Community centre doesn’t want cleaning services depot on its doorstep
By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter
A youth community centre is calling on Westminster City council to review plans to move street cleaning services to a space adjacent to the site – citing concerns about the noise and environmental impacts of the relocation.
The Marylebone-based hub, Feathers, in Rossmore Road, is instead hoping it can take on the vacant spot for ‘educational use’.
The council said the proposed site had more space and was easier to access than the current depot beneath the council’s Lisson Grove offices, and that it will not be used to collect waste, but to recharge its EV vehicles and store manual barrows.
It added the proposed new depot would have ‘minimal impact’ on Feathers, and that “we will continue to support them in any way we can”.
Feathers, which provides outdoor space for schools, including Special Educational Needs (SEN) children, also wants to bring the whole site into its fold.
Diane Larrington, club manager of Feathers, said: “It makes perfect sense, because it’s in our footprint, but also it means that young people don’t have far to go.
“Essentially, it could be a space adjoining our building where we can extend our work, and that the residents fully support. The relocation of the depot would also pose a number of risks to the centre and the children using it.”
Chief among those are the noise, she said, which would negatively impact the site, as well as raise safeguarding concerns, due to the number of people coming in and out of the building.
Residents living on the Blandford Estate have also joined the calls for the council to think again. The estate is situated opposite the site, with drivers needing to enter the depot having to go past people’s windows to gain access.
Linda Childs, chairwoman of the Blandford Estate Residents Association, said: “It’ll be absolute hell with all these trucks coming in and out.”
The vacant building was occupied by a ‘meals on wheels’ service up to 2018. It was then used as temporary storage, although has sat empty for more than 12 months.
Pictured top: Feathers provides facilities including communal areas, a dance studio and an outdoor artificial pitch (Picture: LDRS)