Mayor told not to ‘vandalise Golders Green’ with redevelopment plan

Councillors in Childs Hill have urged Mayor Sadiq Khan “not to vandalise Golders Green” over the proposed multi-story redevelopment of the bus station and relocation of the war memorial.

Conservative councillors Peter Zinkin and Shimon Ryde, together with colleagues in Golders Green and the Garden Suburb, called on Transport for London and the Mayor to “rethink their plans” and work with local residents.

Officials want to move the 1923 Clock Tower War Memorial to make way for a new road layout, alongside a new “undercroft” bus station, but there was strong resistance at a Planning Meeting this week.

“Any proposals put forward must be sympathetic to the existing town centre, with its conservation areas and listed buildings, and the movement of the war memorial must be sensitive and respectful to the memory of those it honours,” said Zinkin.

“I call on TfL and the Mayor of London not to vandalise the centre of Golders Green and to work with local councillors and their residents to rethink their plans.”

Ryde added: “The recent increase in traffic we are seeing on our roads, particularly from the new generation of large coaches, means that we are already at breaking point. The area simply cannot cope with more buses and coaches.”