Chinatown plan upsets Beijing

Hugh Muir
Saturday January 27, 2007
The Guardian

The government in Beijing has intervened in a row over a proposed development that would demolish an area famed as London's real Chinatown.
The Guardian has learned that the Chinese consul general, Jiang Yuansong, has warned the London mayor, Ken Livingstone, of his government's "deep concern" over proposals affecting Oriental City, a community of shops, restaurants and cultural facilities in Kingsbury, north-west London.

Campaigners say the £200m redevelopment, involving flats, a school and a "superstore", would see the loss of 800 jobs. The decision on whether the scheme can go ahead will be taken by councillors in Brent. But Mr Livingstone has the powers to direct refusal if he thinks the scheme conflicts with his own over-arching planning strategies.

In a letter to the mayor, Mr Jiang said: "As the counsellor and consul general of the Chinese embassy, I would like to express my deep concern to the plan which will have a negative impact on so many Chinese families. I also have great sympathy for the tenants, whose business would be affected."