Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Fitzrovia Local Issues

By Samantha Jackson


There is discontent among the residents of the junction between Cleveland Street and Warren Street over a tree that was brought down to keep it from damaging a nearby building. The tree was cut down by the Camden Council once they ascertained that the roots were a threat to the building.

During the month of March, a note indicating that the tree had become dangerous and had to be removed was posted on it and a few weeks later in April, the tree was cut down. The danger posed by the tree was that it was causing subsidence to the building and the Camden Council assured the residents that they would plant another tree with simpler root system to replace the one that was cut. It also emerged that had the tree not been cut and it damaged the building, it would have lead to the filing of an insurance claim by the building owners and this is why the tree was cut.

This was further confirmed by the local councilor when he said that the cutting of the tree was necessary in that it was causing damage to the building. He reiterated that another tree was going to be planted in its place. The council does not cut trees unless they become dangerous in one way or the other, or they start dying and like in this case, they cause damage to a building.

In other Fitzrovia issues, controversy is brewing over the new name that will be given to the former Middlesex hospital. The suggested name is Fitzroy Place and authorities have already that the name is not acceptable. If this continues, it is possible that more time will be given to the hospital owners to come up with another name by the time the development of the street at which the hospital is located is completed in late 2014.

An application to name the place Fitzroy Place has been made by two groups, the consortium of Exemplar, Aviva investments and Kaupthing but the Postal Authority and emergency services have said that the name cannot be accepted as they say it will easily be confused with other similarly named.

On their side, the owners argue that adopting that name will give Fitzrovia heritage and stature and please the residents. They add that it matches with Fitzrovia Square and more to that, the name is accepted linguistically and culturally by all the targeted people and this is why the area is being referenced with the area. The Westminster Council has reported that after consulting the Postal Authority and emergency services, they said that the selected name has been used elsewhere in the borough and in nearby streets and buildings.

This has forced the Council of Westminster to resort to hold consultations with the residents in an effort to get their views on the suggested name and to give names that they think will be good enough. At the end of the day, the owners have a responsibility to come with a name that will be acceptable by making sure that they meet all the laid down stipulations.

All that the council demands in the drawing up of the name is to have one that has a historical links to the area being named, one that is easily pronounced and one that has not been used elsewhere within the borough region.




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