cpca newsletter spring 2009

CPCANEWSLETTER

Spring 2009 Registered Charity No. 261790 Free to members - £2 where sold

In an act of betrayal, theLondon Mayor hasapproved private housingdevelopment on publicMetropolitan Open Landand Conservation Area atCrystal Palace Park,threatening other parksand green open spacesthroughout the UK. The Mayor has betrayed

his pre-election pledge to“protect London’s greenand open spaces” and hisassurance that he did “...notfeel the building of houseson this precious parkland isa suitable way forward.”

“I regard the LDA’s proposal as crass, unnecessary and provocative. ... including housing proposals in Crystal Palace Park is unacceptable.”

The Rt Hon Lord Warner of Brockley

Giles Dolphin, Head ofPlanning Decisions at CityHall, wrote in a letter toBromley Council supportingthe London DevelopmentAgency planning applicationfor Crystal Palace Park:“The Mayor has concludedthat … the inappropriateresidential development isjustified by the unique andexceptional characteristicsof this park which have ledto the urgent need for theimprovements (whichthemselves have widespreadpublic support).”

Bromley’s disregard forenvironmental concerns inapproving luxury housingdevelopment on a publicpark as part of a fundingstrategy can now berepeated by other councils.Instead of presumptionagainst such blatant misuseof public open space, it cannow, seemingly, be endorsedon the spurious justificationof ‘regeneration’, enablingopportunistic developers toprofit from what is no morethan public-asset stripping.

Crystal Palace Community Association

BETRAYALBY BORIS

GOVERNMENTCALLS IN LDAPARK MASTERPLANFOR LOCALPUBLIC INQUIRY

Following approval by theLondon Borough of Bromleyon 9 December 2008 of theMayor’s London DevelopmentAgency Crystal Palace Park‘Masterplan’ application, theCPCA and others lobbied theGovernment Office for Londonto call in the application forpublic inquiry.

As the application includes sale ofMetropolitan Open Land andprotected parkland, it conflicts withBromley’s planning policy and theMayor’s ‘London Plan’. As such itis known as a Departure Applicationand was automatically referredto the Secretary of State forCommunities and Local Governmentfor consideration for public inquiry.Call-in applies when an application:• proposes the building of 150

houses or more,• is on land owned by a local

authority,• conflicts with UDP policies,• develops housing on any

greenfield site of five hectares or more,

• involves building housing at a density of 30 dwellings per hectare or less,

• raises significant effects beyond the immediate locality,

• has serious urban design issues,and/or• gives rise to substantial regional

controversy.

All these criteria apply to the LDAPark Masterplan application.

The decision to call in theapplication for local publicinquiry was received by BromleyCouncil on 28 January 2009. TheGovernment Office for London(GOL) advised Bromley: “TheSecretary of State is of theopinion that this application isone that she ought to decideherself because she considersthat the proposal may conflictwith national and regionalpolicies on important matters.”

The CPCA is encouraged that theSecretary of State has called in theapplication, recognising thecontentiousness of proposals forpark improvements which includethe sale of public assets for privateprofit. LDA claim that such astrategy for park improvements isjustified by ‘very specialcircumstances’ is flawed.

Sale of parkland for housing iswidely opposed by the publicand all four neighbouring boroughswho recognise the precedent thiswould set.

The Rt Hon Lord Warner ofBrockley said: “I regard the LDA’sproposal as crass, unnecessaryand provocative … includinghousing proposals in CrystalPalace Park is unacceptable.”

A £67.5 million Crystal PalacePark Masterplan over 20-30 yearsis not demonstration of ‘veryspecial circumstances’ necessaryto allow building on MOL.

“... the proposal mayconflict with nationaland regional policies

on important matters.”

Hazel Blears, Secretary of State

for Communities and Local Government

CPCA TO PARTICIPATEIN THE INQUIRY

The CPCA has been allowed‘Rule 6’ status by the PlanningInspectorate at the forthcominglocal Public Inquiry into the LDACrystal Palace Park Masterplanapplications.

Under ‘Rule 6’ the CPCA will beable to participate in the Inquiryand have the opportunity toquestion Bromley, the LDA (thedeveloper), witnesses and others,and to test evidence.

The CPCA has prepared a‘statement of case’ and written‘proofs of evidence’.

A public inquiry is anadversarial forum similar to acourt of law. The public canattend as observers, although thiswill not affect the inquiry’s outcome,as the Inspector can only considerstatements and written evidence.

The CPCA’s letter to GOL requestingcall-in can be found on our website:www.cpca.org.uk

The date and venue of the localpublic inquiry by a Governmentappointed Inspector, and whichwill enable proper scrutiny to beapplied, has yet to be announced.The final decision will be madeby the Secretary of State forCommunities and LocalGovernment, Hazel Blears.

H Y P O C R I S Y . . .O N A M O N U M E N TA L S C A L EThe latest grand announcementfrom City Hall, nine monthsafter the ‘Priority Parks’scheme was unveiled byMayor Johnson, is the ‘GreatSpaces’ initiative. TheMayor’s press release of 10March 2009 states: “The aim isto help transform some of thecity’s ... streets, squares, parksand riverside walks intoplaces Londoners and visitorswill want to use and enjoy allyear round.”

The Mayor said he was determinedto improve “…our quality of life and

Richard Rogers, DeputyChair of the Mayor's ‘GreatSpaces’ panel said: "I believethat access to open spaceshould be a public right.Everyone should be able tosee a tree from their window,sit on a bench close to theirhome, or sit on the grass in thepark.” He might have addedthat the luxury apartmentsproposed for prime parklandlocations will provide justthat, for the privileged few.

The 180 apartments to be built inCrystal Palace Park are likely tofetch more than £ 1/2 million each,even in the current economicclimate, and could produce about£40-50 million profit for thedevelopers. It is claimed that thePark will benefit by an estimated

The 180 apartments inCrystal Palace Park arelikely to fetch more than£1/2 million each, even inthe current economicclimate, and could produceabout £40-50 million profitfor the developers.The public would receivenothing from this.

environment and it is the capital’spublic spaces that make London sucha wonderful, engaging city and helpattract millions of visitors everyyear.” Most would agree withthis sentiment.

However, in an unfortunate turnof phrase considering what he hasapproved for Crystal Palace Park,he said: “This scheme is aboutbuilding on what is already good andencouraging new ideas to create evenmore great spaces across the city foreveryone to enjoy.”

The Mayor was right when hesaid of the Priority Parks schemethat: “Often simple improvements,

such as more bins, more entrances,increased lighting and litterbins, canhelp local people re-claim their localparks and gardens.”

However, his consultants don’tearn huge fees by keeping thingssimple, as demonstrated by the£67.5 million price tag on CrystalPalace Park improvements.

Can the public expect a futurepress release announcing that thesale of the century has begun, orare meaningless gestures by theMayor and his consultantsintended to hide from the publicwhat is really happening to publicparks and open spaces?

THE SALE OF OUR HERITAGE HAS BEGUN

£12 million from the sale of theland to the developers, whichwould perhaps fund no more thanthe restoration of the terraces.

So it seems that not all Ken’sproposals have found disfavourwith Boris. What MayorLivingstone, another ‘false friend’of green and open spaces (pre-election), started, so MayorJohnson continues.

There have been several caseswhere the Mayor has chosen not todirect refusal of planningapplications which do not conformto policies of the London Plan.

Surely, if a body within the GLAis making a developmentproposal, there should beindependent analysis of it. Thisonly seems possible at present viaGovernment Office for London, abody which is itself under threat.

The Mayor’s Annual MonitoringReport, February 2009, confirmsserious loss of open space fromdevelopment in London totallingalmost 100 ha.(247 acres).

In addition, designated Sites ofImportance for NatureConservation have been allowedto be reduced by 18 ha.(45 acres).

“This scheme is about building on what is already good” Mayor Boris Johnson

On 9 December 2008, BromleyDevelopment Control Committeeconsidered the LondonDevelopment Agency Masterplanoutline application for CrystalPalace Park. The CouncilChamber was packed to capacity,with some members of the publichaving to be seated on the floor ofthe chamber and in an adjoiningroom with audio-link.

There were nine objectors to theplanning application: AlastairCameron of the Joseph PaxtonSociety, Ken Lewington of theCrystal Palace Foundation, JasonCunningham of Natural England,Rosanna Cavallo of WestBeckenham Residents’Association, Steve Sawko ofLedrington Road Green residents,Tony Barnett of The CaravanClub, Joseph Mullen localresident, Jon Digby-Rogers andJohn Payne of the CPCA.

John Payne urged members ofthe committee to abandon partypolitics, respect the concerns oftheir constituents who opposehousing, refuse this application,and insist that the LDA returnwith a more moderate andsustainable scheme that does notrely upon, as a funding strategy,the sale of protected parkland forcommercial development. Hereminded them that BromleyDCC members had previouslyexpressed strong concerns on thehousing proposals where CllrAdams said "we shouldn’t be sellingparkland for housing… it really is adangerous precedent".

Bromley Planning Departmentrecords confirm overwhelmingpublic opposition to housing inthe Park, as does the LDA's ownstakeholder consultation, the 85%opposition to housing in anewspaper poll, the 7,000signature petition to the LondonMayor and all four neighbouringboroughs who oppose the sale ofpublic parkland for privatehousing.

John Payne said that in anattempt to stifle near unanimouspublic opposition, the LDAretained public relations consultants'dialogue' whose cynical remitwas given on their website as:"to maximise support for the schemeand to minimise opposition.”

He said to allow housing onMOL the LDA must demonstrate'very special circumstances'which, in the view of the CPCA,they have failed to do. Falselyand misleadingly, the LDA claimthat publicly accessible parklandwill be increased. The Park isdefined as that land within itsboundaries, the nature and use ofwhich can change at any time.Construction of eight, four andfive-storey blocks of luxury flatswill be irrecoverable loss ofprecious public parkland.

Palace we would be destroying one ofthe most significant Victorian sites inthe country and destroying thevaluable archaeology of our heritage."

Steve Sawko made a powerfulcase on behalf of local residentswho were "…completely against theproposed destruction of LedringtonRoad Green, directly behindresidents' houses and within theconservation area. ...The LDA wantsto build accommodation for CapelManor students there, which wouldbe a completely unwanted andunnecessary building.”

Jon Digby-Rogers, a bankerspecialising in project financingsaid “The costing estimate of £67million does not include professionalfees or VAT. When everything isadded up it will be well in excess of£110 million”. Mr Digby-Rogerswarned “If permission is given forthis to proceed and the LDA walksaway if it cannot find the money,what's to stop a private investorbuying them out and we get theluxury flats, but none of the otherimprovements?"

Jason Cunningham said:"There are eight types of rare batspecies in Crystal Palace Park. TheLDA plans to fell 473 trees to makeway for new building and landclearance. If these trees are cut down,bats will be forced out of the dark andtheir natural habitat."

TREE SURVEY RESULTSMANIPULATED

Ken Lewington made objectionon behalf of the Crystal PalaceFoundation. He was concernedthat any proposed museumwould not be open for manyyears, removal of retaining wallsand trees and tons of soil mightchange the configuration of thelandscape resulting in increasedvolumes of surface water endingup in Ledrington Road and thattons of spoil might be used toplace round the National SportsCentre, in detriment to theappearance of this listed building.

He calculated, from the applicant’s

BROMLEY DCC HEARING

“the outline applicationis going to take years, ifnot decades, to deliver…we need to make surethat what we don’t get istwo new sites of blocksof flats, one new collegeand the rest cancelledbecause of budget cuts.”

Cllr Tom Papworth, Crystal Palace Ward

Nicholas Pearson Associateswere commissioned by Bromley toreview the LDA’s EnvironmentalStatement. They identify theunsubstantiated statements andhighlight 44 issues that requireclarification from the LDA beforea decision can be made. PearsonAssociates warn that if theEnvironmental Statement does notinclude the full environmentalinformation required, anyplanning permission granted runsthe risk of being quashed. Theyquote case law supporting this.

Alastair Cameron said: "If weallow building on the site of the old

own tree survey, that of the 470trees proposed for removal, 387 ofthem cannot be diseased orrepresent a health and safety riskbecause each one falls within oneof the categories under which atree should or could be retained.Following exposure of this blatantcontradiction, perhaps not onlythe Environmental Statement butall statistics given within the LDAapplication should now receivefurther close scrutiny.

Supporting the application, MarkLloyd LDA, Robin Buckle LDA,Madeleine Hall Capel ManorCollege and local resident AdamHarman spoke on behalf of theapplication. Ray Sacks of theCrystal Palace Campaign,supported the application and thehousing proposals, which issurprising, as the CPC opposedsuccessfully, from 1997-2001,commercial development inCrystal Palace Park under theemotive slogan ‘Save Our Park’.

Cllr Tom Papworth, althoughnot a member of the DCC, spokepassionately as the Crystal Palaceward member. He began byasking quite how Bromleyallowed the Park to becomeneglected. He welcomed much ofthe LDA proposals, but raisedconcerns on the housing on MOL,the Capel Manor ‘Lodge’ onLedrington Road Green and thephasing of the Masterplan works.

He said that erecting a 15m high,14,000 cubic metre building on thepatch of green behind the homesof residents of Anerley Hill “isgoing to be massively deleterious totheir quality of life”. He questionedwhy this building needed to belocated on that area of parkland.

With reference to phasing, hewas concerned that “the outlineapplication is going to take years, ifnot decades, to deliver… we need tomake sure that what we don’t get istwo new sites of blocks of flats, onenew college and the rest cancelledbecause of budget cuts”. Herecommended the committee defertheir decision and allow Bromley’splanning officers to re-negotiatesome aspects with the LDA.

BLOG-UPJohn Getgood, Councillor for

Penge and Cator ward andmember of the DCC was quick togive a resumé of the hearing onhis blog. He wrote: "Many of theobjections were unfounded ormisguided.” In fact the objectionswere not unfounded or misguidedbut coherent and unchallenged,and undisputed by members ofthe DCC, who sought only pointsof clarification. Cllr McBride(Cray Valley East) said the LDAwaving a large cheque in the airwas not a case for 'very specialcircumstances'.

Cllr Getgood’s claim that: "Noneof the proposed building is on landcurrently open to the general users ofthe Park" fails to recognise that thepublic are welcome on all theareas proposed for housing, exceptthe Park maintenance area, whichis to be rebuilt on the site of thederelict Park Manager’s house 200yards away. However, ‘generalusers of the Park’ might not be sowelcome on the private propertyof 180 new flats.

It is the public who use the OneO’Clock club. It is the public whouse the facilities of the campingand caravan site, in largenumbers, every day of the year,and then visit the Park, theTriangle and the surrounding area.The LDA have spoken repeatedlyof their wish to increase visitornumbers to the Park to generateincome whilst proposing closureof a facility that does just that.

Cllr Getgood is mistaken whenhe maintains that: "There is noprecedent for building on park landhere. In any case, in planning lawyou cannot argue that because aprinciple was allowed once, it shouldbe allowed again.” Although therecan be no precedents in planninglaw, the claim by objectors to theLDA application concerning thesale of public parkland forresidential development, does notinvolve planning law, whichapplies only when an applicationis made. It is the sale of publicparkland for commercialdevelopment that wouldestablish a precedent.

He is also wrong in his assumptionthat: "The legal agreement betweenthe Council and the LDA ensures thatall money raised by the sale ofhousing will be ring fenced for use inthe first phase of improvements.” Allmoney raised by the sale of housingwill not be ring-fenced for use inthe first phase of improvements,but pocketed by the developers.The legal agreement misunderstoodby Cllr Getgood applies to moneyraised by sale of land, not houses.

Cllr Papworth made strongobjection to the LDA Masterplanapplication on behalf of thethousands of his constituentsliving far closer to the Park thanthose of Cllr Getgood.

The best justification that BromleyChief Planner, Bob McQuillancould offer for the building ofprivate residential housing onMetropolitan Open Land and onland adjoining MOL, on a GradeII* registered Park was: “As theMayor and the GLA said in theirletter it’s not a precedent because it’sunique. There is only one CrystalPalace Park therefore it can’t be aprecedent for any other Crystal PalacePark because there isn’t one.”

After lengthy discussion, butwith no reference to thereservations of Pearson in thereport commissioned by Bromley,the LDA application wasapproved by a majority (11 to 5).

THE LDA ...TAKING CARE OFLONDON’S MONEY

The LDA, having spent areported £14 million inessential works to keep theNSC as a facility for possibletraining until the 2012Olympics, propose to thenboard it over for five-a-sidefootball and other ‘dry’ sports.

This £14 million expenditurefor a three year facility is morethan the £12 million the LDAclaim must be raised by saleof precious Crystal PalaceParkland to fund the ParkMasterplan over 20 to 30 years.

FROM THE CHAIR...

PARKLAND GRAB - A CHEAP TRANSPORT OPTION?

Despite the Mayor’s fundingproblems, Transport for London(TfL) maintain the option ofrouting the Croydon Tramlinkextension up Anerley Hill andinto the Park where they wouldbuild a tram terminus in the Parkhilltop and double the size of theexisting bus station - all on MOL.Mayor Johnson has, for the moment,halted proposals due to lack offunding, but a planning conditionkeeps this option open to TfL for10 years.

TfL have discovered, to itsadvantage, that routing tramlinesand associated infrastructurethrough parks avoids compulsorypurchase orders, land costs andcostly changes to road networks.

No evidence has been providedby TfL that the proposed tramextension would produce cashbenefits for the Park or local tradein Upper Norwood. Indeed thereverse is more probable withpeople using the tram to travel tolarge town centres such asCroydon or Wimbledon.

Exhaustive research must beconducted before committing to acostly capital project (up from theoriginal £70 million to over £170million) to consider any benefitsof bringing trams to CrystalPalace. Those supporting the tramextension should recognise that atram to Crystal Palace mightharm rather than help the area.

Perhaps the cuts made to vitalexisting train services to London,Croydon and beyond are just acynical ploy to ‘justify’ extendingtram services throughout Londonvia our green urban spaces.

THE FUTURE FOR OURPARKS?

The LDA does not conceal itsintention to make Crystal PalacePark as near self-sufficient aspossible. But should our publicparks be financed by commercialexploitation? Will our Park be themodel for future funding of allparks? How can these vital greenlungs in our densely urbanisedlandscape be protected fromcommercial development whichwould require a high return oninvestment? Already developershave spotted the opportunity andare proposing a ‘rebuilt CrystalPalace’ in the Park; in reality avast hotel, conference, retail andleisure centre, promoted as a fairytale, but in truth a desecration ofpublic parkland for private profit.

Local authority spending onpark maintenance has dropped bya staggering 35% in the last 17years. National Audit figuresshow that expenditure on greenspace has not kept pace with theincreasing level of overall localauthority spending, or the increasingamounts spent on other environ-mental and cultural services.

Bromley’s neglect of CrystalPalace Park and approval of anLDA Masterplan application,including housing in the Park, cannow be copied by other councils,in allowing private residentialdevelopment in their public parksas part of their funding strategy.Instead of absolute presumptionagainst blatant misuse of publicopen space, it can now beexploited on the spurious claim of‘regeneration’.

What is needed is a newinitiative to fund our failing greenspaces - one based on nationalpolicy. With ever-increasinghousing densities, and limited orno amenity space, the Governmentand the London Mayor mustrecognise the crucial role that

parks play and the problems theyface, and enact legislation toensure these precious open spacesin our urban environment areprotected for us and futuregenerations.

