Ex-Mayor leads fight against plans for 64 flats at gateway to The Hill

The majority - 41 - of the homes would be sold on the open market and the remaining 23 would be made affordable through a social landlord.
This is the fourth attempt in nine years to try to redevelop the detached homes, which lie at a busy crossroads and the first of which is actually owned by the council.
Mr Branch, who was Mayor of Harrow in 2002/03, said: "I've been involved with all four petitions and we're getting fed up with it.
"They want to knock down quality four bedroom houses with massive gardens and build flats.
"They're worth £500,000 each. You've got 180 foot of garden at the back with some nice, possibly protected, trees at the front.
"The flats are going to overlook the school and our gardens, which is not what we want.
"And the doctor's surgery is up in arms because they are overloaded with patients."
The rush-hour traffic already saturates the roads outside the proposed development, which lies close to the border with Brent, said the resident of 30 years.
"If you come down here between 8am and 9am in the morning, it's gridlock.
"It's one of the worst traffic conditions in the borough. I can't get out of my drive in the mornings.
"The fact is, they're planning 64 parking spaces and we need more cars like a hole in the head. It would be chaos."
Mr Branch: "It's not the right area for development because it's so congested.
"Yet the council would be happy to take £1million for that property, given the state of its finances.
"The deal might make the council a few bob but it's not improving the area."
Mr Branch's petition was submitted by Harrow on the Hill ward councillor Eileen Kinnear (Independent) at the authority's cabinet committee meeting on Thursday December 17.