King's Cross upgrade headaches continue

THE largest remaining development site in central London is engulfed in a row as Camden council officers try to sack the highly-respected politician heading the committee which will determine the fate of the £2bn scheme.

The 67-acre project on land behind King's Cross and St Pancras stations was proposed by developer Argent last May.

Argent is the wholly owned subsidiary of the BT pension fund, which took over its former partner in the King's Cross scheme, St George, in December.

The plans include 7m square feet of offices over 19 floors and at least 1,800 new homes.

Concerns have been raised in many quarters, including the Mayor's office and Transport for London, about the size of the scheme. TfL and Network Rail warned plans were unacceptable as they could lead to 'transport overload'. Brian Woodrow, Camden Council's chair of development control, is one of many councillors to have voiced similar concerns.

In recent weeks, Camden's borough solicitor Alison Lowton has been trying to force Woodrow off committee meetings about the plan, alleging 'he either has, or may be seen to have, a pre-determined view of the applications and this is likely to present considerable risk to the council'. She threatened to report him to the Standards Board for England unless he stood down.

Woodrow, committee chairman since 1998 and highly regarded for his integrity, took legal advice of his own which concluded he had done nothing wrong.

But on Wednesday, members of his committee got letters from environment director Peter Bishop telling them 'Councillor Woodrow cannot further participate, as a member of [the] DC Sub Committee, in any decision or discussion relating to' the King's Cross scheme.

Bishop and Lowton are unlikely to succeed in removing Woodrow. Committee chairmen are appointed by the majority party group and cannot be sacked by unelected officers. Cross-party colleagues have rallied behind Woodrow, who has no intention of stepping down.

He told the Evening Standard: 'I have no pre-determined views on King's Cross. I have expressed legitimate concerns, along with many others, and the developers are currently amending their applications. When their revised plans come before my committee, they will be considered impartially and professionally.'

The King's Cross plan faces other problems. At last week's public meeting, planning officers admitted that, unless the Government pays for a £450m underground ticket hall to connect tube stations with the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Argent may walk away.