It’s easy to get lost with the Gondar Gardens saga – it’s almost as long as Lord of the Rings, and with only marginally fewer cast members.

Here’s the recap:

Linden Wates put in a proposal to turn the whole site into a “tellytuby” development. GARA (Gondar and Agamemnon Residents Association) said “no”. Camden also said “no”. Linden Wates appealed.

While they appealed, they submitted another less controversial proposal – the so-called “frontage” scheme. GARA said no. Camden said no.

The National Planning Inspector overturned Camden’s “no” for the Tellytubby plan despite vociferous objections from GARA.

Now, even though the first scheme has approval, Linden Wates is appealing the second scheme too. This may be more about recouping their costs than to get permission to build the scheme, although were this also to be overturned, it would give them the option of either scheme.

The public inquiry will start on Tue 9th April at 10am at Camden Town Hall in Judd Street. GARA expects it will last around four days. GARA will be a formal party to the inquiry, making the case for protection of the site focusing on the potential loss of enjoyment of the open space from the street and loss of part of the protected site of nature conservation interest; the impact on neighbours; a design not in keeping with the area; and the impact on the local environment (parking, traffic etc.).

I will, of course, keep you posted as and when I hear more.