CLOSED MEETINGSCONTINUE

CPCA members will rememberthe exclusion of the CPCA fromLDA facilitated Park WorkingGroup meetings. This was aconsequence of our refusal to signthe mandatory 'code of conduct'that would have imposed secrecy,prohibited the taking of writtennotes and negated our rights toreport back to our committee andmembers. Such compliancewould have conflicted with ourfunction and constitution.

Some attendees voiced concernsover this 'code of conduct' butcontinued to meet, prepared toaccept this obstruction ofdemocracy, while others wereunsympathetic to CPCA idealsand opposition to the sale ofParkland for private luxury blocksof flats. Consequently, fourmembers of the CPCA, includingthe Chairman, were the subject ofdefamatory statements on theLDA website - statements that arestill in place today.

Quasi-public meetings werediscontinued by the LDA aftersubmission of the Park planningapplication in November 2008.This has not however preventedformer Park Working Groupattendees continuing to meet ontheir own terms. Invitations to anew forum where Crystal PalacePark would be discussed weresent by Peter Austin of theNorwood Society and Ray Sacksof the Crystal Palace Campaign(a supporter of LDA park sell-offfor housing) to former PWGattendees and the LDA.

The CPCA however was notinvited to join, and continues to bediscriminated against by amenitygroups, and other organisationsclaiming representative status butwho have no membership,meetings, openness or accountability,

Even if you are registered toattend LDA Crystal Palace ParkStakeholder Dialogue meetingsyou must now register again!All those who attended the LDA

Crystal Palace Park StakeholderDialogue meetings at theSalvation Army Hall andelsewhere over the last 6 years,should have received a letter fromNigel Westaway, and Erica Suttonof The Environment Council,dated 14 November 2008, statingthat they would no longer be thefacilitators of any future Parkconsultation.However, there may be future

Park stakeholder consultationwhich will be facilitated by theLondon Development Agency,when most bizarrely, all thosewho have regularly attendedLDA Park consultation meetingsmust now apply to the LDA tocontinue to do so.

The London Development Agencydraft Deed of PlanningObligation, 8 January 2009 forCouncil review, reads as follows:Clause 3.1: “Within 6 months ofoccupation of each of theRockhills Block 2 Residential andthe Rockhills Block 3 Residential,the Developer shall carry out asurvey to monitor trafficconditions on roads within thevicinity of Rockhills and inparticular the impact of theRockhills Block 2 Residential andthe Rockhills Block 3 Residentialon the Rockhills junction.”Clause 3.2: “If the trafficmonitoring survey carried outpursuant to the clause abovedemonstrates an adverse impacton traffic in the surrounding area,

in consultation with Transport forLondon, the Developer shall fundthe following measures in relationto the roads within the vicinity ofthe Rockhills area: 3.2.1: localised loading and/or waiting restrictions; and 3.2.2: modifications to trafficsignals.”This suggests that shouldadditional traffic generated fromthe new 132 apartments at Rockhillscause transport problems, TfL/LDAwould impose new parkingrestrictions and changes to thetraffic signals. Also, existingroads, and the mini-roundaboutscampaigned for by local residentsto keep traffic flowing at thisbottleneck, could be replaced bytraffic lights and traffic jams.

TRAFFIC MONITORINGSYDENHAM HILL

do not answer letters frommembers of the public and insome cases have no publishedaccounts.

Commendably, three localorganisations, the Dulwich,Norwood and SydenhamSocieties, made written objectionto sale of Crystal Palace Parklandfor housing.

The Norwood Society in a letterto Bromley “strongly opposed” thesale of parts of the park forhousing development andopposed “the kind of commercialapproach which envisages selling offparts of a statutorily listed park (or ofMetropolitan Open Land) in order tofinance the regeneration of what isleft, especially when the park inquestion has such a famous historyand serves such a large community.”

The Dulwich Society welcomedthe uncontroversial issue of thegreening of the Park, but had“…very strong reservations about theproposed housing.” They did notbelieve that “…the inclusion ofhousing in currently designated openspace, the Rockhills site which isMetropolitan Open Land, is anappropriate way to generate fundingfor a section of the proposedimprovements” adding “…the LDAshould be able to provide theappropriate funding without recourseto commercial development and theconsequent loss of part of the park.”

The Sydenham Society remindedBromley who had also attendedStakeholder Dialogue meetings,that they had regularly voicedconcerns about the proposals forhousing on both Rockhills MOLand ‘infill’ on Crystal Palace ParkRoad.

It is perhaps disappointing thatthese societies did not attend theDevelopment Control Committeehearing on 9 December 2008 asobjectors to the LDA Masterplan.

Just consider what might havebeen achieved had those, taskedwith safeguarding their members’interests, acted together ratherthan continuing to focus theirenergies on discrediting others.

John Payne

LDA PARK STAKEHOLDERDIALOGUE MEETINGS

This further condition qualifiespublic rights of participation inCrystal Palace Park StakeholderDialogue meetings.Nigel Westaway and The

Environment Council, previouslycontracted by the LDA asfacilitators, will now not confirmcontact details to the LDA,claiming that this would conflictwith the Data Protection Act andtheir own rules of conduct.

Any who wish to register withthe LDA should use the referenceCrystal Palace Park and sendcontact details to:

LDA Public Liaison UnitPalestra

197 Blackfriars RoadLondon SE1 8AA

or email: [email protected] phone 020 7593 9000 or

text phone: 020 7593 8001

THE MAYOR RULES OK

MAYORJOHNSONRECEIVESPLANNINGAWARD

The LDA’s proposed sale of Crystal Palace Parkland for housing, which Mayor BorisJohnson refused to block, wins Darren Johnson’s Dodgy Planning Award 2009

The sale of public parkland forprivate housing against hugepublic opposition, has won thisyear’s award for worst planningdecision. Each year Cllr DarrenJohnson, Green Party LondonAssembly member, awards an

inscripted breeze-block for theplanning decision he considers tobe the most damaging to London.

Darren Johnson commented:“The selling of land withinCrystal Palace Park for 180private luxury flats to fund thepark’s regeneration is unacceptableand the Government is right toquestion it. Not only is it counterto the strength of local feeling butit will set a precedent that is likelyto threaten the future of publicparks and other open spacesthroughout the country.”

“By refusing to block thebuilding of these flats in a park...he has chosen to ignore thecontradiction of running acompetition* to enhance London’sparks whilst at the same timegiving the go ahead to build overa section of one.”

* ‘Priority parks project’: “...wewill be able to inject much-neededmoney into improving the mostneglected parks and gardens acrossLondon” said Mayor Johnson. Hecould have added: except when we sellthem off for private development first.

Bromley’s approval of the LDAMasterplan application with its180 luxury apartments begs thequestion: how many more houseswill be on this precious park in 5,10 or 20 years time?

The present Mayor has shown noinclination to recognise the greenand open space of Crystal PalacePark as part of his grand vision toprotect London’s green and openspaces. He is unlikely to exercisehis prerogative and reverse aplanning decision on an LDAapplication that fundamentally ishis own.

His predecessor, and possiblesuccessor, Ken Livingstone,endorsed the sale of CrystalPalace Parkland for thirty piecesof silver, and the future of thisand other public parks and openspaces across the country is nowthreatened.

The sale of public parklandfor even just one flat would begreeted with great delight bydevelopers across the country asthe go-ahead for exploitation ofthe nation’s precious green openspaces.

It was no surprise that MayorJohnson’s first People’s QuestionTime at Bromley was a sell-out.Despite holding tickets obtainedin advance from the GLA, morethan 200 furious people wereturned away at the door by policeand security staff.

Prior to the meeting the CPCAexpressed strong concerns to theGLA that residents in the north-west of the borough had not beenproperly notified of the event andthat the venue would not be largeenough. The GLA response wasthat they did not want too manypeople as they would not all beable to ask questions and getanswers! The logic of this isunfathomable as the number ofquestions is determined by theChair and the time available,which could not be affected by thenumber of persons present. Onthe night, political meandering by

II SS BB O R I SO R I S J U S TJ U S T A N OA N O T H E RT H E R KK E NE N ??“Anyone who believes a politician must be mad...” Ken Livingstone

London Assembly Chair, JennetteArnold and ponderous quips byPQT Chairman James Cleverlyand the London Mayor, wastedmuch of the limited time available.

Despite this, CPCA Hon Secretary,Suzanne Elkin, was able to ask theMayor if he would withdraw thecontroversial proposal for sale ofpublic parkland for privatedevelopment from the LDAplanning application to Bromley.The Mayor failed to answer thequestion or acknowledge his pre-election pledge for Crystal PalacePark that he did “...not feel thebuilding of houses on this preciousparkland is a suitable way forward”.

Completely transposing thequestion from one clearly addressedto him to one addressed toBromley Council, the Mayor said:“I know what a keen and sensitiveissue this is ... the matter must bedecided by the London Borough of

Bromley. If the London Borough ofBromley throws it out, as it isentirely within their rights to do, thenI will of course completely supportand accord with that decision becausethat was what I said when I stood tobe your Mayor”. It is of concernthat Mayor Johnson can rememberwith vivid clarity some pre-election pledges, but forget others.

Such betrayal of undertaking isnot endorsed by ConservativeAssembly Member, Roger Evans,who in reference to the CrystalPalace Park PQT question, wroteon his website: “For my own part, Ibelieve that we should try to keeppromises made during an election.”

Any further discussion on thesale of public Metropolitan OpenLand to private developers, whichmany considered the mostimportant issue of the meeting,was refused by the Chairman.

PEOPLE’S QUESTION TIME AT BROMLEY CIVIC CENTRE, 6 NOVEMBER 2008

PARK IMPROVEMENTS PROMISED ...BUT THE HOUSING COMES FIRST!

The “First Draft” agreement(8.1.09) between Bromley Counciland LDA (“the Developer”), setsout the ‘Deed of PlanningObligations’ between Council andDeveloper for the Park Masterplanapplication. It differs from thatshown to Bromley councillors atthe DCC meeting of 9 December2008, where Bromley grantedplanning approval.

In this new ‘Deed’, underDeveloper’s Obligations it statesunder:

“1. Residential Developmentand Park Improvements” (in thatorder) that “prior to Occupation”(not prior to construction) of the‘Residential’, the Developer mustcarry out certain Park Works:Part A for Sydenham Gate,Part B for Rockhills Block 2 andPart C for Rockhills Block 3Residential.

The Park Works, Parts A, B andC include tree planting to theupper Palace Terrace (hilltop),Palace Terrace restoration, creationof water features, relocation of thePaxton Bust, demolition of thePaxton Suite (but not the LodgeTower), provision of the café andDinosaur Interpretation Centre,general landscaping works andone of the proposed playgrounds.

It seems that the Developer canbuild all 180 apartments on thePark but cannot allow theiroccupation until some Parkimprovement work has beendone. However, the Developerneeds only spend a minimum sumon the Park to achieve this.

The Deed states that theminimums are:

£5 million on Part A works, toenable sale of the 40 SydenhamGate apartments.

£6 million on Part B works toenable sale of some of the 132Rockhills Block 2 apartments and

£1 million on Part C works toenable sale of the remainingRockhills Block 3 apartments.

Thus the total minimumexpenditure required of theDeveloper is £12 million.

The restoration of the Terraces isestimated by English Heritage tocost £12 million and the wordingof the Deed of Obligation is suchthat the Developer could allocateall £12 million to this projectalone. £12 million also justhappens to be the expectedrevenue from the sale of Parkland.

So the balance sheet could read:Public loss: Crystal Palace

Grade II*, MOL and ConservationArea Parkland, London’s onlycamping & caravan ground,children’s nursery & One o’clockclub, recently built HLF publiclyfunded Park maintenance depot,St John’s Ambulance station.

Public gain: Restored terracesbut little more

Developer/LDA gain: £12million minus £?? million in costof relocating Caravan Club, Oneo’clock club, Park maintenancedepot, cost of reconstruction ofOne o’clock club and Parkmaintenance depot

Housing developer’s gain: 180private luxury apartments sold inprime 200-acre parkland location.

SELLING ON - WITHPLANNING PERMISSION

The ‘Deed of PlanningObligations’ also states thatshould the LDA sell the land toanother developer there is nothingin the Deed that would stop thenew developer selling the flatsfor occupation before any Parts A,B or C works were completed.The LDA then has 3 years inwhich to complete the A, B and Cworks. If, however, the LDA wasdisbanded without completingthose works, there is no assurancethat the body taking over theLDA’s liabilities would itself beadequately funded. So, the

housing could be built and soldbut Parts A, B and C works mightnever be completed and ... PartsA, B and C are just basic Parkimprovements.

ADVICE IGNOREDKey areas of concern, highlighted

by Bromley’s independent expertsNicholas Pearson Associates, havenot been addressed by the LDA.They are: initial funding andsecurity of funding; continuingfinancial sustainability; level ofinvestment to be made in the Parkand the facilities and infrastructureto be supported; future Parkmanagement; ability to secure andring-fence Park income; effectivenessefficiency of the managing organi-sation and responsibility fordelivery of the Park amenitiesover the next twenty years.

The CPCA supports the laudableaim of improving the Park but theMasterplan is misleading andflawed and based on assumptions.

CROYDON ASKS: CANTHE LDA DELIVER?

Even Croydon Councilquestions LDA ability to deliverthe Masterplan.

Croydon’s letter to Bromley of 22September 2008 advising of theoutcome of the Planning Meetingto discuss the Masterplan, states:

“There are concerns in relation tothe absence of an overall fundingstrategy which could potentiallyresult in the scheme being delivered ina non-comprehensive way or perhapscertain elements would not bedelivered at all. This makes it difficultto consider whether the parts givenover to housing development wouldbe a sacrifice worth making. It shouldbe considered whether there are measuresin place to ensure that situation doesnot arise whereby the residentialdevelopment is constructed yet otherparts of the scheme are not delivered.”

Stand by thatpromise to London’s parks, Boris

You know, I remembera certain Tory Mayorof London who duringhis election campaign,and since, promised to

"protect green spaces", "protectLondon's open spaces fromdevelopment", make the capital"a leafier, more pleasant place tolive" and even "defend backgardens” from developer land-grabs.

Crystal Palace Park is a bitbigger than a back garden. Or, ifyou prefer, it is a back garden forabout 200,000 Londoners. But anapplication to build 180 homes onit and on adjacent metropolitanopen land, has just been approvedby Bromley Council. And theapplicant is - that same Mayor ofLondon. Forget developer land-grabs: Boris, in the form of hisLondon Development Agency,appears to be cutting out themiddleman.

It's true that not all the open landto be built on is open to thepublic: most of it is currently usedas a tree-lined caravan park(though some is part of the parkproper). It's true that the mostcontroversial part of the proposal,a new multi-storey housing andretail block, has been removed.The LDA also says the revenuefrom the housing (none of whichwill be classed as "affordable") isneeded to help pay for improvingthe rest of the run-down park.

ANDREW GILLIGAN

But we are still creating adangerous precedent: not just forreplacing trees and grass withconcrete and brick; not just forbuilding on metropolitan openland, which is meant to be protected;but also for funding improvementsby chipping away at what we aresupposed to be improving.

I would not expect the NHS todefray the cost of my heart bypassoperation by asking me to donatea kidney. And a park lives a lotlonger than a person. CrystalPalace is one of only 30 Grade II*listed parks in Britain preciselybecause it has been preserved forthe past 150 years. If we knock bitsoff every few decades to pay forthe latest upgrade, there won't bemuch left in another 150 years' time.

A park is almost the definition ofthe public realm. It's precisely whatthe public purse should be for.

It's something to benefit thewhole community, not justsections of it. It's the onlymunicipal service, apart fromrefuse collection, that manytaxpayers use. Civilisedgovernments provide varyingservices -not all, for instance, payfor healthcare - but they all payfor parks.

In London, however, ourpatrimony, held in trust for thepublic, is clearly seen as atradeable asset, to be bargainedfor short-term purposes. CrystalPalace is not the only park underthreat. Part of Deptford Park hasalready been built on.

At Gunnersbury Park there areplans for a "significant acreage"to be taken by "a small numberof high-spec houses". And atGreenwich, of course, there's theeven more extraordinary proposalto risk the park's most preciousfeatures for a week of televisedhorse riding.

The benefits in every one ofthese cases are nugatory, faroutweighed by the damage theywill do. Even at Crystal Palace,the new housing will provideonly about a tenth of the moneyneeded to do up the park. Wouldit be too cynical to fear that we'llget the houses but not many ofthe improvements?

In policing, in transport, inmost other areas Boris has, Ithink, started brilliantly downthe change road that London soneeded. But in planning, notenough has changed.Inappropriate tall buildings arestill being allowed. Ken-eraplans, such as the LDA's forCrystal Palace, have goneunchallenged.

London is a city of parks. Incompromising our parks, Borisand the capital's councils arelosing sight of their basic publicpurpose.

This article is reprinted from theLondon Evening Standard29 December 2008

NEIGHBOURING BOROUGHS OPPOSEHOUSING ON CRYSTAL PALACE PARK

LEWISHAMJoost Van Well, Team Leader

South Team of Lewisham CouncilPlanning Service wrote in July2008:

“Lewisham Council generallywelcomes the proposals forCrystal Palace Park, which areseen as high quality and generallyrespecting the original qualitiesand principles of the park.

However, the London Borough ofLewisham is concerned about theresidential units which areproposed as part of this regenerationof Crystal Palace Park. Policy3D.9 of the London Plan providesfor the protection of MOL andstates that the boundary of MOLshould only be altered in exceptionalcircumstances and should beundertaken through thedevelopment plan process.Under the London Plan, MOL isstated to serve a similar purposeto the Green Belt and is to beafforded the same protection.

It is customary for councils to comment on major borough planning applications likely toimpact on their borough. The four boroughs adjacent to Crystal Palace Park were invited tocomment on the LDA Masterplan application by Chris Evans, Development Control ManagerMajor Applications Team for Bromley. Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth delegatedauthority to council officers to respond to the application, while Croydon referred it to itsplanning committee. All four neighbouring boroughs opposed sale of parkland for housing.

Development which involves theloss of MOL in return for itsreplacement with new open spaceelsewhere is not acceptable.

Given that MOL is the same asthe Green Belt in terms ofprotection from development,PPG2 (Green Belts) is also ofparticular relevance. This statesthat the fundamental aim ofGreen Belt policy is to preventurban sprawl by keeping landpermanently open; the mostimportant attribute of Green Beltsbeing their openness. There is ageneral presumption againstinappropriate developmentwithin Green Belts and such

development is, by definition,harmful and should not beapproved, except in very specialcircumstances. Very specialcircumstances to justify inappro-priate development will not existunless the harm by reason ofinappropriateness, and any otherharm, is clearly outweighed byother considerations.

Lewisham Council is so far notconvinced that there are the 'veryspecial circumstances' whichwould justify this notablereduction of MOL, and the largenumber of homes which would bebuilt on this MOL. The mainjustification for this appears to bethe financial viability of the entirescheme, but it appears that theresidential development wouldonly finance a small proportion ofthe overall costs. Furthermore, noaffordable housing is proposed aspart of the mix of houses, and assuch it is considered that thehousing does not fully meethousing needs in the locale.”

Lewisham Council is so far notconvinced that there are the'very special circumstances'which would justify this notablereduction of MOL, and the largenumber of homes which wouldbe built on this MOL.

SOUTHWARK Gary Rice, Head of Development

Control at Southwark Councilwrote in June 2008:

“The Council’s formal responseis: Objection is raised to theproposed development on thefollowing ground[s]:

1. The proposal would result insubstantial new residentialdevelopment on MetropolitanOpen Land and land adjoiningMOL that has not previously beendeveloped in this way, contrary toPolicy 3D.10 of the London Plan.Crystal Palace Park: inappropriate use of a Grade II* registered Metropolitan Open

Land Park. TfL wish to encroach even further and double the size of the bus terminus.

