2012-07-27

LB Kensington & Chelsea: "Issues and Options Paper for the Kensal Gasworks site - Summary of Workshop"



"A discussion workshop took place on Wednesday 11 July, at Canalside House.

"The discussion was structured into two parts, with a general discussion at the end. The first asked attendees were asked [sic] to list what they considered to be the main issues with the current site, they [sic] were then asked to discuss how well the options continued [sic] within the Issues and Options paper tackled these issues."

2012-07-25

Powerday Old Oak: "Who We Are"

Link to Powerday web site

"Powerday is a family-owned recycling and waste management company, founded in 1980.

"We provide the alternative to landfill, delivering 100% recovery from waste to organisations across London and beyond. Providing this environmentally responsible approach, we have grown significantly, doubling in size in the past three years. We have a strong belief in our responsibility to the environment and our local community. We have invested to maximise recycling and then to produce a fuel for energy recovery from residual waste. We ensure traceability with virtually all materials remaining in the UK.

"Where possible, we use environmentally-responsible transport links. Our Old Oak Sidings site sits on a 26-mile lock-free section of the Grand Union Canal between Camden and Slough. The company’s wharf can take three 90ft barges at any one time, carrying up to 80 tonnes of waste each. The site is also situated at a key railway junction and has its own sidings. A train leaves these sidings daily carrying recovered soil to Buckinghamshire for use in restoration schemes. One train holds the equivalent of 70 lorry loads of material, making this an extremely environmentally-responsible option.

"We harvest rainwater for use in dust suppression and road cleaning around the site, as well as in the fire-safety system. We have built a viewing gantry and training room, to provide safe and effective viewpoints for clients and other visitors interested in learning more about the recycling and recovery process."

2012-07-24

Crossrail: "Railways at Paddington - a photographic timeline"


Link to web site

"Crossrail has been working in association with the National Railway Museum in York to improve the appearance of our Paddington station worksite.

The initiative, part of Crossrail’s wider programme of community investment, is designed to take visitors to Paddington on a journey through the history of railways at Paddington, helping promote local culture and heritage.

Images provided by the National Railway Museum in York are on display around the Crossrail site at Paddington, and showcase the rich history of the railways at one of London’s best loved stations.

The selection of photographs and lithographs date from the coming of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway in 1846, to present day developments being delivered by Crossrail, Network Rail and London Underground.

Copies of the images can be requested from the Science & Society Picture Library.

2012-07-20

totalpolitics: "Why Heathrow expansion and Boris Island don't work"


"Adding capacity at Heathrow or building a new estuary airport would be a step in the wrong direction for the UK - and this should be the basis of government debate, argues Green Party AM Jenny Jones"

Link to 'totalpolitics' web site

"In 2010, the government promised no third runway at Heathrow. It was a clear and authoritative statement.

"But since then the government’s united front has faltered and their confused direction on aviation has made the airline industry restless.

"Powerful chief executives have taken this opportunity to plunge into the debate, and throw their weight behind arguments about where expansion is needed to increase capacity in the south east.

"We now have a debate dominated by an ‘either, or’ scenario – either a third runway or ‘Boris Island.’ As an advocate of the Estuary Airport, architect Lord Foster has now suggested that the £33bn construction costs will be paid for by a combination of landing charges and the closure and redevelopment of Heathrow."

2012-07-16

The new Central Airport for London

Link to details on 'Darkest London' site

"Designed by architect Charles W. Glover, the new Central Airport for London has been presented as a model at the Institution of Civil Engineers. It will be built over the railway sidings just north of St Pancras.

"It is envisonaged that planes will approach down a new ‘Aerial Way’ above the Pentonville Road, landing on one of the half-mile concrete runways (which look like spokes on a cartwheel.)"

or maybe that is silly. so go to Kings Cross in your helicopter, for your carrots...

Link to British Pathe video

BBC: "Television Centre to be sold to Stanhope Plc"

Link to web site

"The BBC has exchanged contracts for the sale of Television Centre in West London to property developers Stanhope Plc, for a total price in the order of £200m. 

"... The BBC put Television Centre on sale in June 2011, and has operated on the site since 1960." [Actually, 1953, below. It depends on what 'operated' means.]

2012-07-12

Kensal Green Cemetery

Link to Kensal Green Cemetery Online

“Located in the heart of London, and traversing the borders of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham is one of London’s oldest and most distinguished public burial grounds.

"Inspired by the cemetery of Pere-Lachaises in Paris and founded in 1833 by the Barrister George Frederick Carden, Kensal Green Cemetery comprises of 72 acres of beautiful grounds, including two conservation areas, and adjoins the Grand Union canal.

"...  The Cemetery is owned and managed by the General Cemetery Company as a burial place and crematorium. Cemeteries and crematoria are essential local services, the aim being a sympathetic environment for the dignified burial of the dead. This is unusual for a major historic cemetery still to be in private hands, let alone the founding company As well as an historic place of interest, Kensal Green Cemetery also is a large area of green open land within the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with a wildlife habitat.



Link to web site
'The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery'

"We offer a two-hour introductory tour -- covering the history, architecture and many famous incumbents of the cemetery every Sunday from the beginning of March to the end of October, and the first and third Sunday of the month only in November, December, January and February. Tours begin at 14:00 from the Anglican Chapel in the centre of the grounds, and finish around two hours later with tea and biscuits at the Dissenters’ Chapel, adjacent to Ladbroke Grove. 

