Notes from Cllr James Bond’s Saturday morning surgery
held at Scout Hut, Northumberland Road, North Harrow on 11 February 2012
Guest: Andrew Clements Harrow Council’s Local Development Officer.
Harrow council proposes to tackle the high vacancy rates in North Harrow shops by creating a Local Development Order (LDO) in certain areas to make it easier to change the authorised use of ground floor premises from current use to:
A1 shops
A2 financial and professional services
A3 restaurants and cafes
B1 (a) office use other than A2
D1 non-residential uses, specifically health centres, day nurseries, public halls, non-residential education and training centres.
It will not allow change of use to:
A4 drinking establishments
A5 hot food takeaways.
It does not cover all North Harrow shops but it does include the old Lloyds Bank building and the old Safeway site [see www.harrow.gov.uk/ldo for map].
LDOs are a new idea. To date there are about three or four in the whole country. So far, the responses to the council’s proposals for North Harrow have been broadly supportive.
Q What difference does the LDO make?
A Council policies require at least 20% of the shop frontage to be retail [as distinct from, say pubs, takeaways, offices]. The LDO allows this restriction to be eased which should make it easier to let vacant premises. Restaurants and cafes would be allowed but not hot food takeaways which tend to have longer hours. A hot food takeaway can have a maximum of eight seats after which different rules apply such as the provision of customer toilets.
Q People would like to be able to do their weekly shop in North Harrow but want shops to be fresh and clean. Eastcote and Pinner have decent shopping centres but North Harrow does not have the right mix for family shopping. We need a bank and a proper mainstream supermarket (not an Express).
A The council can encourage businesses but can’t make them come. Competing locations have other attractions to draw people in.
A planning application was expected shortly from the owners of the "Gilbert Square" (old Safeway) site at the junction of Pinner Road and Station Road, North Harrow "to split the existing, unoccupied retail unit into three smaller retail units, all accessed directly off Pinner Road." The owners had been trying to market the site but there had been problems with the servicing arrangements.
Q Isn’t it better to have something (three stores) rather than nothing as we have had for eight years?
JB Large stores like Iceland, Wickes or the Co-op will never come if the site is split.
Q Some existing shops are in a very poor state. One in particular has been the subject of repeated complaints regarding rubbish bins overflowing with raw meat waste, mouldy food on sale, spitting in the shop, cardboard boxes and rubbish littering the pavement especially on Saturday and Sunday.
A This is covered by food hygiene and environmental health regulations.
Q Why does the LDO allow changes to B1 and D1? We want retail.
A There will be a review after three years, although if a change of use has started, it can continue.
Q The car park is underused. Why not make spaces for traders there, the weekly fish wagon or artisan goods, two or three times a week?
A The current LDO proposals don’t cover this but they could deregulate other functions including [non-alcohol] licensing. Please add your comments and suggestions to the LDO consultation; they will be passed on to other departments if need be. The number of empty premises is down from 25% to 19-20% and is expected to be still lower by Easter. The shop previously occupied by Hinton and Bloxham (close to the North Harrow rail bridge) is to be occupied but it’s not yet known by whom.
* Some of the money granted to North Harrow under the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund (OLF) Round 1 is to be used for community noticeboards. We don’t need these; we want better car park signs.
Q We want more parking in front of the shops, not a bike lane which is hardly used. Most of it’s taken up by commuters.
A The bike lane was part-funded by Transport for London, who previously objected to its removal. Utilities are renewed at about 10-20 year intervals but greatly increased demand leaves us with an aging and fragile infrastructure. Pipework and cables under a road or parking space must be laid at a deeper level than under a pavement, otherwise we risk flooding or the loss of utilities. The cost of relaying for parking spaces can be prohibitive, for example, by North Harrow Post Office. In Rayners Lane, cycle lanes aren’t segregated; there is a uniform surface, marked by a different colour.
* The North Harrow shopping parades were built in the 1930s and ‘40s for pedestrians.
Q Shop customers get parking tickets in the loading bays.
A The question has been raised with Parking.
Q Why has OLF money been wasted on giving window-dressing advice to shops?
A One newsagent’s window was greatly improved by removing a clutter of notices and posters. It helps to draw in new customers.
Q Can’t we have more trees, maybe outside the Lloyds building?
* Some problems should be quick and cheap to fix, like the shop people complain about or the pile of rubble from building works at the Lloyds bank site. When the council dug up the verges, the replanting was poor and didn’t last.
* Not enough people were included in the recent consultation about new parking spaces.
Q Why can’t the council reinstate two hours’ free parking in the car park? It’s underused so the loss of revenue won’t be great.
Q Why was Churchill Court car park closed to the public?
A Unauthorised parking by commuters and shoppers left the office workers without parking spaces. There had been burglaries from the offices.
* Even though North Harrow’s bid for Round Two OLF funding failed, there may be other sources.
Q The Town Centre Manager and Local Development Officer are employed until the end of March under the Round One OLF award. What happens to the LDO process and the regeneration project then?
A The regeneration project will taken over by the North Harrow Traders’ Association.
* Many residents still remember North Harrow before its decline but disagree on what to do about it. One big plus is the Underground station. VB & Sons has a good range but it does not sell meat.
* There’s a council consultation on Harrow Council is reviewing the way heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) travel through the borough and consulting residents. It includes Rayners Lane/Imperial Drive/ Station Road.
AC reported for Rachel Jenman, North Harrow Town Centre Manager that the business directory, website, banners and community noticeboards would be ready soon.
Last Updated on Thursday, 16 February 2012 11:18
