People are often awestruck by the schemes which receive planning permission and feel powerless to influence decisions taken by distant committees. Poor development is waved through and little community benefit is offered in return. Now a group of local people in the Westminster part of Fitzrovia are working to resolve the problem, and raise the standard for developments that do go ahead. Fitzrovia is a great place to live and work. It is a diverse community with interesting cafes, shops and offices. Residents and businesses, along with their staff, like being here. No wonder developers are taking an interest in what used to be considered a rather sleepy backwater, albeit in the centre of town. A great asset is its transport connections. Crossrail is due to open in 2018, Crossrail 2 is already planned and the lines will cross at Tottenham Court Road station, making it a major hub. And HS2 (if it goes ahead) will terminate at Euston and eventually run via Birmingham to Manchester and potentially further north. Three new transport lines are the primary reason that we are getting unprecedented pressure for development in our area right now. The area around Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station is designated as an “opportunity area” by the Greater [...]![]()
