At long last Kilburn High Road will have some improvement to the public realm! Work to start on 31st January 2021 and lasting for 8 weeks!!!!
Hoora, but wait it is only the lower end of Kilburn High Road between West End Lane and Greville Place. And double take again, the changes are rather small and pathetic.
There have long been talks and commitments to improve the public realm in Kilburn High Road. Numerous bids and schemes and yet nothing has happened. Please see here the “great” 2013 scheme, for the portion of Kilburn High Road North of Willesden Lane! Not even the 20mph spead limit recommentdation has been implemented. Since then there were 3 further bids that were rejected, always for the same reasons.
Our hopes were raised on 16th July 2019 when we attended yet another pre-consultation meeting, promising consultation on improvements to our high road in the autumn 2019 for implementation in time for the ” Brent Borough of Culture” Street Party in July 2020. The Street Party and the Consultation never materialised!…. Until on 18th January 2021when a 2 weeks consultation appeared for the “Lower Kilburn High Road Scheme”. A much diluted scheme compared to what was presented in July 2019, in its scope only 1/3 of Kilburn High Road and no pavement renewal for example.
We have been pushing for implementation ever since. The date of implementation has been pushed back and back further into the future with reasons given as being a shortage of materials, then a shortage of contractors.
We were shocked when we saw late last night (27th January 2022) the final drawings for implementation. The sccheme has once again been diluted compared to the scheme consulted on.
Please look at the 2 pictures below. The first one is the scheme presented in January 2021, the second is the scheme that will be implemented in February 2022, in the section between West End Lane and Greville road.
- 6 new trees have been reduced to 2 new trees, one of which is on a bridge so doubtful it will be viable!
- The much needed widening of the pavement between West End Lane and Belsize Road has disappeared.
- The tiny “cycle lane” in front of Primark has disappeared, and has been replaced by a tiny cyle lane by Oxford Road and a tiny cycle lane by Greville road that reuires expensive relocation of the islands by Greville Road
- Beautiful 3 meters long bus lane North of Brondesbury Villas.
Now pictures for the part between Greville Road and Greville Place
- The signalled crossing has disappeared and will remain a zebra crossing.
- The 2 new Central Medians have been replaced by a tiny informal crosssing.
- addition of a buildouts at the Kilburn Park Road junction.
- a slightly longer bus lane by Kilburn Priory Road
So no pavement widening except for the junction at Kilburn Park Road, no pavement resurfacing, that is badly needed, 2 very short timed cycle lanes, 2 raised junctions at Coventry Close and Springfield lane, 6 new pay by phone parking bays, one new loading bay, 1 informal crossing and 2 trees! That’s what we are getting! And it took 14 years to come up with this? Yes 14 years.
Kilburn deserves better than this, don’t you think?
Aims of the scheme below as sated in the January 2021 Consultation and a clear statement that there would be further consultation be end of 2021 on the rest of the Kilburn High Road, again did not happen. and what was presented in July 2019
