Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the park ….a new application for a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by a new applicant and a different sculptor, has been registered. Very little has changed from the previous application. Objections have to be in by 28 August and you can comment on the website: http://www.camden.gov.uk/planningsearch. The application number is 2012/2355/P.

At the Camden Development Control Committee on 28 June 2012 it was resolved, by 7 to 1 with 4 abstentions, that planning permission for the previous statue be refused for the following reasons:

The proposed statue by virtue of its height, scale, location and form would be a dominant feature in Brunswick Square Gardens and would fail to preserve and enhance this garden of special historic interest and the Bloomsbury Conservation Area contrary to policies CS14 of the London Borough of Camden Local Development Framework Core Strategy and policies DP24 and DP25 of the London Borough of Camden Development Policies.