“The major policy conflictcreated by the applicationstill lies with the proposedresidential development ofparts of the park, the majorityof which is designatedMetropolitan Open Land. …there is a real concern thatsuch a proposal could causea precedent for other MOLland in London.”

Lambeth Council

2. The proposal would fail toprovide any affordable housing orother contributions to mitigateagainst the impacts of such a largeresidential scheme placing unduestrain on existing health,education, and transport facilitieshaving a direct impact on theservices within the LondonBorough of Southwark. Theproposal is therefore contrary toPolicy 3A 8-11 of the London Planand DCLG Circular 05/05.

3. The proposal would result inthe displacement of the existingcaravan site with no alternativelocation provided to the detrimentof people who use this facilitycontrary to the objectives of Policy3D.7 Visitors accommodation andfacilities.

4. The proposed height of theresidential blocks would beuncharacteristic to the area andwould undermine the open aspectof the existing park and the greenoutlook it currently offers,contrary to Policy 4B.01 of theLondon Plan.

5. The proposal fails todemonstrate how it would meetthe 20% renewable energyrequirement of the London Plancontrary to Policies 4A.3, 4A.4 and4A.7 of the London Plan.”

On behalf of his SouthwarkCollege Ward colleagues CllrsLewis Robinson and MichelleHolford, Cllr Kim Humphreyswrote separately in support of hisofficer’s statements of objection tothe LDA Masterplan. CollegeWard extends to the border of thePark at Sydenham Hill.

“The proposal would resultin substantial newresidential development onMetropolitan Open Landand land adjoining MOL …The proposal would resultin the displacement of theexisting caravan site withno alternative locationprovided” Southwark Council

LAMBETHLambeth Gipsy Hill ward

councillor, Cllr Andrew Gibson,wrote to Bromley on behalf of hisward colleagues Cllrs SuzannePoole and Graham Pycock.

“While I am open toimprovements to the parkland, Iam very concerned about theproposal to use land for housing.

There is a principle at stake here:developers should be required toformulate their plans without theirproposing to eat up protectedparkland. Each incremental takingof parkland might seem reasonablein itself, but the effect iscumulative. Just two months agoLambeth Council gave permissionto utilise part of Brockwell Park foran extra traffic lane. I amconcerned that we are chippingaway at our inheritance in a waythat is irreversible.

I understand that eachapplication must be judged on itsown merits: as this applicationproposes so many houses, incontravention of policies to protectopen land, I feel that thisapplication can be turned down onits own lack of merit.

On the above grounds, I opposethe plans as currently presented,and hope that the application willbe rejected.”

James Ireland of Lambeth’splanning team forwarded LambethCouncil’s observations on 30 June2008 as follows:

“Lambeth Council should inprinciple be supportive of the

positive approach of the LDA andLondon Borough of Bromley toimproving the condition of CrystalPalace Park and creating modernsports facilities there. An improvedpark and state-of-the-art sportsfacilities will not only benefitresidents within the Crystal Palaceand Borough of Bromley area, butwill benefit residents of adjoiningBoroughs and effectively London asa whole.

The major policy conflict created bythe application still lies with theproposed residential development ofparts of the park, the majority ofwhich is designated MetropolitanOpen Land. The LondonDevelopment Agency has puttogether an argument why anexception should be made to thispolicy at Rockhills Gate (designatedMOL) and Sydenham Gate (notwithin MOL, but within the parkboundary). It will be for theBorough of Bromley to determinewhether this argument for exceptionis acceptable. However, there is areal concern that such a proposalcould cause a precedent for otherMOL land in London.”

Latz + Partner/Meadowcroft Griffin illustrative elevation of the proposed Rockhillsresidential, as seen from the Park. Reproduced courtesy LDA. For full details of theapplication visit www.crystalpalacepark.org Masterplan Design & Access Statement Vol.1.

CROYDON: On 18 September 2008, having

heard the 11,000-page, £67.5 millionplanning application summarisedin just two minutes, Croydon’sPlanning Committee wererecommended to approve theapplication.

Only after protests from thepublic gallery did Croydon’splanning officer reveal that theapplication included the sale ofpublic parkland for blocks of 180private luxury flats.

Cllr Buttinger asked for confir-mation that it was: “the intention tosell areas of protected public parklandfor residential development”, towhich the officer said: “Yes”.

Members unanimously objectedto proposals for housing butwelcomed possible improvementsto the Park. Cllr Scott said: “thehousing is the only really contentiouspart of the scheme”. Cllr Filbey said:“Housing is not the solution to fundthe Park… Building on MetropolitanOpen Land is not the answer. No No”.

Cllr Scott said: “the important issuenow is to see open space maintained”,while Cllr Khan said: “the MOL isthe people’s inheritance”.

Cllr Perry gave assurance that“Green Belt and Metropolitan OpenLand is safe in Croydon.” He agreed

with the Council officer’srecommendation that there shouldbe ‘no objection in principle’ butthat there was probably aconsensus on the Committeeagainst the housing. He said thatCroydon’s report to Bromleyshould reflect this, and a paragraphshould be added stating that, “it isnot appropriate that parkland is beingsold for housing”.

The Committee accepted theofficer’s recommendation that noobjection to the application beraised in principle, with theproviso that a number ofconditions be added including theinappropriateness of sellingparkland for housing.

All four neighbouring councils are aligned with the 7,000 who signed the petitionagainst the sale of Crystal Palace Parkland for private housing, with the hundredswho wrote letters of objection to Bromley on this aspect of the Masterplan and withthe views of the overwhelming majority at the LDA’s own consultation meetings.Such abuse of an historic public park is rejected, and the precedent that would beestablished if parkland is sold to pay for its own improvement, recognised.

Cllr Perry said that Croydon’sreport to Bromley shouldreflect the Committee’sconsensus against housingand a paragraph should beadded stating that, “it is notappropriate that parkland isbeing sold for housing”.

adjoining Local Planning Authoritywishes to raise no objection to theapplication.” Attached was a copyof the officer’s original recommen-dation, without the addendumagreed by councillors that anumber of conditions be addedincluding the inappropriateness ofselling parkland for housing.

After the CPCA alerted bothCroydon and Chris Evans to thiscrucial omission, Croydon’swebsite was amended to show theMinutes of that meeting, as:

“RESOLVED that no objection beraised in principle, but that thecontents of the report and minutesbe forwarded to the LondonBorough of Bromley for consid-eration. The Planning Committeewere also keen to convey theirconcern about the principle ofresidential development onMetropolitan Open Land, inparticular the Rockhills residentialscheme within the EnglishLandscape of the Park.”

Chris Evans has acceptedCroydon’s objection to thehousing element of theMasterplan, and wrote to theCPCA: “ I see that the minutesrecord the additional concern aboutresidential development on MOL andthis will be noted in the report to theDC Committee.”

Subsequently, Bromley receiveda letter from Rory Macleod, Headof Planning Control at CroydonCouncil, stating: “I write to adviseyou that at the Planning CommitteeBusiness meeting held on 18/09/2008,it was resolved that this Council as

Latz + Partner/Meadowcroft Griffin illustrative elevation of the proposed six Sydenham Gate villas, as seen from Crystal Palace ParkRoad. Reproduced courtesy LDA. For full details of the application visit www.crystalpalacepark.org Masterplan Design & AccessStatement Vol.1.

Road were not constructed tofinance the Park but to save thecommercially operated CrystalPalace Company from bankruptcyin 1869, four years after Paxton’sdeath. The grounds of the CrystalPalace were not those of a publicpark but those of a commercialventure, charging an admissionfee, until the destruction of thePalace in 1936.

Bromley should have consideredthe LDA Masterplan applicationagainst the Park’s current status,function and future expectations,and not on misleading claimsbased on past history, when theland was under private ownershipof the Crystal Palace Company Ltd.

Would Bromley Council sellMOL public parkland to allowconstruction of 5-storey blocks ofprivate luxury flats if the park inquestion was Kelsey Park,Norman Park, Hayes Park,Ravensbourne Open Space orChurch House Gardens? Theyare all major Bromley parks, butnot remote on the northern edgeof the borough as is CrystalPalace Park. Perhaps BromleyCouncil does intend to build inits other parks but first needs toset the precedent?

The 18 councillors comprisingBromley Council DevelopmentControl Committee represented:

Chislehurst (2), Farnborough &Crofton (2), Petts Wood & Knoll(2), Cray Valley East (2), CrayValley West, Chelsfield & PrattsBottom, Darwin, West Wickham,Bickley, Hayes & Coney Hall,Bromley Common & Keston,Biggin Hill and Shortlands (1),with one (John Getgood) fromPenge & Cator but none fromCrystal Palace & Anerley andnone actually live in the area.

A CPCA member asked: “Asmembers of my local council shouldBromley protect Metropolitan OpenLand within the borough?” Onlythree out of the seven councillorsapproached responded.

Cllr Getgood replied:“ Yes, we do believe that Bromley

should protect Metropolitan OpenLand just as we support protection forthe Green Belt. However, that cannotalways be a hard and fast rulecovering each and every case. Thereare some areas of the Green Belt thatwere appropriate for designation 60years ago which do now need

BLOCKS OF FLATSFOR OTHER BROMLEY PARKS?

reviewing. I would argue that MOLis even more important as it is oftenthe only green lung for people livingin more urban areas. However, theremay be times when a greater gain canbe achieved by sacrificing some areasof MOL or areas of MOL can beenhanced by adjustments. It wouldplainly be unsustainable to argue thatno area of MOL should be touchedwhatever the circumstances.

So, while upholding the generalprinciple, I am afraid it's got to beevery case on its merits. Not theanswer you were hoping for, perhaps,but I can assure you that this is thereality of the situation whateverothers might tell you.” His wardcolleague, Cllr Fookes, agreed withhim saying: “John is absolutely righton this.”

It is most regrettable thatBromley’s departure fromprevious strong resistance toapplications in the borough forbuilding on Metropolitan OpenLand, applies to Crystal PalacePark.

Crystal Palace councillor, JohnCanvin, replied: “Any proposals forthe use of Metropolitan Open Landwill require the closest scrutiny. Theproposal for its use is much dependanton its past history and will requiredeepest consideration.”

Cllr Canvin is quite correct.Development applications shouldbe considered on their merits, andtheir historic significancerespected. But the LDA falselyclaim that there is a history ofbuilding villas “on former parts ofthe Park and, as in many public parksof the period, their construction wasused to finance the Park.” However,the villas on Crystal Palace Park

The LDA Masterplan application should have beendetermined on the Park’s current status and function,not on false and misleading LDA statements.

During limited stakeholderconsultation, the LDA gaveassurance that no additionalhousing would be built on CrystalPalace Park at some future date.

Notwithstanding the CPCA’sopposition to any private housingon the Park, there is no mention ofthis LDA loose assurance in theMasterplan application concerningfuture sale of parkland.

Chris Evans, Bromley MajorDevelopments Team Managerwho was charged with writing thereport for the DevelopmentControl Committee on the LDAMasterplan application, amammoth task taking severalmonths, was asked: whether suchassurance had been incorporated intoany 'condition', or in the terms of theproposed 125-year lease”.

Mr Evans replied: “We [Bromley]can’t impose a condition to prevent afuture planning application beingsubmitted.”

Will this LDA assurance be asworthless as their public pledge“housing would be a last resort”(LDA newsletter August 2007)which within the month became“Housing is vital”.

How many more LDA U-turnsare there likely to be during theproposed Masterplan constructionperiod over 20 - 30 years?

MORE PARK HOUSING?

Perhaps the most contentiousaspect of the LDA Masterplanhas been its latest insistencethat sale of parkland forhousing is now “vital” toenable the Park to receivebasic improvements.

Bromley’s media release of 10December 2008 states: “One of theresidential sites, the Rockhills site,whilst not part of the Park, isclassified as Metropolitan Open Land(MOL)” which suggests that theDevelopment Control Committeeapproval of the Masterplan wasbased on false and misleadinginformation.

As all but one of the members ofthat committee live in wards fardistant from the Park, theirdecision depended on informationgiven to them rather than actuallocal knowledge.

When Tilman Latz, of Latz +Partner, the LDA Masterplanlandscape architect, stated at apublic consultation meeting twoyears ago that one particular area

earmarked for blocks of flats wasnot actually part of the Park, hesaid this was based oninformation provided to him.However later, Mr Latz acceptedthat it was incorrect and that allareas designated for housing werewithin the Park boundary.

Incorrect and misleadinginformation continues to bedisseminated, but now also bythe London Mayor.

Boris Johnson is issuing astandard letter in response towritten questions from the publicabout the proposed housing onCrystal Palace Park. His letterstates: “…whilst some of the housingis on land that is classified asMetropolitan Open Land, it is all onland that has previously been builton, and that has never been part ofthe formal Park.”

This is false. All the landproposed for the housing iswithin the Park boundary.

The only house ever built on theRockhills area (now MOL) was SirJoseph Paxton's residence and

FALSIFICATION OF THE FACTS

later home of Sir Henry Buckland,General Manager of CrystalPalace Park until 1956. Thisformer listed building wasdemolished during 1960. The areaof land, known as Rockhills, wasformally incorporated into thePark on 1st January 1972 and a‘jogging’ trail was established in1978. Bromley Council relocatedThe Caravan Club (introduced atCrystal Palace in 1952) fromanother area of the Park to the‘Rockhills’ corner in 1989.

This is confirmed in a “DraftLandscape Plan” prepared andwritten by the Crystal Palace ParkManager, Patrick Phillips, forBromley Council in 1986 and thePark boundary is clearly delineatedon English Heritage’s Register ofHistoric Parks & Gardens and onLand Registry document. All areavailable to the public.

What trust can we place inBromley and the LDA whenfalsification is used so blatantly toforce through a controversial andwidely opposed scheme?

From the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens: Crystal Palace Park.Reproduced courtesy English Heritage

Register of Parks and GardensName: CRYSTAL PALACE PARKNumber: PG1324Grade: II*Registration date: 01/10/1987County/UA: GREATER LONDONDistrict: BROMLEYMap centred on NGR: TQ3429870933Boundary captured at: 1:10000Map scale: 1:10,000Extract from OS sheet(s): TQ36NW;

TQ37SW; TQ36NE; TQ37SEKey:

Designated Park and GardenSheet 1 of 1

Print date: 22 February 2002This map is reproduced from the OS map byEnglish Heritage with the permission ofOrdnance Survey on behalf of the Controllerof Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, cCrownCopyright.Licence Number GD030859GcEnglish Heritage

ENGLISH HERITAGE23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ET

Telephone 020 7973 3000 Fax 020 7973 3001

English Heritage is prolificin its publication of

strategies and policies to protectthe historic environment. Onesuch publication is ‘EnablingDevelopment and theConservation of HeritageAssets’ which clearly sets outthe nature of ‘enablingdevelopment’ and introducesin the form of guidance sevencriteria, ALL of which must bemet if enabling developmentis considered to be acceptable.

The London DevelopmentAgency claim that the proposed“vital” private housingdevelopment of 180 luxuryapartments in Crystal Palace Parkdoes not fall within “… thedefinition of enabling developmentas set out by English Heritage”but “…for completeness, it isprudent to consider this elementof the proposal against thisGovernment body”. Yet,perversely, in justification of ‘VerySpecial Circumstances’ the LDAstate “the enabling developmentwill not secure the long termfuture use of the Park in isolationbut will make a significant andnecessary contribution to the levelone works…”

The CPCA 45-page letter ofobjection* to the LDA Masterplanincluding sale of parkland forhousing cites English Heritagecriteria and maintains that nonehave been met nor EH guidancefollowed. But concerningly,English Heritage takes the opposite

ENABLING DEVELOPMENT ...THE ENGLISH HERITAGE VERSION

view without providing anysubstantiation.

In its letter of support for theLDA Masterplan including sale ofparkland for housing, EH states:“English Heritage has lookedcarefully at the submittedapplication material and webelieve that the proposed masterplan and the development andother proposals within it do notmaterially harm the heritage valueof the historic Park or its settingand that they fully meet thecriteria set out in our guidance.”

selling protected public parklandon which it conferred Grade II *registration, as simply “localcontroversy”, ignores the views ofthe four neighbouring boroughs,local ward councillors, a 7,000-strong petition, opinion polls inthe press and the overwhelmingresults of the LDA’s own consul-tation – all of which demonstratesstrong opposition to the housingand recognises the precedent thiswould establish. Moreover, theSecretary of State’s call-in of theapplication is evidence enoughthat serious national policies arebeing affected.

Perhaps we should not besurprised at this support for saleof parkland as this governmentquango previously gave fullsupport to the Bromley-approvedmultiplex and the KathrynGustafson contemporarylandscaping, much of whichfailed, was never implemented oris now being replaced.

It is however surprising thatwhilst English Heritage ChiefExecutive, Dr Simon Thurley, iskeenly promoting within hisorganisation a culture ofmeaningful participation with thecommunity in order to makeEnglish Heritage more prudent,open and transparent in itsbusiness dealings with theheritage asset, this is clearly notthe case in Crystal Palace Park.

* the CPCA formal objection to theLDA Masterplan can be viewed atwww.cpca.org.uk

In conclusion, EH states: “Werecognise that certain elements ofthe proposals have generated adegree of local controversy but itis our belief that the relativelylocalised impacts of the mostcontentious elements, particularlythe proposed housing, will notharm the character or appearanceof the conservation area in generalor the historic park in particular.”

English Heritage’s total disregardfor the contentious nature of

On 26 February the CPCAattended the London HistoricParks seminar held in one of thetwo listed mansions at the 186-acre Grade II* GunnersburyPark, west London.

Sponsored by English Heritage,the London Parks & GardensTrust and the boroughs ofHounslow and Ealing, theseminar discussed the future ofour ‘protected’ historic parks andopen spaces. Chris Sumner,formerly of English Heritage, andnow of the London Parks andGardens Trust, chaired the event.

Also attending were representativesof English Heritage, the HeritageLottery Fund, the Greater LondonAuthority, Royal Parks, the LeaValley Regional Parks Authorityand several local authoritiesincluding Bromley, Croydon,Lambeth and Southwark, as wellas Friends’ groups and amenitysocieties.

The speakers were passionateabout protecting parks for thefuture. Sue Ireland of theCorporation of London said:“We must take responsibility for whatwe have around us. Historic parkshave been handed to us by previousgenerations. We must pass them onfor future generations in good orderor better. The best way of doing thatis by working together.” Everyspeaker agreed that parks werevital to the quality of life in thecommunity.

But the fine rhetoric throughoutthe day, failed to match the reality,as although Gunnersbury hostedthe event, no reference was madeto the proposed sale of 4.5 acres ofthe park for construction of 40 to60 two-storey luxury houses.Neither was Crystal Palace Parkon the agenda.

Paul Stamper of the HeritageProtection Team at EnglishHeritage defined the meaning of aregistered park or garden as“designed landscapes of national

significance” and as such “the bar isset high”. He continued: “Themain control is that registration is amaterial consideration if there is aplanning application… the localplanning authority will have to givedue weight to the fact that this was aregistered park and think veryseriously about the impact of theplanning proposal on the historiclandscape itself”. This statementdid not reflect the support givenby English Heritage to the sale ofGrade II* registered Crystal PalaceParkland by his colleagues.

with the abdication of responsi-bility by English Heritage inwelcoming the sale of registeredpublic parkland for the promise ofpark improvements at CrystalPalace and Gunnersbury. Yet hecontinued: “Only the really speciallandscapes - internationallyimportant is a good way of thinkingabout them - are afforded Grade II*protection. In terms of managingchange it is the two upper groups[Grade I and II*] that EnglishHeritage is primarily concernedwith.”

