Commons to debate Convoys Wharf heritage issues

Joan Ruddock MP has secured an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday 22 January 2014 to discuss the 'Relevance of national heritage issues in the development of Convoys Wharf, Deptford.'

The debate, which will be held at the end of Wednesday's business (probably at about 7.00pm) will last about half-an-hour. Joan Ruddock will speak and a Minister, presumeably a junior minister from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport will reply. Joan will not have a right of response to the minister, but will be able to intervene in the Minister's speech if the Minister is willing to give way.

As related by the Deptford Dame the London Borough of Lewisham's Strategic Planning Committee resolved last night, Thursday 16 Jan 2014, that the Mayor of London (Boris) be advised that the current proposals for Convoys Wharf should not be approved. The first two reasons given being the relationship with Historic Buildings and Spaces.

They Work for You, Upcoming business, Wednesday, 22 January 2014
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/calendar/?d=2014-01-22#cal37237

Adjournment debates
http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/adjournment/

BT - Trying It On

Walking up Deptford High Street on Saturday I chanced upon a LB Lewisham conservation area planning notice tied to a lampost near the junction with Giffin Street. The notice relates to advertising consent for the vinyl advert on the phonebox that is currently behind the metal fences surrounding Giffin Square. Such advertisements have been an irritation since they first appeared, but despite government proposals years ago to regulate them it was not until late last year that the rules were changed and BT now need consent for them in conservation areas.



The following day I took a closer look at the phone boxes in the High Street. In the phone box outside 12 Deptford High Street I found the notice (above) for 201 Brockley Road and in the phone box outside 76 Deptford High Street I found the notice for 141 New Cross Road. This means that even if there are notices up in Brockley Road and New Cross Road they do not have the right application numbers. Furthermore by putting the notices inside the phone boxes, behind dirty plastic, they are unlikely to be noticed by passers by. Such notices are normally displayed in the windows or buildings they relate to, or are affixed to nearby lampposts.


The notices were not properly displyed, but then BT's attitude to the planning system became even clearer when I started looking at the planning applications on the Lewisham website. In relation to Brockley Road, New Cross Road and Deptford High Street BT had removed adverts before photographing telephone boxes (see BT photo of o/s 12 Deptford High Street above) and then falsified the application forms (below) by denying that advertisements were already in place.


What makes the behaviour all the more bizarre is that a duplicated letter submitted with all the applications admits "The existing application at the kiosk has existed for many years...".
Google Streetview also gives the game away.
201 Brockley Road
141 New Cross Road
12 Deptford High Street

Of the applications I have looked at so far, only the one relating to the phonebox opposite 115 Deptford High Street admits to being retrospective, presumeably because BT could not get to it to remove the advertisement.

There are fewer telephone boxes in the High Street than there were 10 years ago, but there are still far more than there were 25 years ago. Fewer people use public telephones now than in years gone by. It must be asked whether they perform any real telecommunications function or whether their primary purpose is as advertising hoardings. Such grotty vinyl adverts neither enhance nor improve the Deptford High Street, or any other, conservation area.

The closing date for objections is supposed to be tomorrow, 19th April, but given the failure to properly advertise the applications I cannot see LB Lewisham hurrying to decide them. Objections can be made to planning@lewisham.gov.uk , the planner dealing with the application is Diane Verona.

The reference numbers for the Deptford High Street applications are:
outside 12: DC/12/79784/X
outside 53: DC/12/79787/X
outside 76: DC/12/79789/X
opposite 115: DC/12/79782/X
outside 195: DC/12/79779/X
outside 218-220 DC/12/79793/X

141 New Cross Road: DC/12/79794
201 Brockley Road: DC/12/79795

LBL Deptford Creekside Scoping Report

Creekside Discovery Centre

The London Borough of Lewisham have launched a consultation on a Scoping Report for Sustainability appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment of a forthcoming Deptford Creekside Supplementary Planning Document. That is a bit of a mouthful but the council are working within a statutory framework that means jargon cannot be avoided.

