Brent Council approves plans for new homes in Barham Park

Brent Council’s planning committee last week (June 12) voted through plans to demolish the two existing houses in Barham Park in Sudbury, Wembley, and replace them with four three-storey, three-bedroom homes.

Conservative councillor Michael Maurice was the only member to vote against the development. He said the plan “goes against policy”, warning it will cause "a lot of harm" to the park.

Barham Park was the home of successful business owners the Barham family, from around 1895 to 1937. It was the home of Titus Barham and his wife from 1913 until his death in 1937, when he had arranged to hand over the property and gardens “for the enjoyment of local people”.

A living relative of Titus Barham, Allan Barham, had urged the council to reject the plan and “uphold Titus Barham’s express wish” that the gardens should be used for this purpose “and nothing else”.

The two semi-detached houses in the park were built in the 1960s specifically for park wardens working there at the time.

Existing residential houses in Barham Park. The two semi-detached houses in the park were built in the 1960’s specifically for park wardens. Image Credit: Cllr Ketan Sheth. Permission to use with all LDRS partners

A number of speakers had made passionate pleas for the committee to reject the scheme, including resident and businesses owner Christine Harvey, who was representing a group of locals hostile to the plan. She said it was “important to retain the integrity” of the gift from the Barham family and said the houses would “overshadow everything”.

In total there were 63 objections to the application online, plus a petition opposing the plan signed by 160 people.

Ward councillors also fought the plans. They noted that the development overrides policies outlined in the Sudbury neighbourhood plan, which was designed alongside residents, namely that Barham Park is identified as a local green space and is protected under planning law.

Barham Park. The plan to build four new homes in Barham Park caused outrage amongst local residents. Image Credit: Google Maps. Permission to use with all LDRS partners

Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Lorber said: “The decision you make today has implications not just for Barham Park but the whole of Brent. If you approve this application, you may as well chuck the whole process of neighbourhood plans in the bin.”

He added: “What does it say to local residents? You say spend two years developing your plan and then you say it doesn’t count for anything. […] People value this part of the park and they want it retained.”

Labour councillor Ketan Sheth, one of the representatives for Wembley Central Ward, also lodged his objection. A statement read out to the committee in his absence said: “An important new designation, Local Green Spaces, was introduced in legislation for neighbourhood plans. This allowed communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them.”

Protest by Sudbury Residents Association. The development was given the go ahead by the council despite protests from residents. Image Credit: Martin Francis. Permission to use with all LDRS partners

He added: “The Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan identified four Local Green Spaces, one of which is Barham Park. Today, Local Green Spaces have the same protection in planning law as Green Belt land. [The plan] is very clear about the nature of that protection. It states: ‘Any proposals for the reuse or redevelopment of park buildings for residential use will not be supported’.”

During discussions about what weight should be given to the Sudbury neighbourhood plan, council officers said it was possible to “interpret policies in a different way”, when measuring it against the borough and London-wide plans. This meant the green space protection could be ignored if “no harm” was caused by breaching it.

The existing houses on site were no longer needed when a borough-wide contract to run the parks was adopted in the early 2000s. They were subsequently auctioned off, when they were bought by funfair owner, property developer and applicant of the latest plan, George Irvin.

Barham Park Development Plan. Funfair owner, George Irvin, submitted plans to build four three-storey, three-bed homes. Image Credit: Mackenzie Wheeler. Permission to use with all LDRS partners

The architect for the development, Rupert Wheeler, told the committee: “It’s been in residential use since the 1960s and we feel […] we are not losing a single square inch of public park in these proposals.” 

Planning committee chairman Cllr Matt Kelcher said: “This is a dilapidated set of buildings which could be redeveloped, nothing would be encroaching the park. There’s nothing you could do in the park today […] that you won’t be able to do if this application were to go through.”

Officers had previously recommended the application for approval and it was subsequently waved through by the committee.