As English Heritage hasabdicated responsibility forCrystal Palace Park, PaulStamper’s final comments: “thatevery effort will be made to protectand enhance the current parks andgardens especially those which appearon the English Heritage register”lacked conviction.

At question time, the CPCAintroduced the sale of publicparkland to enable basic parkimprovements and asked allpresent where this had happenedalready? Chair, Chris Sumnerfound this “a highly chargedpolitical question” and there was nointerest from the panel. Only arepresentative from TowerHamlets responded, saying: “it

LONDON HISTORIC LANDSCAPES SEMINAR

The Orangery at Gunnersbury Park

“Only the really speciallandscapes - internationallyimportant is a good way ofthinking about them - areafforded Grade II* protection”

Paul Stamper, English Heritage

Discussing the HeritageProtection Bill, whereby localauthorities will be given moreresponsibility for their heritagesites, he added: “EH ChiefExecutive Simon Thurley, EnglishHeritage and the Government wereresolutely committed to the reform ofthe way in which heritage isrecognised and managed”. It seemsthis process has already begun

happens a lot to us, but it doesn’tusually happen on parks that arehistorically significant”. Sheexplained that parks in TowerHamlets are often developed forsocial housing but usually,significant section 106 agreementsare offered to the parks thatremain, to improve their facilities,adding that unfortunately thecouncillors who are oftenmembers of the residential andsocial housing associations willusually prioritise housing needabove green space and open space.(Housing need is not an issue atCrystal Palace Park.)

Chris Sumner pointed out thatthere is no commitment on localauthorities to spend money ontheir open spaces apart frommaintaining them to a minimumstandard under health and safetyrequirements.

Tony Leach, Director of theLondon Parks and Green SpacesForum said in conclusion: “What London needs is a strategicparks authority which provides amechanism for channelling funding toLondon’s strategic parks, the largerparks across London, which wouldinclude Gunnersbury Park, CrystalPalace Park and the like. Really likethe old GLC parks before they werehanded back to boroughs… We knowfrom surveys that the general public

The Small Mansion, Gunnersbury Park

would be willing to pay a tax if theyknew it was going to local parks.”This statement was met withapproval by those present.

Editor’s note:

Last year, a leaked documentfrom the Ealing and HounslowCouncil who jointly administerGunnersbury Park RegenerationBoard, showed a proposal to sellareas of parkland for luxuryhousing to help pay for the Park’sregeneration. Initially shelvedfollowing the threat of acommunity legal challenge, theproposal looms once more.

Paul Jardin, the ManagingDirector of Jura Consultants, thefinancial consultant for Hounslowand Ealing Councils, said: “Weknow the value of the park and theprice of giving it up, but for thefuture benefit of the park, withoutenabling development, it [theregeneration] might just neverhappen”. Where have we heardthat before, and how often will wehear it again?

Is the true meaning of consultationthreat from politicians thatpreventing the sale of parklandwill scupper all chance of futurepark improvements?

FUNDING CONFUSIONSince the LDA took a 125-year

lease on the National SportsCentre in March 2006, distinctionbetween funding for a newregional sports centre and fundingfor the remainder of the Park hasbeen obscured. The LDA has notalways made it clear that the twoare entirely separate.

WHO ARE ENGLISHHERITAGE?

“English Heritage exists toprotect and promote England'sspectacular historic environmentand ensure that its past isresearched and understood.”

EH is the Government's statutoryadviser on the historicenvironment. Sponsored by theDepartment for Culture, Mediaand Sport, it works with a rangeof Government Departments, tohelp realise the potential of thehistoric environment.

Funded in part by theGovernment and revenue earnedfrom its historic properties andother services, it received £129million of public funding in2005/06 and £41.9 million fromother sources.

The work of English Heritage isoverseen by a Chairman and aboard of up to 16 Commissionersselected by the Government forthe breadth of their national andregional expertise. The Commissionis, in turn, advised by 13 expertadvisory committees and panels.

English Heritage works inpartnership with the centralgovernment departments, localauthorities, voluntary bodies andthe private sector to conserve andenhance the historic environment.

Some of its responsibilities are toact as a national and internationalchampion for the heritage, adviseon the preservation of the historicenvironment and encouragebroader public involvement withthe heritage.

Following extensive remedialworks at the LDA’s Crystal PalaceNational Sports Centre to upgradefacilities and remove asbestos, there-opening of the pool is scheduledfor 25 April 2009. The LDA said:“We look forward to seeing CrystalPalace once again take its place as amajor centre for sport in London”.

During People’s Question Timeat Bromley on 6 November 2008,Mayor Johnson was asked if theNSC could be used as an Olympictraining venue. He replied: “Itwould be wonderful if the CrystalPalace facility were to be used as atraining facility in the run-up to 2012.I would certainly support that andencourage that…”

Olympics and that national teamswill be considering their preferredtraining venue within the next year.

The LDA have spent a reported£14 million, more than three timesthe original estimate, on new plantfor the swimming, teaching anddiving pools to keep the facilityuntil the 2012 Olympics. Post-2012,the LDA propose to drain andboard over the pools to convertthe NSC into a ‘pavilion’ for 5-a-side football and other dry sports.

To minimise the visual impact ofthis Grade II* 1960s structure inthe new Park landscape, the LDAMasterplan proposes to bury theNSC in soil up to the first floor.

CRYSTAL PALACE CIVIC FORUM

It has long been recognised by those who live and work in CrystalPalace that its location at the confluence of five boroughs limitsopportunity for community participation in proposals for the area.

This situation results in piecemeal decision-making by the councils ofSouthwark, Lambeth, Croydon, Bromley and Lewisham, whose plansfor their boroughs are sometimes made without consideration for cross-borough impact. There is little evidence of cross-borough communityconsultation and respect for local knowledge of groups, such as theCPCA, which is often viewed by councils as interference to be overcomerather than as contribution to decision making.

LOCAL FORUMS

To facilitate community involvement four of the five boroughs havelocal forums with varying delegated authority. Croydon hasNeighbourhood Partnerships, Southwark has Community Councils,Lewisham has Local Assemblies and Lambeth is setting up its new AreaForums. Bromley still lacks any forums anywhere in its borough.

A NEW ACT

The ‘Sustainable Communities Act 2007’ gives people the power toprotect and enhance their communities. It establishes for the first time aco-operative method of devolved power and decision-making, ratherthan the inverted process that often ignores the ‘grassroots’ knowledgeof local communities.

The Act provides the opportunity for a new forum, specific to theCrystal Palace area. Some innovative thinking is required from ALLboroughs to establish an effective cross-borough forum. The CPCA isworking with others towards making such a forum a reality.

John Payne

Bromley’s failure to comply withEuropean regulations has costBromley council taxpayers £275,000.

Following a European Courtruling that Bromley had failed toinstruct an Environmental ImpactAssessment prior to approval ofthe proposed development of a20-screen cinema multiplex inCrystal Palace Park, the CPCAwrote, on numerous occasions, toDoug Patterson Bromley ChiefExecutive, requesting confirmationof the costs awarded against theCouncil. He failed to answerthese letters throughout 2008 untiladvised of our intention to applyunder the Freedom of InformationAct. The CPCA has finally receivedconfirmation that costs have beenagreed at £275,000, which will bemet by Bromley’s long-sufferingcouncil tax-payers.

Costs awarded against the UKGovernment for their part in thisfiasco, are still unknown.

TAXPAYERSFOOT THE BILLFOR BROMLEYNEGLIGENCE

THE METTHE METAMORPHOSIS OF AMORPHOSIS OF THE NSCTHE NSC

Greenwich Leisure Ltd, whomanage the NSC, say it is availableas a pre-training camp for the 2012

The Olympic Symbol of Blue,Yellow, Black, Green and Redinterlocking rings signifies theunity of the five continents, butthe colours do not correspond toa certain continent. London, theelected host city, will stage the2012 Olympic Games from 27 Julyto 12 August and the Paralympicsfrom 29 August until 9 September.Those mainly responsible for theLondon 2012 Olympic Games arethe IOC, DCMS, OAD, GOE,LCOG, GLA and LDA, all betterknown by their acronyms thantheir full titles, and their specificfunction and interaction could befound imprecise.

According to the Olympic Charterestablished by Pierre de Coubertin,the goal of the Olympic Movementis to contribute to building apeaceful and better world byeducating youth through sportpractised without discriminationof any kind and in the OlympicSpirit, which requires mutualunderstanding with a spirit offriendship, solidarity and fair play.

There is little evidence of thecommendable ideals of Pierre deCoubertin in modern OlympicGames; with professional‘competitors’ receiving obsceneamounts of money from hugesalaries, sponsorship, prize-money,advertising and commercialendorsements, and a new Olympicevent could be avoiding detectionof using banned substances.

In a notable first, the CPCA, inthe Summer 2007 Newsletter,conjectured on Olympic security

and possibility of the 2012 OlympicGames being handed back to theorganisers and that perhaps thetime had come for the OlympicGames to have a permanent home.

Since then, journalists andpoliticians have recognised this instatements and articles, amongstthem Olympics Minister theRt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, who said“had we known what we know nowwould we have bid for the Olympics?Almost certainly not.” Thissurprising admission by TessaJowell, described by politicalcommentators as the biggest gaffeof her political career, may also havebeen her most prophetic statement.

As with the greatly increasedfinal costs of the Dome and Welshand Scottish Parliament Buildings,an Olympic budget of £2.375billion at the time of the 2005successful London Olympic bidhas now rocketed to £9.3 billion,and may finally exceed £20 billion,a stark warning given earlier byformer London DeliveryAuthority Supremo, Jack Lemley.

One aspect of the forthcomingLondon Olympic Games thatnobody wants to discuss issecurity, a political point made togood effect by Shadow OlympicsMinister Hugh Robertson MP, thecosts of which could dwarf someother costs and leave a legacy ofdebt for Londoners continuingindefinitely, despite hollowassurances by ex London MayorKen Livingstone: “Londoners willnot pay a penny more than the

current 38p a week contribution on thecounil tax to the Olympic Games. Toget the Olympic Games for the price ofa walnut whip a week is a bargain”.

Londoners have not been told forhow long they will pay the ‘walnutwhip’ levy and that based on the£9.3 billion current projections,final cost of the 2012 Olympicsequates to £1,200 for every manand woman in London, a figurethat could well double. NigelEvans MP Conservative member ofthe Select Committee monitoringthe Games warns: “There are toomany Olympic bureaucrats who thinkthey have a blank cheque”.

LORDS OF THERINGS

In November 2008, theillustrious InternationalOlympic Committee visitedLondon for discussions, postBeijing, on the practicalitiesof organising and staging theOlympics; the costs of fourdays of lectures, receptions,and official dinners, beingshared between the IOC andthe LOCOG (London OrganisingCommittee of the Olympicand Paralympic Games).Although IOC PresidentJacques Rogge made obliquereference to global financialmelt-down in saying “I amconscious that we come out ofthe enormous success of Beijinginto difficult economic times...”this did not deter the IOCfrom bringing some 900Olympic ‘stakeholders’ toLondon to partake in this junket.

The costs of security at the widelydispersed Olympic events venues,though likely to be astronomical,cannot suffer the ruthless savingsbeing sought elsewhere. As wasevident in Mumbai, fanaticalterrorists can, by the indiscriminateslaughter of innocent people,paralyse a whole city, and the nextArmy Chief of General Staff,General Sir David Richards, saidOlympic security uncertaintieskept him awake at night.

Mike Warwick

Since its partial restoration in1983 Crystal Palace Park’s mazehas never really fulfilled itspotential. A history of progressiveneglect and vandalism results ina disappointing experience forthe few who visit.

Now, however, Girlguiding UKhas stepped in to save the ailingmaze and create a permanentinstallation to mark the centenaryof the establishment of theguiding movement in 2009.

The Girl Guide movement beganin 1909 here at Crystal Palace Parkwhen a small group of pioneeringgirls stopped Robert Baden-Powellat a boy scouts rally demandingthat a girls’ movement be formedon similar lines. Persuaded by theenthusiasm of those girls, Baden-Powell published a scheme forGirl Guides, which proved sopopular that today it is the largestinternational voluntary organi-sation for girls and young women.

The Crystal Palace Park Mazeproject involves a partnershipwith several interested groupsincluding Bromley Council andthe LDA. An exhibition of theproposals was held at Kingswood

House Community Centre on 6October 2008, to raise supportneeded from the community forthe project to be eligible forfunding from the Mayor’s‘Priority Parks’ initiative.

The proposal is to renovate theexisting maze, making it modern

carved stones representing theGuide badge symbols, positionedat the ‘dead ends’ of the maze.A central design, reproducing themaze as seen from above, willhave these badges inlaid in castbronze allowing visitors to trytheir skills at brass rubbing.

AMAZING GIRL GUIDES

and interactive, usingideas developed through acommunity workshop.The design will reflect thehistory of Girlguiding,link to the social history ofthe area and treat thishistoric feature withsensitivity and respect. Tomake the maze a safe andenjoyable amenity, theGuides have put forwardthe following proposals:-• removal of the overgrownrhododendrons at the entranceopening up the area and creatingaccess to the outer path andgnarled holly, whilst preservingthe small population of thewoodland orchid Broad-LeavedHelleborine;• re-instatement of two rows ofLombardy Poplars that were inthe original 1870 maze plan;• reduction in the maze hedges toadult shoulder height;• creation of an interactive andengaging artwork trail game of 10

• a patterned plan of contrastingcut stone at the centre,surrounded by granite seating;• seeding a new meadow aroundthe slopes of the maze to improveits topography and define itsedge.

The CPCA applauds thissympathetic restoration of anhistoric feature of the Park for theenjoyment of the public. It is aproposal which aligns with thebetter aspects of the Park’sMasterplan, and shows howconstructive significant changescan be achieved with relative ease,reasonable cost and sympatheticcustodianship.

However, the important issue ofmaintenance and security is ofconcern; the new fencing hasalready been vandalised. Parkrangers patrolling in vehicles arenot sufficient deterrent. In otherBromley parks, patrols are on foot,with dogs. Without propersecurity, mindless vandals coulddestroy the hard work that isbeing put into this project. AsKen Livingstone said, before thefirst Mayoral election and at atime when he opposedcommercial development onparkland: “Bring back the parkies”.

The plans on display at Kingswood House

Children enjoying the new improvements where the reduced height of the hedging andthe clearing of dense undergrowth gives the maze a sunny and safe feel.

The London Bat Group(LBG) has officially objectedto the LDA Masterplanapplication. Acknowledgedas the leading organisationon bat conservation, thestatements of the LBG can beconsidered authoritative.

The LBG is the lead partner inthe London BiodiveristyPartnership ‘Species Action Planfor Bats’ and is considered by theLondon Mayor, in The Mayor'sBiodiversity Strategy, to be anappropriate consultee underSection 42(2)(e) of the GreaterLondon Authority Act 1999.

In a letter to Bromley Councilthe London Bat Group states:

“Surveys have shown thatCrystal Palace Park contains themost diverse range of bat speciesfound in this part of London.However, as these surveys havefailed to identify and protect thefeatures upon which the bats aredependent, there seems littlevirtue in undertaking them inthe first place.

The destruction of thesefeatures will lead to a changein the local distribution andnumbers of bats, and the loss ofthe more specialised bat speciesfrom the Park.

In some instances, proposalsmay be in breach of the HabitatsRegulations if interfering with afeature that a colony isdependent on, in order to rearand nurture their young. This iseasily done where there is such apoor appreciation of the effectsof light pollution and the impactof the removal of establishedvegetation.

The London Bat Group wouldlike to see evidence that the batwork has actually influenced theproposal and until such time, weoppose the plans.”

Councils are obliged to enhancethe habitat of bats in planningapplications. The London BatGroup states this application willcause harm and the loss ofspecies, and that the survey failedto identify all features ofimportance.

Due to the regional importanceof Crystal Palace Park, the impacton bat species will affect not onlythe Park but the greater 'localarea' which means it will impacton Lewisham, Southwark,Lambeth and Croydon.

There are occasions when‘imperative reasons of overridingpublic interest’ can allowdamage to a bat habitat (ifmitigated), but in the case of theLDA Crystal Palace Parkapplication the problems are due

to a design that ignores therequirements of bats, andmitigation is not possible withinthe proposed plan.

The granting of planningpermission without the priorbenefit of adequate protectedspecies information risks legalchallenge under the EIARegulations (Regulation 3(2)),as was the case in the Regina vCornwall County Council ex parteJill Hardy ruling.

The LDA have clearly notprovided the required level ofinformation as indicated in the BatConservation Trust SurveyGuidelines.

To learn more of these rare creaturesvisit: www.londonbats.org.uk

BATS UNDER THREAT

The Common Pipistrelle in flight,our smallest bat.

Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri) The Natterer’s Bat is a verylight-phobic species, rare in London,and will almost certainly be lostshould the LDA sell parkland atRockhills for housing developments.

Noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula)Noctule resting on tree. Our largest bat with a wingspan upto 40cm or 17inches, the Noctule batis not found in the borough ofBromley outside Crystal Palace Park- its last stronghold in the area.

The Crystal Palace camping andcaravan ground at Rockhills withmature trees and absence of lightpollution, gives sanctuary toprotected bat species.

Gipsy Hill Ward, Lambeth

ASBESTOS AND THESAFETY OF RESIDENTS

During a Lambeth Councilhousing works programme in2007, Jean Haley OBE, Chair of theCentral Hill Residents’ Association,noted that the council was notproperly monitoring the handlingof asbestos.

Many post-war council housescontain asbestos, which is safe ifundisturbed. However, builderswere drilling and so there was aneed for proper precautions.

Mrs Haley took the matter upwith Gipsy Hill ward councillorAndrew Gibson. Together, theypressed for an explanation fromcouncil officers, but the councilwas unresponsive for months.Finally, Mrs Haley and Cllr Gibsonraised the matter with the ChiefExecutive of Lambeth Council at apublic meeting in Christ Church,Gipsy Hill, and it was agreed tohold a special Council investigation.

At the time of going to press theinvestigation is continuing.Already it seems that the Council’sprocedures were inadequate andin any case were not followedproperly. The borough issupposed to keep an “AsbestosRegister”, which should beconsulted when building worktakes place. This seems to havehappened only on a very patchybasis, and therefore this is an issuethat is of considerable importanceto all Lambeth Council residents.

If any residents feel they mayhave disturbed asbestos recently -for example by drilling a wall -please get in touch with CllrGibson and he will ask theCouncil to examine the facts asmatter of urgency.

Cllr Andrew GibsonGipsy Hill [email protected] tel 07748-736451

College Ward, Southwark

THE PARK,POST OFFICE &GREEN CHAIN WALK

Good News and Bad News forlocal residents - I will start withthe Bad. Despite a campaignsupported by hundreds ofDulwich and Lambeth residents,the Post Office at Gipsy Road hasbeen closed under the PostOffice’s “Network Change”programme initiated by theGovernment. There is a starkcontrast (in my view) between thisGovernment, which has presidedover the closure of 9 Post Officesin Dulwich & West Norwood since1997, and the work we have doneto secure money to regeneratelocal shopping parades such as theKingswood Estate.

The Good News is that theKingswood Estate Shopping Paradeis set to benefit from a £250,000grant from the Big Lottery Fund toinvest in a “Community Shop”.Kingswood residents and CollegeCouncillors worked with theCrystal Palace CommunityDevelopment Trust to secure thisgrant to refurbish two of the emptyshop units and bring them backinto use, providing access to muchneeded services on the estate.

