Press Release: Roe Green Village Residents’ Association –v- Powerleague & Kingsbury High School
UPDATE AT 27TH NOVEMBER 2018 – WE MADE AN APPLICATION FOR COSTS
We applied for and were awarded costs by the Secretary of State because the applicants behaved unreasonably in withdrawing their appeal without good reason. Under this order, RGVRA is now seeking to recover the considerable costs it incurred in defending itself against this ill-conceived planning appeal.
From the point of view of Roe Green Village Residents’ Association (RGVRA), Powerleague appear to have recognised the strength of the community but have omitted to admit the real reasons for their withdrawal from this application. The School and Board of Governors may well have seen the temptation of new gym facilities but ignored the advice from RGVRA and will never admit that this application was technically not viable.
RGVRA has always offered KHS alternatives to funding new sport facilities and have supported them as neighbours. However, it has been left to the RGVRA to point out to the School Governors, the error of their choice to go with Powerleague and ultimately the destruction of the area, should this application have gone through.
Brent Council refused the planning application due to serious flaws. RGVRA also found a number of flaws one of which being reference to Schools Sport Partnership in their press release. This‘Partnership’ does not exist and the ‘local’ schools were as far away as Cricklewood and in the Boroughof Harrow. Local schools written to were not given the full facts; these were just glossed over in a line that Powerleague’s scheme would benefit them, when in fact they already had their own grounds or had arrangements in place with other schools much closer.
Powerleague failed to acknowledge that this always was the wrong facility in the wrong place.
The Board of Governors may now realise that the community have saved the School from further ruin, all for the sake of a new gym. Alternatively, if the Board of Governors had taken time to read and take on board the technical facts submitted by the residents of Roe Green Village and their advisers, the School would not have had to waste over 2 and a half years trying to justify an indefensible planning application.