Quick Update on Albany Parade as I Take a Break Up North
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert
January 9, 2025
No ‘normal’ blog this week as I have taken a week’s leave. A bit of nonsense about my break North as far as Inverness is available on my personal website guylambert.blog.
Just a very quick comment about the brief meeting I held last Friday. A few locals turned up and I talked to the boss of Hawks Estate Agents. He was less sanguine about the impact on his business than were the guys normally in the Brentford office.
There was no representation from the council officers or Cabinet members other than Katherine Dunne who supported as a ward councillor for the destination ward.
I talked over mail with the other two potential tenants of the new units. They had not by yesterday heard any useful updates about when they might have a chance to resurrect their business or the timing of any progress. I am also asking how many of the 96 council flats are now occupied and when the rest will be.
I am not going to say any more, except that I remember when McDonalds bought the site of the old Red Lion Pub. I was in a property management role at the time and I was astonished with their speed. From memory (which may be flawed) their plan was to demolish the old pub, construct their new building and open it within 8 weeks. I believed that was their general policy and that they opened successfully in that timescale, despite my scrpticism.
After the potential tenants of ‘Block D’ were decided and informed in August or September about their allocation of units already built, all I have heard so far is that there is an ambition to get businesses operational within an unspecific number of coming months. I think the tenants have been told something similar, or less informative.
I will update as normal next week.
Councillor Guy Lambert
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