This summer we attended theopening of the extension of the“Green Chain Walk” intoSouthwark. Thanks to backingfrom College Ward Councillors wehave now joined the network, aseries of green open spacescrossing Bromley, Bexley,Greenwich, Lewisham, and nowlinking into Dulwich andNunhead. I have been nominatedto represent Southwark on theircommittee and will keep youupdated in the future on the localimprovements this will bring.

Finally, as you are aware, inDecember last year Bromley’sDevelopment Control committeewere “minded to approve” theLDA's Masterplan for CrystalPalace Park. My colleague CllrMichelle Holford has written to

the Secretary of State, HazelBlears, asking her to call in thedecision as we do not support thesale of parkland for housing.

If you wish to contact me aboutthis, or any other College Wardissues, please e-mail me.

Cllr Lewis RobinsonCollege [email protected]

Upper Norwood Ward,CroydonMORE TREES PLEASE!

Trees are not just things ofbeauty, or nuisance to some; theycontribute to our oxygen supply,lock-up carbon and are home to avast number of animals, birds andinsects, which I am sure everyonewelcomes - especially in UpperNorwood.

To this end I invited localresidents to a walkabout to seewhere trees might be planted orreplanted, both in the street and inthe local parks. Two residentseventually came out with me andwe identified the BedwardineRoad area for street replanting,replacing trees that had beenremoved in the past. We alsofound areas around UpperNorwood Recreation Groundwhere mature trees had beenfelled, for whatever reason, andwhere there is adequate land fornew ones to be planted. MikeFisher, the Croydon CouncilLeader, has already supervisedsome tree planting in UpperNorwood recently. I hope I willbe able to report more progressearly in the New Year.

Cllr George Filbey Upper Norwood Ward [email protected]

Congratulations to Cllr Robert Askey,

Upper Norwood Ward, on his election as

Mayor of Croydon.

FROM OUR LOCALCOUNCILLORS

2 0 0 9 A G M7.30pm Thursday 14th May

at the Goodliffe Hall, Christ Church

Highland Road, off Gipsy Hill,London SE19

All members are warmlyinvited to come and meet thecommittee, hear reports and

ask questions.Business will include

discussion on the PublicInquiry into the LDA

Masterplan application forCrystal Palace Park.Guest speaker to be

announced later.

As always, delicious home-maderefreshments will be provided.

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MEMBERSHIPMEMBERSHIPMany thanks to those memberswho have renewed theirsubscriptions for 2008-09. Thereare still a number of you whohave not renewed, and we urgeyou to do so as soon as you can.Even better if you renew bystanding order that would be agreat help to us in reducing theadministration time and costs offollowing up unrenewedsubscriptions.

Just to remind you, ourmembership year runs from 1stMarch, so please use the formwithin this newsletter for your2009-2010 subscription.

An organisation like the CPCA isreliant on the practical as well asfinancial support of its members,so we are grateful to those of you

who have completed the part ofthe application form in which weask for various kinds ofhelp/input into the working ofthe CPCA.

Our apologies for having beenslow to respond to your offers ofhelp: we plan to follow this up assoon as possible. We welcomehearing from you by phone, emailor letter and meeting you at ourvarious events.

Although a little way off, anotheropportunity to participate is theAGM – an evening which includesnews updates, a good buffet and aguest speaker in addition to theusual business.

Lastly, please do let us know ifyou change your email address.Jo BryantMembership Secretary

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Please return this form with your subscription to CPCA:10 Jasper Road London SE19 1SJ Tel/Fax: 020 8670 4395 email: [email protected] website: www.cpca.org.uk

Member of the London Forum of Amenity & Civic Societies & The Open Spaces Society Registered Charity No. 261790

If you care about the area,

join the CPCA. Together,

your voice counts.

KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH THE CPCA WEBSITE

For the latest information oncurrent CPCA activities, mostrecently concerning it's objectionto the LDA Masterplanapplication and involvement inthe forthcoming local inquiry,make sure to bookmark and be aregular visitor to our website:www.cpca.org.uk

We've added a quick way tokeep up to date with CPCA newsand events from the website - anemail digest that goes out everytime the website is updated. It'sfree, and easy to access - just clickon the email icon that's on everypage and have the details andrelevant links sent straight to yourinbox. When you sign up you'll

be sent an email to verify yoursubscription which will start assoon as you reply.

The same information isavailable via the orange RSS iconsto those of you who like to receiveupdates in a your web browser ora feedreader.

Our website gallery nowincludes Bjarne Bladbjerg's latestcolourful collection of restaurants,pubs and shop fronts from in andaround the Triangle as it developsinto a larger collection of images,both current and historical.Submissions for the gallery arewelcome for works in anymedium that feature aspects ofthe Crystal Palace area.

Don't forget our Events page hasdetails on CPCA walks, quizzes,restaurant evenings and otherlocal goings on. An onlineplanning resource with guidelineson regulations and specificfeatures is currently beingassembled too.

Jeremy WalkerWebmaster

We all carry our mobilephones with names andnumbers stored in its memory,but should we be involved inan accident, or were taken ill,how would those attending usknow who to call. Which of thehundreds of numbers stored isthe contact person in case ofemergency?

HENCE THE 'ICE' CAMPAIGN

(IN CASE OF EMERGENCY). If the number of a ‘contact

in the event of emergency’ isstored under the name ICE,emergency service personneland hospital staff would beable to contact the right personquickly simply by dialling theICE number.

The idea came from aparamedic who found that, atthe scene of an accident, thepatient usually had a mobilephone, but the emergency crew

A LIFE-SAVING MESSAGEFROM THE

AMBULANCE SERVICEhad no way of knowing whichwas the best number to call.He thought this problem could besolved if there was a nationallyrecognised entry in the contactnames list.

For more than one contact namesimply enter ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.It really could save your life, orput a loved one's mind at rest.

The scheme has backing fromthe Welsh ambulance service andWelsh assembly who believe itcould help at a time when everysecond counts, and spending timetrying to contact the next of kincan delay the start of treatment.“It is a case of helping people indistress and getting the best andmost correct information about apatient, and the best use out of amobile phone.”

Falklands war veteran Simon Weston

(For more visit the website of theBBC News ICE campaign)

CRYSTAL PALACE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

President

Audrey Hammond

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICERS

Chairman John Payne Vice Chairman & Planning Don BiancoHon Secretary Suzanne ElkinHon Treasurer Ramesh MorjariaMembership Jo BryantWebdesign Jeremy WalkerEvents Katriona Ogilvy-WebbPlanning Pam Gray, Joe Figueira, Jon & Eileen Digby-RogersGraphics Mike Conrad Research Dr Rachel Ward

CPCA 10 Jasper Road, Upper Norwood, London SE19 1SJtel/fax: 020 8670 4395 e: [email protected] or [email protected]

www.cpca.org.uk Registered Charity No. 261790 Member of the London Forum of Amenity & Civic Societies

and Open Spaces Society

READING FOR LIFEThere seem to be even more babies

and toddlers than usual around theTriangle – the usual stay-and-playsessions and push-chair friendlycafes are packed. The half-hourWaggle and Hum baby sing-alongsession at 10.00 on Thursdaymornings at the unique UpperNorwood Library were regularlyattracting 40 babies, so Fiona, ourhighly gifted Children’s Librarian,doubled it up: there is now a 9.30and an 11.00 session.

The only thing is, attendance at the11.00 session is now approaching 50babies! Fiona certainly has ‘OldMacDonald’ cred with the under 3s.

What better way could there be tointroduce our burgeoning newgeneration to being amidst books ina library, sitting in a circle andfocusing on a presentation, not tomention the music and the languageskills they gain from the repetitionin nursery rhymes. Fortunately,there is the upstairs reading roomfor those library users who don’twant to join in the odd chorus of‘Jelly on a Plate’ or ‘Six Seagulls Saton a Chimney Pot’ (no, we didn’tknow that one either). Lay on moresessions, we say! Library users: catch‘em young and you’ve got ‘em for life. Rachel Ward

booed and hissed during thepantomime Aladdin – the first oneever to be staged at the UNJL!

Spring 2009 eventsJanuary and February saw us

celebrate National StorytellingWeek which included many light-hearted activities with theirrepressible Fiona, our very pro-active children’s librarian. JackRussell gave an evocative talkabout his memories of the SecondWorld War and local puppeteerDrew Colby captivated hisaudience with the story of Tom-Tit-Tot, the English version ofRumplestiltskin.

In March we will be celebratingWorld Book Day with the firstever ‘Crystal Palace AuthorsMonth’. This will be both acelebration of every publishedauthor in the Crystal Palace areaand a means of encouraging newlocal writers to ‘pick up their pen’.Published local authors areinvited to contact the ChiefLibrarian to discuss the event inmore detail. For the latest detailsof library events visit:

www.uppernorwoodlibrary.org or link to it via the CPCA

website.

Bradley MillingtonChief Librarian

UPPER NORWOOD JOINT

LIBRARY ACTIVITIES GO FROM

STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

Crystal Palace - Norwood Heights

written by Brian Dann andAudrey Hammond,

designed by Mike Conrad.

Obtainable from the CPCA020 8670 4395 [email protected]

and our local bookshops

The National Year of Reading2008 has given the library thepublicity it needed to make localresidents more aware that it is afantastic place to visit, not just forthe traditional services found in alibrary, but for a range ofadditional services for thecommunity as a whole.

Starting in April 2008 the libraryhas had a very busy schedule ofevents including a Healthy LivingFair, an International Festival, aLocal History Festival, a newpromotion called Crystal Palace‘Park and Read’ and a Frost Fest inNovember. This programmeaimed to increase reading andencourage wider use of libraryservices by bringing books to life.

Christmas in the LibraryIn December the library was

transformed into a ‘Christmas ofthe Future Wonderland’. Childrenmet futuristic characters, includingDarth Vadar, Arbie the Robot anda real Dalek, visited Santa’s Grotto,met author Alex Milway andlearned how to draw mice, tookpart in a Jacqueline Wilson BookChallenge and were awardedprizes for the Horrid Henrydrawing competition. Teenagersand adults learned how to create aManga graphic novel with authorAl Davison and the whole family

All who attended the library’sspecial events in 2008, includingthose based around ‘History’ and‘Park and Read’, will be evenmore aware of the high quality ofour library and the truededication of the staff who servethe community.

These achievements areacknowledged by the UpperNorwood Library JointCommittee (the ‘managementcommittee’ of Lambeth &Croydon councillors) but notsufficient to provide the extrafunding desperately required.Croydon and Lambeth councillorshave stated categorically that theLibrary will not close (thecouncils know that if it did, theprotests would be deafening) butwe know that resources arestretched and the librarycontinues to be under-staffed andunder-funded.

A national Museums LibrariesArchives (MLA) report, ‘Fact notFiction 2008’, states that CroydonCouncil spends £22,922 per 1,000population on its library service,and Lambeth £20,967. Figures forUpper Norwood Joint Library are£13,142 per 1,000, demonstratingthis library’s efficiency to survive

LIBRARYEFFICIENCYGOESUNREWARDED SAYS UNLC

Author Alex Wheatle with the winner ofthe ‘Dirty South’ competition, part of the‘Park & Read’ event, with cash prizesprovided by the UNLC.

for her organising genius withthe refreshments! Usuallypeople contributed a dish to thefeast but at least once (on theoccasion of an evening of MusicHall) she provided a deliciousmeal for 80 people! And yes, wehad 80 members attendingevents in those days!

Gunnvor was Norwegian andfirst met Oliver when heparachuted with Allied Forcesinto Norway near the end of thewar. Along with Nordichospitality came her Nordic senseof style and design and memberswill recall the beautiful home shemade for Oliver and theirchildren, created not only withimagination and flair but withgreat practicality – I rememberonce finding her busy with sawsand timber making secondaryglazing for the huge upstairswindows and of course she didall the decorating herself.

Later, when on her own andnot so mobile, she wrotehundreds of letters to everyonefrom the Prime Minister down(or should I say up…?) – herenthusiasm and love for the areaand the Park knew no bounds.Gunnvor was a wonderfulcampaigner and an invaluablemember of the local communityand our association. She will begreatly missed by all who knewher.

Audrey Hammond

Gunnvor Stallybrass – aCPCA member since day one,died after months of illness on5 December last year. We senddeepest sympathy to herdaughter Anne and son Michaeland her five granddaughterswho were her pride and joy.

In the last few years Gunnvorhad suffered with ill health, butthose who recall the early daysof CPCA will remember herenormous energy and goodhumour and hospitality. In factshe and her late husband Oliverwere the Arts Activities of theTriangle.

From the start they weretremendous supporters ofregeneration of the Triangle withthe creation of an Arts Centre atthe heart of it.

In their beautiful big houseoverlooking the Park theywelcomed members to literallyhundreds of events, such as wewould have liked to see happenin a Centre: monthly play andpoetry readings, socials, chess,recitals, concerts (once there wasan orchestra of 22 and anaudience of 120 – some sittingup the stairs), and the renownedKaleidoscopes where membersprovided their ownentertainment, compered byBrian Dann.

Gunnvor had a lovely voiceand took part many times butwill be remembered especially

IN MEMORIAM

Gunnvor Stallybrass 30 April 1926 – 5 December 2008

on so much less income. Thelocal media warn that there areto be ‘behind the scenes’ cuts tolibraries, parks and sports inLambeth, to try to reduce aprojected budget overspend.

With flat-lined and unequalfunding from the two boroughsand reluctance from other nearbyboroughs to contribute, eventhough their residents make useof the service, other sources ofsupport have to be considered.Not all these suggestions gainpublic acceptance: for example,the planning application forresidential development on thesite adjacent to Beardell Street,would allegedly have providedextra library-useable space, but noadditional funding, in exchangefor the loss of some of the librarycar park. This was subsequentlywithdrawn and, like aspects ofthe Crystal Palace Park planningapplication, was an example ofunacceptable selling of assets for aquick fix, ignoring the long-termcommunity harm.

Upper Norwood Librarymeanwhile, through carefulplanning and sheer hard work,continues to provide a beaconservice on a low static budget.

Don’t be misled by appearances– the library desperately needsmore funding to provide a fullservice – and through the failingsof the Joint Committee, there hasbeen no increase from the parentboroughs.

Pam Gray Hon Secretary, Upper NorwoodLibrary Campaign (UNLC)

PLEASE JOIN THE LIBRARY CAMPAIGN

The Upper Norwood Library Campaign urges you, your friendsand neighbours to join us. Membership forms are available in

the Library where you can sign up immediately or write to: The Secretary, UNLC, 5 Becondale Road, London SE19 1QJ

Membership is £3 p.a. (£1.50 retired/unwaged)

Julie Myerson, author of ‘Somethingmight happen’, another ‘Park & Read’choice, talked about her work and metlibrary users at an evening event.

Book reviews

Three local history books by Beryl Cheeseman

Treetops & Terraces: a bygone eraof New Town, Upper Norwood,SE19 (Theban, 1991, ISBN 0951880306)Treetops & Terraces: “And thewalls came a-tumbling down”(Theban, 1994, ISBN 0951880314)Upper Norwood TriangleMemories (Theban, 2007, ISBN 9780951880326)

Beryl Cheeseman’s twoTreetops & Terraces books focuson what is perhaps for manypeople an unfamiliar part of ourlocal history. Today’s Londonstreet atlases show, just on thesouth side of Central Hill, NorwoodNew Town (the Oxford Road area).This ‘new town’ in fact dates backto about 1850 and became adistinct community within thewider district of Norwood. Berylexplains that she is descended fromfour generations who lived there.

A popular view held locally isthat New Town was built to houselabourers who came to build theCrystal Palace (1852-4). Beryl rejectsthis however, pointing out that thedevelopment had begun slightlyearlier, with most of the buildingcarried out after those years.

An odd reflection on the socialattitudes of an earlier age was thebuilding of walls round New Town.The residents were not well offand had something of a reputationfor drunkenness and fighting. It is

believed that local builders,concerned to sell more expensiveproperties in the district, felt itwas best to segregate this workingclass enclave. What resulted was aclosely-knit community wherethere was real poverty but at thesame time a sense of commitmentto one’s neighbours: “If a helpinghand was needed, it was always there.”

Many aspects of everyday lifeare described by Beryl. Sheemphasises the happiness ofpeople’s lives in spite of oftendifficult conditions: coping withleaking house roofs for example,and children walking aroundNorwood before school, hopingto find a baker’s shop willing togive away stale bread or bunsfrom the day before.

We learn of the good worksamongst the residents of twomissions based within New Town,one Nonconformist and oneChurch of England. Beryl alsotells us of the nearby CottageHospital, Rockmount School, StMargaret’s Church, and theopening of Harold RoadRecreation ground in 1890.

In the second Treetops &Terraces book we move on to thelater period, from around 1930,which saw the removal of thesurrounding walls, through to thelate 1960s which was a period ofmajor redevelopment. This sawthe end of what had been the mostimportant of the three pubs tohave served local residents, theOxford Arms. Again in thissecond book we are aware of theless than ideal conditions in NewTown, with even a small housebeing shared by two families, butalways there remained that strongsense of community. Beryl tells usmuch about individual familiesand includes many others in lists.

In Upper Norwood TriangleMemories, Beryl focuses on themain shopping area of Upper

Norwood: the Triangle. She tellsus of the shops and the characterswho worked there, the pubs, thepost office, the churches, theSalvation Army whose work shehighly praises, dances at the RoyalCrystal Palace Hotel, and all thatmade up the pleasant, villageyfeel of the district. I particularlynoticed the huge level of staffingat the old police station near thetop of Gipsy Hill (before thepresent building in Central Hill).There were two inspectors, eightsergeants, and fifty nineconstables, plus one horse to beridden by two inspectors onalternating duty. Other policehorses were stabled in the sidingsbehind Gipsy Hill railway station.

All three of these books will beenjoyed by those with an interestin the history, especially the socialhistory, of our area.

Just a little footnote illustratingBeryl’s encyclopaedic knowledgeof New Town families. Someyears ago I was in conversationwith a man in the Alma pub inAddiscombe. He told me he hadgrown up in Norwood NewTown. When I later mentioned hisname to Beryl she quicklyprovided some detailed familyhistory for him, including hisfather in a group photo of peopleabout to set out on a communitycoach outing. My friend at theAlma was delighted with whatBeryl had found, and asked ifthere might be anything about hisemployer, who was also fromNew Town. Beryl promptly cameup with lots of family informationfor the employer as well. To say Iwas astounded is putting it mildly.

Jerry SavageLocal History Librarian, Upper Norwood Library

Note: The first of these books isout of print, but the second twoare available from the NorwoodSociety: contact Anna [email protected] or tel. 020 8653 8768.

All three books can be borrowedfrom Upper Norwood Library.

Julie Myerson’s 2003 novel,Something Might Happen, isgenerally thought to be her bestwork to date. Set in a small seasidetown in Suffolk, it could beregarded as crime fiction at firstglance. However, once a shockinglybrutal murder has taken place atthe beginning of the book, itbecomes something very different.

Rather than examining thedetective and forensic elements,Myerson chooses to concentrate onthe effects of the killing on twofamilies – that of the deceased andof her best friend, Tess.

She shows, frighteningly, howeasily lightning can strike from aseemingly blue sky, causingdevastation, chaos and changinglives forever at a stroke.

Selected as the featured book forthe first ever ‘Crystal Palace Parkand Read’ event at the end of 2008,I felt that this novel capturedperfectly, the uncertainties andfeelings of precariousness whichhover just below the surface of lifein the modern age.

