Montreaux’s reps say they now hope to put in their planning application for the B&Q site in July but that date could easily slip. We’ll see.
- March 2019 – purchase of B&Q site announced, Montreaux announce intention to build 1,000+ homes.
- April 2019 – Montreaux’s boss states ““We’re grateful to the support we received from both OakNorth [bank] and ASK Partners [finance specialist] – the speed with which they worked was essential for ensuring we were able to apply for planning permission on time.”
- October 2019 – Montreaux invite various local groups to consultation meeting(s), tell NorthWestTwo, Railway Terraces and Town Team they intend to build a 20-storey tower beside other tall blocks. Public consultation may be in November 2019.
- January 2020 – Montreaux reps have separate meetings with various groups. They don’t show any views showing heights, but tell NorthWestTwo they propose a 21-storey tower with a comparatively small footprint neighbouring much wider 14/16-storey blocks. We publish a summary on our website; Montreaux’s reps read this and send a correction – they propose 25 storeys.
- February 2020 – Montreaux hold a public consultation at Ashford Place. They present one aerial view with accompanying text showing a 25-storey tower block beside much wider 14/16-storey blocks, but no views showing the tops of the buildings from ground level or vantage points.
- May 2020 – Montreaux email that they intend to submit plans by end of June, but say “in the summer” in a public update.
- June 2020 – Montreaux intend to submit plans by end of July but that might slip.
- Barnet may not publish the application and open consultation until weeks after they receive it. They have to “verify” it – checking the formalities – first.
Of course, we’re opposed to 14/16-storey blocks in the middle of Cricklewood. They’d be far higher than anything else around them – Ashford Court is 9-storey, Centre East have planning permission for a 9-storey block at the back of 1-13 Cricklewood Lane, everything else is lower. From Montreaux’s point of view, it’s those wide 14/16-storey blocks that are key to cramming 1,000+ residential units onto the site; putting more or less storeys on a thin tower won’t make so much difference.