Basically all the planning policies for the borough form what is called the Local Development Framework (LDF). Where there are significant policies that only apply to part of a borough they are put into a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). Some other SPDs deal with particular aspects of policy across a borough. English planning law, which includes transposed European directives, now requires that all new planning policy documents are subject to a Sustainability Appraisal (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment). The current consultation is designed to ensure that when the Deptford Creekside SPD is produced it is assessed in accordance with all relevant existing policies and directives. LB Lewisham summarize the headline consultation questions as:

1. Are there any other plans, policies or programmes that should be considered?

2. Do you have or know of any other data that should be considered in order to establish the borough baseline – the economic environmental and social factors that should be considered?

3. Do the issues identified in Task A3 cover all the significant sustainability issues relevant to Lewisham?

4. Are the sustainability objectives, indicators and targets suitable? Should there be any additional objectives, indicators or targets?

That is perfect proper and correct, but local people may wish to check that descriptions of the area are factually correct, clear and unambiguous. There is a glossary and basic explanations of the processes involved. If, after a couple of attempts to get your head round a part of the document, you still cannot figure out what is meant then it probably means that the Report can be improved. In theory you could simply be thick, but you have read this far down the page, so it is reasonable for me to presume that you are not.

Comments can be submitted by post or email, but have to be with the Council by 5.00pm on the afternoon of Friday 27th April 2012.

The aim of this rather involved process is to ensure that when LBL draft the actual Deptford Creekside Supplementary Planning Document there is a very clear set of criteria to judge it by. The process is somewhat less than exciting, but spending a few hours on this now might improve the Report and in turn improve the SPD and save a lot of time fighting an inappropriate planning application in a few years time. No policy can stop developers applying for that which is too high, too bulky or simply poorly designed, but good policies can help deter some of the chancers.

LB Lewisham Planning Policy Consultations

Lewisham are consulting on:

• the Lewisham Community Infrastructure Levy, which sets out the proposed levy charged on new development to support new local infrastructure;
• the Lewisham Site Allocations DPD, which identifies locations and sites for specific types of development in the borough.
• and the Lewisham Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD Proposed Submission, sets out policies and proposals to guide development in Lewisham Town Centre.

As shown above it is proposed to reduce the area designated as Town Centre

Unfortunately only the Lewisham Town Centre AAP can be directly downloaded from the consultation site as a pdf as both the other documents Site Allocations and Community Infrastructure Levy can only be viewed online in a bizarre snippet view format. CD-Roms of both documents can be ordered by telephone or email.

Registration, which was not working this morning, is required to comment on the documents online. All three consultations close at 5.00pm on Monday 23rd April 2012.

Charlton Riverside Masterplan

The Royal Borough of Greenwich are consulting on a draft Supplementary Planning Document called the Charlton Riverside Masterplan. Consultation closes at 9.00am Friday morning 9 March 2012.

The proposed policy threatens employment and in that it seeks to reduce the use of the riverside to land aggregates it would lead to a vast increase in the number of lorries on London's Roads including the A2 New Cross Road and A200 Evelyn Street. In order to comment you will need to register which will take 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how used you are to filling in online forms. The quality of what you say is more important than the quantity, but do not worry if you are unfamiliar with the planning system. However, positive comments about emphasizing employment work far more effectively than rants about losing jobs. Witty or sarcastic remarks tend to look pretty lame six months or a year down the road when reproduced in a report to a council committee. If all you want to say is that Greenwich should concentrate on employment then that is all you need to say.

I shall amongst other things be submitting that the masterplan should:
1. Place a greater emphasis on employment, in accordance with London Plan Targets.
2. Show proper regard to Safeguarded Wharves policy as set out in both the London Plan and the draft National Planning Policy Framework.
3. Be in accordance with the Borough's Core Strategy, which is yet to be finalised.
4. Be produced in an easy to use and print format (i.e. A4 portrait)

There are similar documents, in various shapes and sizes, regarding:
Greenwich Penisular West
Woolwich Town Centre
& Eltham Town Centre
As with Charlton comments have to be submitted by 9.00am Friday

I will comment on all three, if only to make the easy to use and print point.