Although challenging and un-settling, Myerson’s book is grippingand compelling and very much aproduct of the ‘Nervous Noughties’.

Speaking during her visit to theUpper Norwood Joint Library lastyear, Julie Myerson said that one ofthe ways in which she confrontsher own fears is to write aboutthem. Perhaps that is why thisbook seems so true to life andmakes such a lasting impression.

Bradley MillingtonChief Librarin, UNJL

ISBN 9780099453529

The appreciation of CPCAmembers of our native wildlife wasamply demonstrated at our 2007AGM by the enthusiastic responseto Trevor Williams talk, about hiswork as director of Fox Project.

Many questions were raised as tohow best to care for injured wildlife– from prickly hedgehogs to ourfeathered friends. Now more helpis at hand in the form of anexcellent book entitled ‘WildlifeRescue’.

Written by Angela Wilkes,Chairman of the Dulwich SocietyWildlife committee, thisencyclopaedic book has everythingyou need to know on the care andmanagement of our native wildlife.As a volunteer animal rescuermyself, I refer to its elucidatorypages on a regular basis.

This practical and enlighteningbook is a great way of involving thewhole family in wildlife rescue andcare, and is a must for the book-shelves of those who need adviceor information on the wild animalsliving around and amongst us.

John Payne

ISBN 978-1-87409-289-6Price £15.95

CPCA member and passionatemotorcyclist, Dave Gurman, hasnow published his ‘Carin’ Sharin’Chronicles’, a compilation of hiscontributions to the now wellknown Rider’s Digest motorcyclemagazine, of which he is editorand co owner.

However the ‘Chronicles’ are notjust for the motorcycle cognoscenti.Dave’s wit, incisive thinking andphilosophical approach to lifemake for a fascinating andamusing read that will appeal tothose who enjoy a slightly non-conformist approach to life. Abook that won’t let you put itdown – highly recommended.

John Payne

ISBN 978-0-9560863-0-3Price £5.99

Dave signing a copy of his book whichhe very kindly donated as a QuizNight raffle prize, November 2008.

All the books mentioned areavailable from our local bookshops:

Bookseller Crow on the Hill50 Westow Street SE19 3AF

020 8771 [email protected],

Kirkdale Books272 Kirkdale, Sydenham SE26 4RS

020 8778 4701 [email protected]

Village Books1d Calton Avenue, Dulwich Village

SE21 7DE 020 8693 2808

and Amazon.co.uk

Local Councillors: BROMLEYBromley Council, Bromley Civic Centre, Stockwell Close,Bromley BR1 3UH tel: 020 8464 3333Crystal John Canvin 020 8402 0103 Palace [email protected] Ward: Tom Papworth c/o Bromley

Council 020 8464 3333 [email protected]

CROYDONCroydon Council, Taberner House, Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 3JS tel: 020 8726 6000Upper Mayor Robert Askey c/o Norwood Croydon Council 020 8686 4433 Ward: [email protected]

George Filbey 07940 012 [email protected] Pat Ryan 020 8405 [email protected]

LAMBETHLambeth Council, Town Hall, Brixton Hill, London SW2 1RW tel: 020 7926 1000Gipsy Andrew Gibson 07748 736 451Hill [email protected] Ward: Suzanne Poole 07946 218 965

[email protected] Graham Pycock c/o Lambeth Council 020 7926 1000 [email protected]

SOUTHWARKSouthwark Council, Town Hall, Peckham Road, LondonSE5 8UB tel: 020 7525 5000College Michelle Holford 07903 968 519 /Ward: 020 8637 9656

[email protected] Kim Humphreys 07711 823 197 /020 7525 7504 [email protected] Robinson 07815 208 066

[email protected] Council, Town Hall, Catford, London SE6 4RU tel: 020 8314 3308Sydenham Chris Best 020 8659 6445Ward: [email protected]

Seamus McDermott 020 8659 [email protected]

Marion Nesbit 020 8693 7816 [email protected]

Contact detailsGreater London Assembly write to: GLA , City Hall The Queen’s Walk,London SE1 2AA

London Mayor Boris [email protected] 020 7983 4100

London Assembly members:Green Party Londonwide: Darren [email protected] 020 7983 4411Lambeth & Southwark: Valerie Shawcross,[email protected] 020 7983 4401Greenwich & Lewisham: Len [email protected] 020 7983 4517Croydon & Sutton: Steve O’Connellsteve.o’[email protected] 020 7983 4353Bexley & Bromley: James [email protected] 020 7983 6571

Local PressSouth London Press: 2/4 Leigham Court Road,

Streatham, SW16 2PD Editor - Hannah Walker 020 8710 6506 [email protected]

Croydon Advertiser: Jessop House, 100 Tamworth Road, Croydon CR0 1XX Newsdesk 020 8760 [email protected] News Editor Jo Wadsworth 020 8760 7619

[email protected] Upper Norwood reporter: Ross Lidbetter 020 8760 7613 [email protected]

Bromley News Shopper Mega House, Crest View Drive, Petts Wood, BR5 1BT01689 836 211 [email protected]

Bromley Times Kentish Times Newspapers, Roxby House, Station Road, Sidcup, DA15 7EJ newsdesk 020 8269 7009 [email protected]

The Croydon Advertiser and Croydon Post Advertiser House, 19 Bartlett Street, SouthCroydon CR2 6TB 020 8763 6666 [email protected]

Croydon Guardian, Streatham, West Norwood, &Crystal Palace Guardian, & Dulwich Guardian

The Editor, 819 London Road, North Cheam, Surrey, SM3 9BN 020 8329 9244 [email protected]

For information on MPs, Councillors,London Assembly members and Euro MPs visit

www.TheyWorkForYou.com andwww.WriteToThem.com

(Note: an MP will only deal with issues raised by their own constituents.)

Local MPs: The House of Commons, London SW1A 0AAHouse of Commons switchboard: 020 7219 3000 Croydon North: Rt Hon Malcolm Wicks

[email protected] Central: Andrew Pelling

[email protected]: Jacqui Lait [email protected] & West Norwood: Rt Hon Tessa Jowell

[email protected] West: Jim Dowd [email protected]

makes travelling to Gatwickairport, and Brighton and thesouth coast much more complicated.

The loss in the other direction isdevastating also. It has halvedour service to Tulse Hill - ourconnection with Thameslink(a previous sad loss from CrystalPalace) and the City, Kings Cross/St Pancras and beyond. It loses ustwo trains an hour to LondonBridge – and also means that theLondon Bridge trains now runalternately from platforms 1 and 4,which are so far apart that if yourtrain is delayed, you don’t know ifit’s worth making the dash over tothe other platform in the (forlorn)hope that that train might berunning on time. These stampedesof panic-stricken commuters mightbe regarded as funny, if it werenot so miserable being one.

In the context in which it is forthe greater good to reduce travelby car, encourage orbital rather thanradial transport, encourage peopleto work closer to home, reduce thestrain on commuter services intocentral London – and of courseregenerate our local area – we needimprovement and expansion of railservices, not the opposite.

Suggestions just might include alast train from Victoria to CrystalPalace later than 23.37, whichwould mean that an evening’sentertainment in the West Endwould not have to be cut short at11pm. And perhaps a ticket officethat keeps to its advertisedopening hours. Too much to askin the 21st century?

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Train services from CrystalPalace station have been strucka terrible blow recently. TheSouthern Rail timetableintroduced in December hashalved our services to WestCroydon, cut off our only directlink with East Croydon, halvedour services to Tulse Hill and lostus two trains an hour to LondonBridge. And this in a context inwhich fares have just risen tonew astronomical levels.

As any frequent rail-user knows,to be sure of getting somewhereon time, one must allow for:1. the service you want beingcancelled; 2. the next one beingdelayed and 3. (just to keep us onour toes) the occasional train thatleaves earlier than it should!

While none of this is acceptable,it is unfortunately the reality, andin the case of services which runfrequently one can, reluctantly,work around it. However, in thecase of half-hourly services (whichour Croydon and Tulse Hill servicesnow are) prone to cancellationsand delays, those services becomeunfeasible.

Croydon is the largest commercialcentre close to Crystal Palace, thenearest source of good shoppingand potential work. But the onetoken East Croydon train leftrunning at 8.45 is not much use ifyou start work at 10am. Travellinganywhere by bus at peak hoursis also very unpredictable, soeffectively our links with Croydonas a feasible place to work havebeen cut. And the loss of ourdirect connection to East Croydon

FARES UP, SERVICES DOWN

Southern Railway: SouthernCustomer Services, POBox 277,Tonbridge TN9 2ZP 08451 [email protected] Travel Watch: 6 MiddleStreet, London EC1A [email protected] 020 7505 9000Norwood Rail Users Groupwww.nrug.org.uk

“We’re getting there” ? ! Yes – late, overcharged,crowded, miserable and

angry as hell.

Norwood Rail Users’ Group,which campaigns for improvedrail services from Tulse Hill, WestNorwood and Gipsy Hill, held apublic meeting with Southern Railto protest against the loss ofservices, but the complaintsvoiced were largely ignored.If you’d like to add yours, contactyour MP, councillors, the localpress and the addresses below.

According to transportwatchdog London TravelWatch,our services were axed in orderto increase off-peak services onthe Redhill line. To provide thenecessary train crew and pathsfor the new trains through theCroydon area, Southern Rail saidthey needed to withdraw theLondon Bridge - Smitham viaCrystal Palace and East Croydontrains, few of which, they claimed,were carrying more than about 50passengers at any point. They saythat the new Redhill trains arecarrying substantially morepassengers than the trains whichthey have withdrawn.

TravelWatch accepted Southern’sargument that their scheme couldnot be achieved without the lossof the Smitham trains, but, inapparent contradiction, say that infuture timetable reviews they willpress for their reinstatement.

Kalina Palka

There are alternatives methods, costing less than £170 million,to take people up Anerley Hill. This travellator in Bilbao,Spain, shows how it could be done.

Crystal Palace low level station was constructed between1854 and 1875 by the London Brighton and South CoastRailway. Banister and Gough were attributed as architectand engineer. Prior to 2001, the building was largelyunoccupied and was, for years, on the English HeritageRegister of Buildings at Risk. The wonderful twin archedroof of the train shed was dismantled around 1905following a fire.

The station was listed as Grade II in June 1973 andrefurbished in 2001 to include replacement of the timberroof over the old booking hall by a metal structure in asimilar style. A porte cochère (canopy), although lessimpressive than the original, was built outside thebooking hall entrance.

TfL’s proposals to refurbish the station, on which thepublic were invited to comment, were broadly welcomedat its exhibition on 25 September 2008.

TfL states that rebuilding proposals have been developedin consultation with the Railway Heritage Trust, EnglishHeritage and Bromley, to ensure they pay due regard tothe historical importance of Crystal Palace station whileproviding modern railway facilities to meet passenger needs.

The key features are: • a refurbished booking hall, located in its original

position within the Victorian station building to enhanceaccess to services, although controversially, the historicwooden ticket hall will be removed;

• the removal of the 1970s glass structure which housesthe current ticket hall to improve the overall appearanceof the station;

• upgraded facilities, including real time informationdisplays, better lighting, CCTV and improved signage toenhance station ambience, and the installation of ticketgates to facilitate the introduction of Oyster pay as yougo, which the London Mayor has promised to extend tothe London overground rail network;

• a new staircase giving direct access to platforms 1,2and 3, and three long-overdue new lifts providing step-free access to all platforms;

• a canopy over platforms 3,4,5 and 6 to give protectionfrom the weather.

Subject to Listed Building Consent being granted byBromley, the works could start as early as Spring 2009with the new ticket office opening when new Londonoverground services start in 2010.

T F L C R Y S T A L P A L A C E S T A T I O N E X H I B I T I O NThe exhibition plans made no reference to the

proposed Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace.

E A S T L O N D O N L I N EThe East London Line phase 1 extension is nowunderway. Services will be extended north toHighbury & Islington and south to New Cross,Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill,Sydenham, Crystal Palace, Penge West, Anerley,Norwood Junction and West Croydon, in time forthe 2012 Olympics ... most welcome, but not atthe expense of existing services.

Although Mayor Johnsonhas, for the moment, haltedproceedings due to lack ofavailable finance, a planningcondition keeps this areaavailable to TfL for 10 years.The condition states:

“The Developer agrees tosafeguard the area shaded pinkon Plan 5 [Anerley Hill edge]for the proposed CroydonTramlink Extension. TheDeveloper agrees that for aperiod of 10 years from the dateof the Agreement, no buildingsor other permanent structuresshall be constructed that wouldprevent the carrying out ofworks in respect of the CroydonTramlink Extension.”

At City Hall on 6 November2008 London Mayor BorisJohnson revealed that a numberof transport schemes throughoutLondon would not proceed.Among these was the proposedTramlink extension to CrystalPalace. Mayor Johnson said: “Instopping this expenditure I’mnot stopping the schemes, I’msimply stopping the deception;the artificial deception ofkeeping hopes alive when thereis no funding for these schemes.”

Later that day at People’sQuestion Time at Bromley CivicCentre, the Mayor was askedabout the abandonment of theTramlink extension. He said:“This isn’t a project that has beenabandoned or scrapped or axed by me,that’s not what has happened. I’mafraid the funding for this project wasnot there and I thought it was betterto be up front. I could have gone onwith the rigmarole and the charade ofpretending that this was somethingthat we were going to deliver in duecourse… To do that involves wastingmillions and millions of pounds onconsultants and planners andtitivators of drawings that in the end,that money could be used on projectsthat will take forward transportimprovements in London. It is atough decision to take, to stop thoseconsultants and planners getting onwith their work, but I think it is theright thing to do and it doesn’t meanthe idea is completely dead; it meansthat we can revisit it if and when thegovernment give us the wherewithalto do so. I just thought it was betterto be straight up with London andtell them exactly what the reality wasrather than continuing with thepretence. We haven’t stopped thescheme, we’ve stopped the pretence.”

Whilst some may bedisappointed, others will bepleased that the £170 millionextension (formerly estimated at£70 million) will no longer becarving 9-metre wide tram tracksthrough public parkland andusing a major part of the hilltop asa tram terminus.

NO FUNDING FOR TRAMLINKPerhaps common sense will now

prevail and consideration be givento a direct bus link from CrystalPalace to existing tram stops andlocal district centres.

In December 2008, TfL providedthe CPCA with the following update:

“Transport for London recentlypublished their Business Plan for2009/10 – 2017/18. While the leveland certainty of TfL’s funding hasimproved with a £39 billion 10-year settlement with Government,challenging economic times createconstraints and the previous Mayor’spromised projects, which neverhad any money set aside for them,mean that tough choices have to bemade over what TfL can fund.

The Tramlink extension to CrystalPalace previously had moneyallocated up till 2010 fordevelopment but there is nofunding for implementation. TheMayor has decided that thisexpenditure should be directed toprojects that are both fully funded,and will make a real difference toLondon. This means that tramschemes with much merit, such asthe Tramlink extension to CrystalPalace will have to be re-assessed.

NEWS FROM TFL

TfL has committed to conduct awider study to consider thetransport needs of this part ofOuter London. This will includean assessment of the longer-termrole of Tramlink and potentialenhancements to the network.A recommendation from thisstudy will form part of a futurefunding bid to Government.

The Croydon Tramlink Extensionhas “no funding for implemen-tation. The Mayor has decidedthat this expenditure should bedirected to projects that are bothfully funded, and will make a realdifference to London.

There are a number of projects inthe Business Plan to improvetransport links in the areaincluding:

• the East London LineExtension Phase 1 to WestCroydon and Crystal Palace

• an increase in the frequency ofthe x26 orbital bus link will alsoimprove bus services to the area.

• TfL is paying for Oystervalidation equipment to beprovided at all London railstations in zones 1-6 and is aimingto ensure that Oyster pay-as-you-go will be available on all trainservices in London by late 2009.”Esme Yuill Communications & ConsultationOfficer, Planning CommunicationsTransport for London

Part of Crystal Palace Park will be keptavailable for the Tram for the next 10 years

Views TRIANGLE SAFETY

Crossing Church Road can bevery hazardous, as recent accidentshave shown. Anyone living orvisiting shops in Church Road willknow just how fast traffic cansometimes propel itself. Bikerscan sometimes be seen ‘wheelying’on their back wheels, clocking upto twice the legal speed limit pastthe Bingo Hall.

At the Church Road/WestowStreet junction, it has been wellnoted how crossing the short two-way stretch confuses pedestrians.My aim is to see at least onepedestrian controlled crossing inChurch Road if not the three I wouldprefer. This is supported by theCPCA, the local Chamber ofCommerce, and a number of localresidents to whom I have spoken.

I am negotiating with the Leaderof Croydon Council to see whenwe can expect at least one crossingand perhaps even funding forthree. Unfortunately threeauthorities are involved Croydon,

SEFGROVE’S PHARMACYHappy to Help You

Mr Patel of Sefgroves PharmacyWestow Hill will take and collectyour prescriptions to or from your Doctor’s surgery.

Ring him on 020 8670 5198 for this free service.

Bromley and TfL. The processtherefore might take a bit longerthan anticipated! Meantime, ithoped no one dies or anyone elseis seriously injured.

Cllr George Filbey

Editors Note:

The CPCA supports Cllr Filbey’scampaign. But it is not just ChurchRoad that has a problem withpedestrian safety. As we have raisedmany times with Croydon, Lambethand TfL, all three roads of the Triangle,especially the junctions, present thepotential for serious accidents.

TfL have publicly stated that trafficmovement takes precedence and hencethere are no pedestrian crossing pointson Church Road, or at the north/southGipsy Hill/Central Hill crossroads.

It is also well known that the trafficlights at the complex crossroads -Westow Hill/Crystal Palace Paradeare of set sequence and do not respondto the placebo pedestrian controls.

NEW DISTRICTCENTRE MANAGERWe welcome Nadia Jones as the

new Upper Norwood DistrictCentre Manager, under theauspices of Croydon Enterprise.

Her office will be used as a ‘drop-in’ surgery over the next fewweeks with various specialists fromthe Croydon Enterpriseprogramme giving one-to-oneadvice and ‘pre-start’ information.

Nadia is closely involved with theCrystal Palace Festival around theTriangle.

For more information visit her at:18 Church Road SE19 2ET orphone: 020 8090 5575/07776 477366

the crystal palace agent

Property Investment LandNew Developments

ValuersResidential Sales

Residential LettingsProperty Management

12 Westow Street, Upper Norwood London SE19 3AH

Tel: 020 8653 4444Fax: 020 8653 9465

www.coopergiles.com

Let us have your views on Crystal Palace Park, the Triangle, or planning issues that affect you.

Call the CPCA on 020 8670 4395 email: [email protected]

or write to CPCA c/o 10 Jasper Road, Upper Norwood, London SE19 1SJ

POLICINGTHE

The Triangle Team continues tooperate from our base at 19 CentralHill. The office now sports a nicenew sign above the door. Oneminor problem - it states ‘CrystalPalace Triangle Ward’. Obviouslythe title is slightly incorrect as thereis no such ward, but it is coupledwith a Metropolitan Police logo.

In the summer, officers from theteam took 25 young people fromaround the Triangle and ThorntonHeath on an army outreach day.The officers joined the youngpeople in completing an assaultcourse, team building exercises andcooking their own lunches usingarmy ration packs. The officersenjoyed the day almost as much asthe young people.

We continue to work closelywith the Crystal Palace, Gipsy Hilland Upper Norwood Ward officers.

