pub from 12 noon until 2pm, so this is a good opportunity to make your voice heard.

TRAFFIC MATTERS

Residents have expressed increasing concern over the volume and behaviour of traffi c using residential side streets as rat-runs. The possible impact of the White City development on both traffi c fl ows and parking is par-ticularly worrying given that a substantial amount of trade in White City is expected to come from North Kensington.Assurances have been given by RBKC that a public consultation on parking, including the possible extension of residents‛ parking control, will be held in good time in 2008. We have incorporated these points in our response to the LIPSEA consultation paper.Keith Hunter


NORLAND SQUARE RAILINGS A Celebration

On Thursday 17th May a celebratory party was held by the Norland Square Garden Committee to mark the replacement of the railings surrounding the Square which were lost during World War II. This major restoration project was the culmination of seven years‛ work by the Committee, in collaboration with the residents, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Norland Conservation So-ciety and the professionals -Susan Walker (architect) and Gary Rhodes (The Cast Iron Co).The splendid result is there for all to see and, although it took a little longer to complete than originally planned, was well worth the wait.Lloyd Grossman, Chairman of the Blue Plaque Panel and an enthusias-tic conservstionist, congratulated the contractors on the wonderful workmanship. He reminded his audience of about 250 residents and friends that it was only in the 20th century that railings were painted black; in earlier centuries they were green or cream.The new gates have been fi tted with electronic locks so that garden subscribers no longer need keys to gain access. With the replanting of the hedges inside the new railings, a better and more sympathetic balance has been achieved, and the garden can now be admired by passers-by. The Square will be open to visitors during the London Open Gardens week-end on Sunday, 10th June from 10 am to 5 pm.Particular credit for this achievement goes to David Potter, Chair-man of the Norland Square Garden Committee and Martin Short, one of the Committee members.Kathleen E Hall

THE COUNCIL‛S E-MAIL ALERT SERVICE

You can subscribe to the Coun-cil‛s weekly E-mail Alert Serv-ice to get details of planning applications, planning decisions tree applications and tree deci-sions, licensing applications and licensing decisions information within the Conservation area.Anyone with Internet access can sign up to this service, at no charge, using the url:www.rbkc.gov.uk/emailnotifi cationand they will then automatically receive a weekly E-mail giving them the latest information for the topics of interest and the areas that they have re-quested.The Council has successfully reduced the printing and distri-bution of its hardcopy weekly planning lists by encourging the majority of people to receive it as an E-mail as an alternative. There is now no charge for the weekly planning list.David Campion

Norland Square Garden

The hedge in 2005 Work in progress in 2006 The railings in 2007

David Potter, Lloyd Grossman, Susan Walker and Gary Rhodes at the May 2007 celebration Party in Norland Square

These Photographs of Norland Square and the Norland Square rail-ings were supplied by David Campion and Martin Short.


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE2006 - 2007

Chairman: Clive Wilson 52 St James‛s GardensHon Treasurer: John Hodgson 147 Portland Road Hon Secretary: Libby Kinmonth 32 Royal Crescent MewsMembership: Nonie Wolff 28 St Ann‛s VillasPlanning: Robin Price Flat 2, 5/7 Princedale RoadAnnual Lecture: Kathleen Hall 6 Taverner‛s CloseNewsletter/Web/IT David Campion 12/13 Pembridge Cres centOther Members: Rosemary Bauccio 20 St Ann‛s Villas Keith Hunter 19 Queensdale Road Anthony Perry 10 Penzance Place Gregg Sando 52 Norland Square Veronica Scott 24 Addison Avenue Tara Stack 31 Princedale Road Catherine Wilson 52 St James‛s Gardens

STREETREPRESENTATIVES

The members of the NCS Execu-tive Committee who represent the various streets within the conservation area, and are the primary contacts for member-ship and subscriptions, are:Addison Avenue & Addison Place: - Veronica Scott

Norland Square & Norland Place - Gregg Sando.Portland Road - Tony Perry.Princedale Road & Pottery Lane - Tara Stack.Queensdale Road, Queensdale Place & Queensdale Walk - Keith Hunter.Royal Crescent & Royal Crescent Mews - Libby Kinmonth.St Ann‛s Villas - Rosemary Bauccio.St James‛s Gardens, Darnley Terrace, Penzance Street & Penzance Place - Catherine Wilson.Taverner‛s Close & Outside Nor-land - Kathleen Hall.

MembershipSubscriptions

The basic subscription for Members of the Society is now £10 per person but with £5 per concession. For couples it is £20 but with £10 for concessions.Life Membership has been dis-continued as an option for new Members but we continue to honour previous Life Member-ship.To join or to renew membership of the Society please make out your cheque to the “Norland Conservation Society” and give it to your Street Representative listed above.

A large number of local societies across the country now have websites that are used to provide in for ma tion for their members and anyone else who wishes to fi nd out about their objectives. More locally we are in good company with the Kensington Society, the Ladbroke Association, the Pembridge Association and the Friends of Holland Park who all have their own websites. The advantage of a website is that it can be updated from time to time so that mem-bers do not have to wait for the next issue of a Newsletter. The Norland Conservation Society website can be viewed at:

www.norlandconservationsociety.org.ukThis has now been changed from the previous one which was at:

www.norlandsociety.org.ukThe website holds copies of the current and previous Newsletters as a source of historial information. The website now has a “blog” facility added to it. This is accessible from the main menu on the homepage but also, independently, from the following URL:

www.norlandsociety.blogspot.comThis enables authorised committee members to E-mail “blogs” to it and, as importantly, it allows members and local residents to send comments on the “blogs” to provide feedback to the Society. This can cover both events and town planning issues which arise.David Campion

THE NORLAND CONSERVATION SOCIETY WEB SITE

This Newsletter was edited by Kathleen Hall and Tony Perry and the layout was designed by David Campion using Adobe InDesign software. Printing was done by Prontaprint Notting Hill Gate.

ncs newsletter 2007

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