Mother and daughter screamed abuse at Camden Council over new homes

EXCLUSIVE: Mother and daughter who screamed abuse at Camden Council over new homes and said they ‘hope Al-Qaeda bombs the f***** ugly thing’ say they were given ‘just two minutes to defend their home of 50 years’

• Tempers flared at the planning meeting held by Camden Council this week
• Two women were particularly enraged and let lose when permission was passed
• Marie-Anne Adie and her daughter Cecilia were involved in the viral spat 
• Cecilia had picked up a chair and then hurled it onto the table in front of her
• It came after screams of ‘How dare you. How f***** dare you’ after it was granted

The mother and daughter who reacted with fury at a council planning meeting have defended their actions by saying they were only given ‘two minutes’ to plead their case.

Marie-Anne Adie moved to the UK from France to study English Literature and said she has been living in Gondar Gardens, West Hampstead in London, for several decades.

She and her daughter Cecilia were outraged after Camden councillors voted in favour of building four new three-storey homes near the site of a former Victorian reservoir at a planning meeting earlier this week.

In scenes that made the the infamous Handforth Parish Council viral video look like a teddy bears’ picnic, Cecilia was caught on video yelling she hoped the new development would be bombed by terror group Al-Qaeda. 

Meanwhile, Marie-Anne screamed out ‘You b******s, you will be sacked’ after planning permission was granted. 

But in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the mother and daughter have said the video showing their expletive-laden argument was ‘edited’ and ‘misrepresented’ by Camden Council.   

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TuqJsKPozYU%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1

Long-serving local residents Marie-Anne Adie and her daughter Cecilia (right) were outraged as planning permission was approved

Cecilia, who had earlier said she hoped the development would be bombed, got to her feet

She grabbed a nearby chair before hurling it onto the table and then to the ground in front

Camden Council’s planning meeting had descended into chaos after local residents were filmed yelling expletives and even throwing a chair in response to the plans.

Howls of ‘you’re turning this town into a sh**hole’ and ‘you haven’t even been there, you don’t know how horrible it is’, were heard during the tense encounter. 

A visibly outraged Cecilia had bellowed ‘It looks like a f**** prison when you see it. I hope al-Qaeda bombs the f***** ugly thing.’

As she was urged to leave by an official she put her papers away and picked up a walking crutch.

Face red with fury, she fired off as she departed: ‘I hope you sleep well at night known that you have destroyed and you are destroying a beautiful town. How dare you. How f***** dare you’.

Cecilia then picked up a chair and hurled it to the ground before being led away. 

Speaking today with MailOnline, mother Marie-Anne said she was only given ‘two minutes’ to defend her home and claimed councillors wouldn’t allow her or her daughter Cecilia to speak.

She said: ‘They only gave me two minutes to defend my home of 50 years. I think they doctored the end and they wouldn’t allow me and my daughter to speak.

‘Let’s face it, also, this ridiculous thing that the architect has designed. It’s ugly.’ 

The application would see the new builds, cycle parking and bin storage positioned between a small patch of lush land with two trees between Gondar Gardens and the rear of Hillfield Road in West Hampstead

Pictured: The proposed rear elevation including lightwell

Designs for the buildings that caused the enormous row to kick off at the meeting

Cecilia and Marie-Anne said they are afraid of being made homeless after Camden Council granted planning permission to four new homes in Gondar Gardens.

Cecilia explained: ‘They’ve totally misrepresented the situation. They’ve edited it.

‘I think the property developer, who has got a lot more power and money – they cut out all the bits about the super-rich which I was saying.

‘They cut out the bit about me saying about how I was worried about being homeless.

‘They’ve described it yet again as being a plot of land when it’s a back garden.

‘They’ve photographed a completely different part to make it look like it was going to be a nice part of the road and it’s not.’ 

On reaction to the video, and the bombing comment, she said: ‘My daughter is passionate. Obviously, they pick that hot potato to make her look silly.

‘If it wasn’t for that our comment wouldn’t have been taken.

‘But saying that, my daughter is now afraid to leave the house. She’s very afraid.’

Camden New Journal said councillors voted in favour of building the four new three-storey homes in Gondar Gardens near the site of the former reservoir.

An artist’s impression of the rear of the four new-build homes that have just been approved for construction in Gondar Gardens, West Hampstead 

The site on Gondar Gardens that will soon be cleared for the construction of four new three-storey homes 

Fury erupted at a Camden Council planning meeting over the development of four new homes on this site in Gondar Gardens, West Hampstead  

Top-down plans show the area of development of four new homes on Gondar Gardens 

The application would see the new builds, cycle parking and bin storage positioned between a small patch of lush land with two trees between Gondar Gardens and the rear of Hillfield Road in West Hampstead. 

Residents nearby said this was just the latest attempt to build with previously controversial plans for a residential home for the elderly being dropped. 

Meanwhile, Ms Adie said her frustrations with the council began when she was told she could not place her handwritten submission into the pack.

She said: ‘I’ve paid tax for 50 years. I’ve paid council tax. 

‘I haven’t got enough money to pay for the Internet and this is why I didn’t get any information in time because the council could not do anything unless it was online.

‘I said you are discriminating against me because I’m a pensioner and I cannot afford the internet. 

‘I said it is illegal, and I said you should provide written information for people who cannot go online.

‘I sent it handwritten and they said they would not put my submission in the pack because it was too long.’ 

She continued: ‘My husband was an architect, my father was an architect. I care about this. It’s not just me, but having lived so long it’s such a pity.’ 

Cecilia Adie told how she had seen bats flying in ‘figures of eight’ around the site, adding: ‘It was the most enchanting manifestation of nature I’ve ever seen.’

Pictured: The plans for the new building. Cecilia Adie told how she had seen bats flying in ‘figures of eight’ around the site, adding: ‘It was the most enchanting manifestation of nature I’ve ever seen’

Councillors voted in favour of building the four new three-storey homes in Gondar Gardens

Cecilia stood up to leave after a council official went to speak to her after the outburst

Ward councillor Lorna Russell added: ‘The geometrics are a 45 degree roof, as well as the red brick which just does not blend with the frontage of the mansion blocks at this part of Gondar Gardens.’

Conservative committee member Councillor Andrew Parkinson said: ‘It seems to me it’s made no attempt whatsoever to fit in with local character. There’s the red brick but also this sort of V shaped design which isn’t something that you really see in the local area.’

Camden’s planning officers had recommended permission be granted in a report.

Their findings said: ‘The proposed development would occupy most of the currently open plot with a new three storey building. 

‘There would be some impacts on residential amenities of neighbouring occupiers but these are considered acceptable on balance, and any harm found would need to be balanced against the scheme’s contribution towards housing.’

‘Some temporary harm would be had during construction; however, this would be managed via a recommended Construction Management Plan. Overall, the proposals would deliver a good mix of new homes, with a high-quality design, and excellent sustainability credentials.

It added: ‘Officers have given significant weight to the environmental credentials of the scheme, the design quality, and the delivery of new homes (including a payment-lieu of affordable housing) and recommend approval.’ 

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