From our point of view crime inthe area is still reduced comparedto previous years. The fun fair and

fireworks have just passed, bothwithout any incident. We assistedthe Crystal Palace Team and ourcolleagues in Bromley with thepolicing of both events.

We have held a number of‘street briefings’ during thesummer. Basically, we leaflet astreet saying that officers from theteam will be there at a particulartime and date in the near future.We then attend and discussproblems with residents, particularto that location. These haveproved fruitful for us as we canaddress problems that no one hadotherwise told us about.

When you see us on foot, pleasedo not hesitate to speak to usabout any problems. We will doour best to answer any queries youmay have.

Please remember to let us knowabout any suspicious incidents orpeople. Always remember to dial999 if there is a crime in progressor you think an immediateresponse is required.

Please note these telephonenumbers for future reference:

Triangle Team: 020 8721-2906Safer Neighbourhood Teams:Crystal Palace: 020 8721-2604Gipsy Hill: 020 8721-2617Upper Norwood: 020 8721-2478

ACCIDENTS ON THEINCREASE INCRYSTAL PALACE

Worryingly, reported accidents inand around the Triangle significantlyincreased in 2008. In the six monthsfrom January to June 2008, 17accidents were reported, four ofthem serious with six occurring inthe heart of the Triangle. A cardriver was seriously hurt at thejunction of Westow Street andOvett Close, a motorcyclist and hispillion were hurt at the junction ofChurch Road and Milestone Road,and Anerley Hill was the scene ofseveral accidents where a pedestrian,a pedal cyclist and a motorcyclisthave all been casualties.

YET MORE VEHICLESIN CHURCH ROAD

The proposed 36-unit residentialdevelopment in Victory Place willmean many more vehicles exitingfrom Stoney Lane into ChurchRoad, the fastest and narrowest legof the Crystal Palace Triangle.Croydon Council has been madeaware of the hazards this couldcause but has placed no conditionson the developers to lessen theprospect of serious accidents asslow moving vehicles from StoneyLane enter the never-endingstream of cars, buses, heavy lorriesand motorcyclists travelling at30mph (and more).

In addition, the proposeddevelopment on the site of thedemolished Post Office andFireplace Shop in Westow Street,opposite Sainsbury’s, will have 13parking spaces to be accessed bythe narrow lane opposite thecenotaph. It has been suggestedthat a new set of traffic lights willhave to be introduced at thislocation.

ACCIDENTSTATISTICS

If you care about the area, join the CPCA.

Together, your voice counts.

THE GOODLIFFE HALL PROJECT This year the Goodliffe Hall project has had a series of successful results.

Planning permission has been granted and Lambeth has supported theuse of the Hall in ‘Third Sector’ (voluntary organisations) provision.

Lambeth are now funding the Gilfillan Partnership to continue ourgrant seeking process. We are now in a position to move forward whenthe money is found.

Work in the Hall continues and progress has been made withdevelopments for the youth in particular. Our summer scheme for localyouth was a great success and the employment of youth workers forboth Church and community based activities has resulted in therecruitment of more staff and additional fund-raising.

On the building side, phase one has begun. This extends the churchbuilding to accommodate existing activities during the building work.Architects and surveyors are now working with the Church and thetarget for completion is mid-2009. All in all, a lot going on.

Stuart Mitchenall

For more information contact: Rev'd Andrew Rumsey, Vicar of Christ Church, Gipsy Hill, SE19 tel: 020 8670 0385 www.gipsyhill.org.uk

HUGE RESIDENTIAL BLOCK APPROVED FOR HEART OFCRYSTAL PALACE TRIANGLE CONSERVATION AREA

CONSERVATION AREAThe Triangle, a designated

Conservation Area, a status thataffords protection to its manyunique and historic buildings, isnow threatened by proposals forthe largest block of flats it has yetseen. The controversialdevelopment in Victory Place,Westow Street, SE19, comprising acontemporary/pastiche 4-storey,L-shaped building of 36 flats,predominantly one-bedroom, anda shop unit on Westow Streetreceived conditional permissionon 4 September 2008.

INCREMENTALLY LARGERAPPLICATIONS

This is the third application forthis site submitted by St AidansDevelopments. The first, approvedby Croydon in 2005, was for amodest 3-storey building with ashop fronting Westow Street andtwo 3-bedroom flats above. Asecond application followed in2006 for a 4-storey building withretail frontage and a mix of 29 flats.Now 36 flats have been approved.

CONSERVATION PANELIGNORED

St Aidans’ spokesman, IvanBateman, claimed that the“previous scheme was supported bythe independent conservation reportand the committee liked the scheme”but in fact the North CroydonConservation Area Advisory Panelhad objected to this proposalcalling it “monolithic”.

Proposals that involvedemolition and development inconservation areas must bereferred to English Heritage.

Croydon only consulted EHfollowing pressure from theCPCA. EH told Croydon: “it isrecommended that this applicationshould be determined in accordancewith national and local policyguidance, and on the basis of yourspecialist conservation advice.”

but on its primary considerationas a driver for the Portland Roadscheme. Thus Crystal Palaceloses out yet again.

CONFLICT OF INTERESTCllr Paul Scott, a strong advocate

of the Victory Place applicationrevealed an ‘interest’ in thePortland Road application, and,correctly, withdrew fromdiscussions. However, despitethe two schemes beinginextricably linked, Cllr Scott didnot withdraw from discussions onthe Victory Place scheme, was themain speaker in its favour and theproposer of the motion for itsapproval, despite having seriousmisgivings about it.

Cllr Scott questioned themassing of the scheme comparedwith the earlier applications.Warren Pierson, PrincipalPlanning Officer said, “massing issimilar, certain elements set back.Nothing to warrant any concern”,adding “it will be one of the largerbuildings in Westow Street”.

COMMITTEE DIVIDED On first consideration,

committee members hadreservations over the bulk andmassing of the proposed building,its lack of family accommodationand amenity space, and its impacton pedestrian safety and trafficmovement. Cllr Perry said, “Ireally dislike this scheme … where theapplicants got it so right in PortlandRoad, they’ve got it so wrong inVictory Place. This one dominatesthe host site…something you wouldfind on a university campus not in aConservation Area”.

“The machinations of Croydon’s Planning Committee in its consideration of thisapplication were farcical and beyond comprehension. We saw how the process could bemanaged, to drive through a scheme of poor quality, low-investment volume house buildingthat has little merit in the historic village context of Crystal Palace and little support from thecommunity. Clearly we have members of the Committee who are not aligned with the peoplethey are supposed to represent”. Don Bianco, CPCA Planning Chair

The Victory Place applicationis no longer being judged onits merits, but on its primaryconsideration as a driver forthe Portland Road scheme.

VIOLATION OF TRIANGLECONSERVATION STATUS TOBENEFIT SOUTH NORWOOD

Crucially, Mr Bateman revealedthat the Victory Place scheme was“the driver for the Portland enterprise”,a development of residential,retail and a local business centrein Portland Road, South Norwood,and that “they both work hand-in-hand”. These two schemes hadbeen worked up together so thatthe requirement for 50% affordablehousing would not be included atVictory Place but had been passedto the Portland Road site.

The Victory Place applicationhad been skewed in favour of thePortland Road scheme, to thedisadvantage of the Triangle, bythe attraction of Local EconomicGrowth Initiative (LEGI) money.The resultant imbalance hadproduced a proposal for theTriangle that is completely at oddswith the surrounding architectureand historic street scene. TheVictory Place application is nolonger being judged on its merits,

Local councillor, George Filbey,considered it “over-development”for the area. Cllr Cakebread said,“I don’t like the residential mix – Ithink it’s far too many 1-bedroomflats”, a view shared by CllrHopley who added, “we do have aneed in the borough for 3-bedroomaccommodation for families”.

Cllr Maggie Mansell supportedthe scheme saying it was, “betterfor couples, for single people, formaybe elderly people” and that “it[Crystal Palace] was not a good areafor children”. The CPCA considersCllr Mansell’s commentsdiscriminatory. Such comments arenot a material planning consid-eration, but could result inimbalance in housing. No studyhas been undertaken by Croydonor the developer to prove the needfor more one-bedroom flats in theCrystal Palace area, in preferenceto family accommodation.

Cllr Pat Ryan, said: “Thisdevelopment does nothing to enhancethe Conservation Area but willpositively detract from it. NCCAAPcommittee have been totally ignoredand the development will add toparking and traffic difficulties inthe Triangle. If this was Chelsea, orRichmond, it certainly would not beallowed.”

VOTING CONFUSION ANDCONTRADICTION

At the first meeting the publicbelieved the Victory Placeapplication had been refused asthe motion to ‘approve’ wasrejected 5 votes to 4. The Chair,Cllr Chris Wright, who supportedthe application, then exercised hiscasting vote to ensure that themotion to ‘refuse’ was lost. Aftermuch confusion, the council’slegal officer confirmed that theapplication was undecided andwould need to be brought beforethe committee again.

Cllrs Filbey and Ryan, whostrongly opposed the application,urged the planning committee toconduct a site visit to see forthemselves the detrimental impactthat such a huge developmentwould have on the Triangle, beforethe application was reconsidered,but this was not taken up.

APPLICATION APPROVED The second meeting, on

4 September 2008, included threereserve members and Cllr Scottagain claimed his interest inPortland Road was not a factorwhen considering the VictoryPlace application.

The CPCA finds it most irregularthat prior to this second meeting,members from both sides wereinstructed to vote in favour of theapplication, to ensure the progressof the Portland Road scheme.Quite bizarrely, in a second vote,and with no changes to theapplication, it was approved8 votes to 1.

Crystal Palace – “not a good area for children”

Cllr Maggie Mansell, Labour member for Norbury

“Such comment is not amaterial planning considerationbut could result in imbalancein housing.”

Don Bianco, CPCA Planning

NO AFFORDABLE HOUSINGIN THE TRIANGLE

Croydon’s UDP Policy H13states that: “on sites capable ofaccommodating 30 or more units theCouncil will negotiate to achieve 50%affordable housing provision.”However, it was argued that “… asno new floor area is being created then40% should be the provision on theapplication”, that element ofaffordable housing which appliedto the previous smaller application.This ignored the fact that this wasa new application.

The report continued: “Theprovision of affordable housing shouldremain on the site to which they arerelated…”, but Croydon has agreedwith the developer that theaffordable housing requirementsof the Triangle development canbe transferred to the PortlandRoad scheme.

Consequently, not one of thenew 36 flats at Victory Place willbe ‘affordable housing’.

DECEPTION OF S.106 Under Section 106 of the Town

and Country Planning Act 1990 alocal authority and developer maynegotiate a legal agreement (alsoknown as planning gain, planningbenefits, community benefits orplanning obligations) that coversalmost any relevant issue and caninclude cash sums, so that theimpact of a particular developmenton the local community isminimised and will balance theextra pressure from developmenton the existing social, physical andeconomic infrastructure in thesurrounding area withimprovements. The aim is toensure that a development makes areal and positive contribution tothe local area thus helping to makeit acceptable within a community.

In the case of Victory Place, thisimportant issue received nodiscussion at committee. The s.106‘sweetener’ will provide a mere£78,680 from this multi-millionpound development. However, theCrystal Palace community isunlikely to derive any tangiblebenefit from even this amount asCroydon are able to absorb thismoney into their communal coffer.

A property on Gipsy Hill, within theConservation Area, acquired by the StAidans Group and granted planningpermission nearly three years ago. Thestate of the sign and the demonstrableneglect of this acquisition says it all.

Whilst the current recessionmakes developmentincreasingly difficult, theopportunistic approach bydevelopers is to bank land,enhancing its value withplanning permission beforeselling it on for profit at theexpense of the quality of lifeof the residents of an area.

Hot on the heels of the hugeVictory Place application and afew doors down, comes anotherlarge-scale application. Manywill have noticed the large spacewhere the Post Office andFireplace Shop once stood andwondered what is going on.

An application had beensubmitted for a 4-storey buildingreplacing the previous 2-storeyshops at 51-59 Westow Street forwhich planning permission haspreviously been granted thatintegrated the existing buildingsinto a scheme. Since no permissionwas granted to demolish theexisting shops, a new applicationexcluded the retention of thosebuildings. But as events unfolded,deficiencies and failings ofCroydon Council’s planningprocess were exposed.

MEETING CRITERIA FORDEMOLITION

Statutory planning legislation isclear concerning matters ofdemolition.

Section 4.26 and 4.27 of PlanningPolicy Guidance: Planning and theHistoric Environment (PPG15)states there is a presumption “infavour of retaining buildings whichmake a positive contribution to thecharacter or appearance of a conser-vation area… proposals to demolishsuch buildings should be assessedagainst the same broad criteria asproposals to demolish listedbuilding…Consent should not begiven for demolition unless there areacceptable and detailed plans for anyre-development”.

Section 3.17 states: “The Secretaryof State would not expect consent fordemolition to be given simply becauseredevelopment is economically moreattractive to the developer than repairand reuse of an historic building.”

Section 4.29 says that“…demolition shall not take placeuntil a contract for the carrying outof works of redevelopment has beenmade and planning permission for

those works has been granted” andcontinues: “In the past, ugly gapshave sometimes appeared in conser-vation areas as a result of demolitionfar in advance of redevelopment.”

All of this is underlined in PolicyUC2 of the Croydon Plan.

CROYDON DISREGARDSPLANNING LAW

The Planning Officer’s reportstates: “Whilst the original buildingshave already been largely demolishedthey were in a state of disrepair anduncomplimentary additions had beenmade over time, it is considered thatthe buildings were of no particulararchitectural merit. Given that therehas been no objection to redevelopmentin principle on previous applications,demolition is considered to beacceptable subject to the replacementbuilding being satisfactory”.

But premature demolition of theWestow Street shops means thatthese buildings cannot have beenproperly assessed for their valueto the Conservation Area. Thesesmall two-storey buildingscontributed, in the CPCA’s view,positively to the character, varietyand mix of the Conservation Area.Certainly, the replacementbuildings give scant regard to thevariety of scale prevalent in theconservation area and erodes thatparticular characteristic, with onlybland reference to architecturalfeatures – an approach that PPG15thoroughly rejects.

Moreover, Croydon failed toconsult English Heritage untilafter demolition had taken placeand, in light of the fait accompli,unable to offer meaningful commenton the merits of the existingbuildings to the conservation area.English Heritage should haveserious concerns that its authorityin the process has been subvertedagain so soon after Victory Place.

Despite reporting the matter toCroydon Council as soon as thedemolition started, over the 3weeks that it took to demolish the

The developer has claimed thatdemolition of the buildings wasnecessary but has not proved thatthey were structurally unsound –indeed, the earlier schemeretaining the buildings suggestsotherwise - or that they could notbe reasonably repaired or adaptedso as to extend their useful life.Neither were the buildingsdemonstrably marketed asrequired under PPG15.

Of course, retrospectiveConservation Area Consent isirregular and meaningless becausethe damage to the historic assethas been done and the democraticprocess hung out to dry. There isno doubt that demolition took

CONSERVATION AREA DEMOLITION

WITHOUT PERMISSION

buildings, Croydon’s EnforcementTeam failed to act to stop theaction with Peter Woods wonglyinforming the CPCA that: “it wasnot unauthorised, but a breach ofplanning permission, and consentwould be granted anyway”.

At the planning committeemeeting of 18 September 2008, thematter of “illegal demolition” wasraised by one of the members andeven clarified through the oralrepresentation of the CPCA. Butthese concerns were ignored bythe presenting planning officerwho in misinforming andmisdirecting the committee,consequently dismissed the issueand the application went through.The decision suggests pre-determination without dueconsideration of national and localpolicy or representation intoproper account on the pretext thatthere was no objection to theprinciple of redevelopment in aprevious application. Not so,since the demolished buildingswere never part of that application.

place without Conservation AreaConsent, and Croydon has allowedthe developer to proceed withoutpenalty; setting a precedent forother developers who wish toflout the law in conservation areas.

As unauthorised demolition in aconservation area is a criminaloffence. There is no denying theseriousness of the matter assection 74 of the Town & CountryPlanning (Listed Buildings &Conservation Areas) Act 1990imposes the liability of any culpableperson to be prosecuted, fined andeven imprisoned for such offences.

The conditions applied to theplanning permission are in starkcontradiction to the fact thatdemolition had already occurred;with five of them stating that nodevelopment shall take place untilcertain pieces of information areprovided to the Council.

There are clear issues of breachesof procedure. In a remarkablevolte face, Croydon’s planningofficer, Michael O’Brien, admittedto the CPCA that Croydon hasfailed to implement correctprocedures in this case.

LEGACIESAs has been shown by the

complete cessation of progress atCentury House, Church Road,when statutory procedures areflouted, areas can be left to lookderelict for years. Whilst thecurrent recession makesdevelopment increasinglydifficult, the opportunisticapproach by developers is to bankland, enhancing its value withplanning permission before sellingit on for profit at the expense ofthe quality of life of the residentsof an area. This is particularlyreprehensible when it happens ina conservation area such as the

In Autumn 2006 the CPCA highlighted the massiveUNLAWFUL internally illuminated advertising sign,erected by Outdoor Plus Ltd, in the Triangle ConservationArea, on the frontage of Jack Beard’s pub at the top ofAnerley Hill - a sign used twice by Mayor Livingstone.

Two years later, Bromley served an enforcementnotice, following refusal of planning permission, for theremoval of the sign, as covered in our Spring 2008 newsletter.

Bromley inform us that Outdoor Plus Ltd has appealedthe planning decision, and an informal hearing originallyscheduled for 9 December 2008 with Inspector Bowden,in Bromley Civic Centre Committee Rooms, was deferredto January 2009 and again to 5 March 2009. Should thecase have been heard on that date, it will be a further fiveweeks before the result of the appeal. Any enforcementaction is held in abeyance until the Inspector delivers hisjudgement.

All those who were, and still are, concerned when thismonstrous sign was erected in our Conservation Areawill await the outcome with interest. Outdoor Plus Ltdwill be relying on the complacency and apathy ofresidents who have got used to this eyesore.

Anyone is allowed to attend the hearing, but if youarrive at 9.30am and register with the Inspector that youwould like to make representations, you will be includedin the discussion. The whole day will be devoted to thisone appeal case, so there will be no waiting aroundlistening to other cases. (Ref: no. 06/00364/UNADV)

Outdoor Plus Ltd will be relying on the complacencyand apathy of residents who have got used to this eyesore.

The agent for Outdoor Plus Ltd is RMW POB 237, 47 Green Street, Gillingham, Kent ME7 5DT Tel: 01634 280 908

Triangle District Centre, whichhas been struggling to survive.

Croydon did not ensure, throughlegal agreement and prior to thegrant of permission, that fundingand other material considerationswere in place to guarantee thedevelopment.

Additionally, the Council’sfailure to deal with the illegaldemolition has left a real risk thatin the current economic climatethis gap site could remain vacantfor years, further damaging theappearance of the area.

This is another example of theplanning process serving to meetthe needs of the developer abovethose of the community. Despitestrong local objection, illegalaction, process malfecience, and acommittee without local locus,another shocking scheme isdumped on the rump end that isCrystal Palace.

HEARING DATE FOR TRIANGLE EYESORE

Until politicians actdecisively over London'sparkland, the developerswill continue to circleparks like hungry sharksaround a sinking life raft.