"On the first and third Sunday of each month, this tour also descends to the catacomb beneath the Anglican Chapel. Tours are offered in all weathers, so please wear appropriate outdoor clothing and walking shoes — and also please note that the catacomb, although safe and clean, is not suitable for children under the age of 12.

"There is no need to book on the regular Sunday tours, unless you are planning to bring a group of more than ten. Private tours can be arranged on any day of the week, and the Friends also offer a variety of specialist tours that can be tailored as outings for societies, clubs and schools. A suggested donation of £7 per person (concessions £5) will help to support the Friends' work in helping to maintain, study and attract visitors to Kensal Green."

2012-07-08

LART- London Area Rapid Transit System


Link to web site


"Utilising the available space alongside the motorways for a light rapid transit, permits LARTs to connect with existing railways as well as London's two main airports. The grade-separated system constructed alongside the motorways will carry small trains, with high frequency-of-service, at moderate speeds, and inter-link directly with airport terminals railway stations, and car-parks.

Airport terminals can be connected directly to conventional train network via LARTs with walking distances under 110 metres. This permits efficient airport-to-airport connections as well as flight-to-flight and flight-to-rail connections that don't presently exist. The terminal-to-terminal strategy already accommodates airside-to-airside connections for baggage, and this can be extended to passengers. Only light rapid transit technology makes the integration of the airports possible with benefits such as flexibility, cost, frequency and connectivity listed as main attributes.

Stand-alone technology that integrates road, rail, and air is the unique proposition made by LARTs as its basis for financial viability. The business model benefits from the ‘stand alone’ technology which contributes independently to the existing infrastructure. This permits a decisive board of directors, with a transparent corporate structure that can deliver dividends to both stakeholders and investors, and a minimum demand on the public purse.

18 million passengers per year are predicted to utilise LARTs. This comprises passengers from railways, displaced car journeys, and airline passengers. The passenger kilometres travelled each year reflect the revenue potential, and this will be around 450 to 700 million passenger kilometres per year."

Sunday Telegraph: "Air traffic chief's fear over 'Boris Island'"

Link to web site

"In a fresh blow to Britain’s aviation policy, Richard Deakin, the chief executive of the National Air Traffic Service, raised serious concerns that a new Estuary hub would be unworkable, warning it could not co-exist with either Heathrow, London City, Northolt or Southend airports.

"Mr Deakin, Britain’s top-ranking aviation official, also reveals that the Mayor of London has so far failed to consult him over a 'Boris Island', which could cost £70bn."

2012-07-07

BBC Television Centre


As BBC News moves to the extended Broadcasting House, these are views of the history of Television Centre. (Click on any, for the complete sequence.)







White City, 1950, in the film 'The Blue Lamp' (car chase at 4min30sec, and railway chase at 8 minutes in)
 




2012-07-05

LB of Kensington and Chelsea: Consultation on Kensal Gas Works site

In addition to the council's 'Issues and Options Consulation' mentioned below, it has given this extra information about a possible Kensal Crossrail station:
"The design envisaged is for one island with two platform faces, with two lines north of the platforms, and two lines to the south of them. This would allow trains not calling at the Portobello station to bypass it on the outer tracks. Trains calling at Portobello would use either platform.

The station would not be served by the fast lines.

The Council has not been told that it must provide additional Crossrail trains if a station were to be built. Crossrail is revising its operating timetable to take account of developments such as the electrification of the GWML, but on the basis of the currently available timetable, our station proposal includes only those trains that would either be taken to the depot after terminating at Paddington, or laying over at Westbourne Park for relatively long periods. It has been suggested by officials that some of these trains would not in fact exist following a 'rolling stock optimisation' exercise, but to our knowledge this exercise has not been conducted, and would appear to have been superseded by the work to devise a new timetable.

"Cabinet decided that the station should be referred to as 'Portobello Crossrail' at a Council meeting a couple of months ago, so this has replaced 'Kensal Crossrail' in Crossrail material the Council puts out. However, we do still refer to the 'Kensal site' and the 'Kensal Gas Works' when speaking about location."


Kensal Gasworks Strategic Site - Issues and Options Consultation


An Issues and Options consultation containing our early thoughts on the possible development opportunities for the Kensal Gasworks Strategic Site has been issued for public consultation. 

This paper looks at three options for the sort place that might be created in Kensal in the future. These are only indicative of the kind of development that might come forward but looks at the possible number of new homes and jobs and the facilities that could be provided on the site.

The Consultation period is between Tuesday 12 June 2012 and Tuesday 24 July 2012. The paper is available for comment below, together with the Regeneris reports into the possible regeneration and economic benefits that would be realised through a Crossrail station in North Kensington.
A discussion workshop for the Issues and Options paper for the Kensal Gasworks Strategic Site will take place on Wednesday 11 July at 6pm at Canalside House, 383 Ladbroke Grove, W10 5AA.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend so that we can make the appropriate provisions. This can be done by telephoning the Planning Policy hotline on 0207 361 3879, or by sending an email to: planningpolicy@rbkc.gov.uk

For more on the Council’s case for Crossrail and information about how you can lend your support, please visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/crossrail.

A Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) was prepared for the Core Strategy in October 2009. The Kensal Strategic Site was appraised in this report which is available here:

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