[email protected],

I went along to Bromley to listento the new London Mayor and hisassembly members. Boris is aninteresting speaker, full of charmbut, unfortunately, also full of hotair at times. He and his assemblyseem more interested in snappingat each other rather thanprotecting Metropolitan OpenLand in London. I am notinterested in the on/off love/haterelationship between the politicalparties. What shocked me mostwas the fact that Boris said, in nouncertain terms, that he wouldleave the fate of Crystal PalacePark in the hands of BromleyCouncil. Neither he nor any of themembers seemed remotelyinterested in the fact that Bromleyis threatening to sorely deprivethe local community of sections ofthis beautiful Victorian park so asto turn it into a building site.

Thanks to Mr Cleverly's strangeselection, very few of us wereallowed our opinions while oneman, in favour of houses beingbuilt on the Park, was allowed toask two questions. Mr Cleverlyalso wasted a lot of time onquestions that had been written inand on allowing assemblymembers to give rather longwindedpolitical broadcasts instead ofallowing as many questions aspossible from the floor.

I was left wondering if anyassembly member is interested inprotecting MOL anywhere inLondon. I'm off to ask them thatvery question.

Geraldine Cowan

Sir,

Come on out you cowards andfight! That's my message to themoneymen lurking in the shadowsbehind the so-called “RebuildCrystal Palace” project, which isbeing fronted publicly by certaintraders on the Triangle, andarchitect Ray Hall.

The Crystal Palace Dialogue sawrepresentatives of the localcommunity throw out the Rebuildscheme and overwhelmingly backa managed nature garden optionfor the overgrown section of theCrystal Palace hilltop next to theTV mast, where the caravan parkwas originally located. Thisconcept was incorporated into theLondon Development AgencyMasterplan: “At the northern endof the Terrace, the existing ‘NatureGarden’ is incorporated into a seriesof ecological spaces, enhancingexisting ecologies and creatingopportunities for increasingbiodiversity.” (LDA MasterplanDesign & Access Statement)

The Rebuild’s followers respondedby hatching a scheme with bankers,businessmen, and the Leader ofBromley Council to bring back thethreat of commercial developmenton a public park, which thousandsof people fought so hard and sosuccessfully to prevent. It’snauseating how the Rebuild recyclespropaganda directly from thedefeated multiplex. With a senseof déjà vu, we hear that it will createover a thousand jobs and revitalisethe area - and that it is loved byeveryone, except for a few vocalopponents. So why do those bank-rolling it skulk in the shadows,when they could emerge and baskin public acclaim? Could it be thatthe project, once underway, wouldmetamorphose into even lessacceptable forms? Its originalinvestor never identified himself.Last year, supporters crowed that

the Clydesdale Bank had promisedover a quarter of a billion pounds.We wrote, asking how this couldmake business sense in the present(or any) economic climate, but theBank and Bromley refused toacknowledge our letters.

The Rebuild's name is misleading.The Hyde Park and SydenhamCrystal Palaces celebrated thegreatest imperial and industrialpower the world had ever seen -at a heady moment in history,which cannot be recaptured.

The Rebuild is about a sordidseizure by moneymen of what isnow Metropolitan Open Land in aGrade II* registered park for ahotel, leisure centre and – oh yes,some kind of community facilitywith charitable status, so that thewhole thing can be passed off tothe gullible as an act of philan-thropy – all packaged up in aPaxtonesque exterior, to cynicallyexploit nostalgia for the CrystalPalace. If a permanent building fora cultural centre or nationalexhibition were to be built today,would the Sydenham hilltop bechosen as the prime location? TheRebuild gang chants that nowherebut the historic 1854 Crystal Palacesite will do. Yet Hall first wanted achunk of Blackheath for his project,until local residents fought him off.

The very notion that the future ofa public park should be decidedby a gaggle of traders in cahootswith big business is outrageous. Ithighlights a shameful failure of the

WHEN IS A CRYSTAL PALACE NOT A CRYSTAL PALACE?

(When it’s a hotel and entertainment complex)

THE TRIANGLE

Sir,We are all aware of the difficult

times that confront us, and indeedlie ahead, but I do feel the Triangleis looking quite tired and sad atthe moment and has sufferedmore than most high streets andtherefore needs local support morethan ever.

None of us like to see emptyunits, indeed, there are also emptyshelves in some shops, which israther disturbing. However, ifyou take a leisurely walk aroundthe Triangle, and please do notforget the Church Road section,you may be pleasantly surprisedby the small independent shopsthat exist, and MUST besupported. You really will findsome little gems that you won’tget in Croydon or Bromley,although some of theseindependent shops could do withmore creative window displays.So please do consider the Triangle!

Of course there are other areasof the Triangle that need attention:the pavements (especially thestretch from the top of Gipsy Hillalong to Iceland), flooding afterheavy rainfall, a consequence ofpoor drainage design, and the lifethreatening pedestrian crossingarrangement at the GipsyHill/Central Hill section. If youfeel as I do, please do bombard theCouncils (Lambeth, Croydon andBromley); it seems the only way toget things done!

And oh how I love therestaurants and some of the pubsin Crystal Palace. We must tryhard to keep these afloat duringdifficult times.

I have been a Crystal Palaceresident for over 12 years, andhave constantly been told that thearea is on ‘the up’. At themoment I feel this is far from thecase. As residents of CrystalPalace, we all have a duty tosupport local trade, and if youhave cause for concern on anyissue to do with the area,remember, let your local Councilknow!

Eileen Digby-Rogers

politicians to give our public openspaces meaningful protection, andto develop a coherent long-termplan for their management. Untilpoliticians act decisively overLondon's parkland, the developerswill continue to circle parks likehungry sharks around a sinkinglife raft. For some years, thequestion of whether public parksare sacrosanct or legitimate targetsfor development (particularlystaff-only and other areas not opento the public) has been fought outon a park-by-park basis. Muchpublic-spirited energy, from manypeople, which might otherwisehave been expended usefully inthe community on other essentialcauses, has been absorbed infighting politicians, planners anddevelopers. This is not aresponsible way to administerpublic open space.

Don’t be tempted to back theRebuild scheme, or to give it yourvaluable time, energy or cash,because a major hotel chain, suchas is mooted here, can afford tocough up to promote its ownscheme. Why give it unpaid labour?

It’s time for the mysterymoneymen step out of theshadows and face our communityin person.Dr Martin Heath, Chair, Ridge Wildlife Group

THE AGE OF CHIVALRY

Sir,Perhaps the Age of Chivalry is

not dead! My car broke down inthe middle of the road in Pengerecently. In no time the drivers ofcars, which I’d held up either side,had leapt to the rescue andpushed my car to the side. Onekindly sent a mechanic along tosee if repair was possible. It wasnot, but while I waited for the AAone gentleman came back to see ifI was all right and offered to fetchme a cup of tea.

What kindness on the road.

Audrey Hammond

If you care about the area, join the CPCA.

Together, your voice counts.

Emmaus offers a home Emmaus offers workEmmaus offers hope

Please support the work ofEmmaus to help the homeless

in our community.

Visit their shop on Knights Hill,near West Norwood Station,

find out more onwww.emmaus.org.uk or callMajonne on 020 8761 4276

Sir,How sadly empty the Triangle

was on Christmas Eve … at 10 inthe morning. I went to Planta forsome necessities and a dear littleorganic cotton baby vest for ournew great granddaughter … howempty and windswept wasWestow Hill.

Then down to Lordship Lane –what a contrast; busy withshoppers along its length. Therewas a 20-metre queue outside thefishmonger and one at least 50-metres long outside the organicbutcher (which employs 38people) and others, like the cheeseshop, all busy and serving as fastas they could. The wholeatmosphere in East Dulwich washectic and jolly with Christmasshoppers because there they stillhave real shops!

It’s all very well to have abuzzing restaurant life up here atnight but it means that by day thefew shops that we have (excellentthough they are) have a desperatestruggle and there is so littledaytime life – and it is so sad.

It is only ten years ago thatCrystal Palace was thriving.Surely it is time to consider thebalance of shops to restaurants inthe Triangle and rethink the wholeplanning strategy which broughtus to this.

Audrey Hammond

Tuesday 26 May

Dine at Chi Oriental14 Westow Hill, SE19

0871 223 8130

This bright and airy Chineserestaurant, serves beautifully fresh

and tasty food. The menu has agood selection of popular Chinese

dishes as well as interestingvariations, for which it is

developing a high reputation inthe area.

We shall book the table for 7.30pm. Please let us know if you would

like to join us.

CPCACPCA EE VENTSVENTS

Sunday 5th April

A Peter Grant guided walk through London’s East End

CRIME, POVERTY & CURRYPeter has kindly offered to conduct us on another guided walk of

adventure and discovery through the unfamiliar back streets of London.

This year the area of exploration will be Whitechapel in the East End ofLondon and feature Jack the Ripper, the Krays, the Elephant Man and, whathas been described as “a hotbed of villainy where women sold themselvesfor a few pence, thieves hung around every corner and in the back alleysthere was garrotting” - Samuel Raphael 'East End Underworld' (1981).

The walk will also consider the poverty of the area and those who soughtto alleviate it, from Vladimir Lenin to Clement Atlee.

We shall meet at 10.20am for a 10.30 start outside Aldgate East tube station(District Line) on Whitechapel High Street, south side. (Take the left exit outof the tube station.)

As usual, the walk will end at lunchtime at a recommended pub, this timechosen for its curry.

Cost - £6 members, £7 non-members, including a guarantee that all will enjoythemselves. (Victuals and beverages not included.)

Save the date and call us to let us know you’re coming andfor the latest travel arrangements.

Thursday 14 May 2009

CPCA AGMWe warmly invite all our members to our 38th AGM

at 7.30 pm on 14 May 2009 at the Goodliffe Hall,

Christ Church, Highland Road, off Gipsy Hill, SE19.

Have a say in YOUR AssociationBusiness will include reports, an update of issues and events,election of officers for the committee and a chance for you to

meet and question your committee, to be followed by a buffetand guest speaker.

Friends of the Horniman ART EXHIBITIONin the beautiful Victorian Conservatory of the Horniman Museum

Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 July - 10.30 am to 5 pmADMISSION FREE

Audrey Hammond and Mike Conrad will be exhibiting their watercolours & drawings.

Please support your CPCA

events

NEW WORLDS, NEW DISCOVERIES AND NEW INVENTIONS

Tuesday evening 9 June (2 hour walk)Sunday morning 13 September (3 hour walk)

This themed guided historic walk will incorporate a number of theblue plaques and memorials, in the local area. Learn about the previousresidents of the area, discover why their lives have been commemoratedand the legacies they have left us.

This walk will be held twice; a shortened version in June as part ofthe Crystal Palace Festival, and a full length walk in September. Bothwalks begin at Forsyte Crescent, Church Road, opposite All SaintsChurch, alongside the ‘other’ transmitter (not the one on the hilltop).

Walk 1, the shortened version (approx 2 hrs long) will take place aspart of the Crystal Palace Festival on the evening of Tuesday 9 June,starting at 7.00pm and ending at the Dulwich Wood House pub,Sydenham Hill, for well-deserved refreshment.

Walk 2, the complete version (approx 3hrs) will take place on Sunday13 September starting at 10.30am and finishing at the bottom ofWestwood Hill, Sydenham, where again we plan to end the walk with adrink and a meal, venue yet to be confirmed.

Both walks will have a limited number of places, so please book assoon as possible, but do let us know if you have to cancel so thatsomeone on the waiting list may have your place.

Please note that due to the nature of the area, part of the walk doesinvolve walking uphill.

Each walk costs £5 per person towards CPCA funds (refreshments not included)

Call 8670 4395 to book your place or email [email protected]

6 - 12 June 2009

The first Crystal Palace Festival

To compensate for thecancellation of this year’s

Victorian Weekend, partly due totwo consecutive years of awfulweather, this year will mark the

first Crystal Palace Festival. It will be held in a variety

of venues, both indoors and out,between Saturday 6 June and

Friday 12 June. Organised by different local

individuals and groups, of whichthe CPCA is one, the Festival will

celebrate the area’s rich historyand vibrant present, and withstrong public support could be

an annual event. A full programme of all events

will be advertised on our websiteand around the Triangle, as soon

as details have been finalised.

Kat’s quiz

Friday 19 June

Summer Quiz NightJoin us at this fun and friendlyevent, with our very own quizmistress Katriona, putting your

brain cells to the test.

Book your table for 8 or come on your own and meet

new faces or old friends.

Tickets are £8 for members,£9 non-members,

to include a fish & chip supper

Bring your own drink andglasses but both will be available

should you forget.

Doors open 7.15 for a 7.30pm startat the Goodliffe Hall Highland

Road, off Gipsy Hill SE19

Raffle & Prizes & FunPlease book early to allow time to

organise the food.

Phone/fax CPCA 8670 4395 oremail: [email protected]

Our winter Quiz Night will be heldon Friday 13th November - same

time, same place, same good fun.Save the date now.

Sunday 12 JulyWALK AROUND HYDE PARK

AND KENSINGTON GARDENS

followed by a picnic lunch

Meet at Crystal Palace Station at9.45am for the 9.58 train to

Victoria, and then a short busride to Hyde Park Corner for the

start of our walk atapprox.10.30am.

Hyde Park is 350 acres ofhistorical parkland in the centre

of London and the home ofPaxton’s original Crystal Palace

in 1851. We will pass the sitewhere this iconic building housed

the Great Exhibition. Our walk will pass otherattractions including, the

Serpentine, the Albert Memorial,the Diana Memorial Fountain,

Kensington Gardens andKensington Palace.

Don’t forget to bring your picnic. Cost £5 towards CPCA funds.

OPEN GARDEN SQUARES

WEEKEND13 - 14 June 2009

visit gardens in London notusually open to the public

www.opensquares.org

19 & 20 September 2009

OPEN HOUSEOPEN HOUSEOpen House London is the

Capital's largest architecturalshowcase; now in its 17th year.

Saturday 19 & Sunday 20September, Londoners (andvisitors) can explore all cornersof the Capital, inspired by thepower of architecture totransform the quality of our lives.

Over 700 buildings of everytype, shape, size and use, fromthe Banqueting House onWhitehall to the Brunel Museumin Rotherhithe (where you’ll findthe best home-made cakes), willopen their doors completely forfree. Some give tours, othersallowing you to roam.

A printed booklet listing everyLondon borough, and theproperties each has chosen toopen to the public, will beavailable from mid-August, orvisit www.openhouse.org.ukto place your order in advance.

BREAD MAKING WITHAUDREY HAMMOND

Members may have had theirpalettes tickled, or at least theirimaginations tempted, by thehome-made raffle prizes at thelast Quiz Night.

If a few members are seriouslyinterested in learning how tomake delicious and nourishingwholemeal bread - it is very easy- do come to the demonstration.

Audrey has room for five in herkitchen. She will make the breadand members can participate atall stages and take a loaf home.Bring a pad and pencil for notes.

A home-made soup supper (andsurprise dessert!) will be servedduring rising/waiting times andAudrey will explain her theoriesabout healthy eating andkeeping trim (taught initially byher mother, of course) which shehas been practicing since longbefore it became fashionable.

This will be an evening event -7.30 – 9.30 pm and cost £10members (£12 non-members),all inclusive, to CPCA funds.

Booking is essential – as is your prompt arrival. Please phone 8670 6239

for date and place.

Sunday 11 OctoberCIRCULAR WALK AROUND THE RURAL

AREAS OF WEST WICKHAM West Wickham is only 5 miles away from Crystal Palace, but during the

course of our autumn recreational walk, we will discover ancientwoods, common land, parkland, pass the historical home of Anne

Boleyn’s uncle and aunt, as well as other sites of interest. The walk will start at 10.30am outside the Swan Public House, on thecorner of the High Street and Station Road, West Wickham. (We shallcar share and if you require a lift, please let us know.) The walk will

finish back at the Swan, where we plan to lunch and partake of liquidrefreshment.

Cost £5 for CPCA funds. (Refreshments not included)

Tuesday 25 August

Dine at Mediterranea21 Westow Street, SE19

Not heading south this summerbut would still like to enjoy thefood of the Mediterranean then

join us for a meal at this modernMediterranean restaurant,

recommended by Time Out magazine.

The food is beautifully fresh and tasty, many dishes inspired

from Sardinia, the owner’snative country.

We shall book for 7.30pm.

Tuesday 1 December

Dine at Lorenzo’sRestaurant

73 Westow Street, SE19 8761 7485

This long-established Italianrestaurant, has been a firm

favorite in the area for manyyears, serving pizzas, pasta and

a range of other delicious dishes,all very reasonably priced.

Booking for 7.30pm, so let us knowif you wish to join us.

Somerset House and the view from WilliamBooth College, Denmark Hill

May 24 - June 21 2009SYDENHAM

INTERNATIONAL MUSICFESIVAL

The sixth Sydenham InternationalMusic Festival offers a real feast of

live music to match anything inLondon. Highlights include the

British debut of Serbian cellist MajaBogdanovic, virtuoso Russianviolinist Sergey Dogadin, theEndellion String Quartet, the

baroque ensemble Florilegium, theFidelio Piano Quartet and the

virtuoso St Bartholomew FestivalOrchestra under Robert Trory.

The children’s concert this year willbe Prokofiev’s ‘Peter & the Wolf’.

Tickets, by post, telephone or in personfrom Kirkdale Bookshop, 272 Kirkdale,Sydenham, SE26 4RS 020 8778 4701

SE19's very own rock balladeers,the Effras, will be outside theWhite Hart, 96 Westow Streeet(corner of Church Road) SE19, on28 March 2009 at 8pm as part ofthe Triangle Festival. On 9 Maythey will be at The Plough, 381Lordship Lane, SE22, as part of theDulwich Festival.

The boys (although they have acombined age of well over 200years...) are busy recording analbum, which their lead singer andsongwriter, Andrew Rumsey,

assures us, should be ready in thenext few months.

Last Autumn the Effras performedon the forecourt of the Royal Albertas part of the Crystal Palace TriangleFestival and will return indoors tothe White Hart and The Alma tosing their songs of lost rivers,Routemaster buses, and theCrystal Palace Fire.

Have a look atwww.myspace.com/theeffras for more information, or check theCPCA website for our dates.

South LondonTHEATRE

For great entertainmentright on your doorstep

This thriving communitytheatre, based in the old WestNorwood fire station, has two

theatre spaces producing22 plays a year ranging,

this year, from Shakespearethrough Ibsen, Brecht, Pinter to

Joe Orton, Dario Fo and Alan Ayckbourn.

The SLT welcomes newmembers and gives everyone

the opportunity to be part of aproduction. But those who

choose the vital role of memberof the audience are especially

welcome. Join the SLT on a Wednesdayevening between 8-10 pm or

via the website.

2A Norwood High Street West Norwood SE27 9NS

www.southlondontheatre.co.uk

The boys entertaining an appreciative crowd outside the Royal Albert on Westow Hill.

T h e E fT h e E f f r a sf r a s

Warehouse Theatre4Kidz£4.50 children, £6 grown-ups.

The Warehouse also arrange children’s parties after the show.

For details please contact 020 8680 4794 or visit:www.warehousetheatre.co.uk

The Warehouse Theatre, Dingwall Road, Croydon CR0 2NFEast Croydon BR

FARMERS’ MARKETSFarmers’ Markets offer goodquality, fresh and seasonal localproduce grown often within a fiftymile radius. The variety of stallsvary from market to market but onecan usually find fresh seasonal fruitand vegetables, outdoor-rearedmeat, bread and cakes, localcheeses, preserves, olives, fruitjuices and plants.

West Norwood Farmers Market 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month10am -3pmWest Norwood High Street at thejunction with Lancaster Avenue

Streatham High Road2nd Saturday of the month, 10-2pmoutside the Odeon Cinema

Dulwich Farmers’ Market4th Sunday of the month, 9am-1pmDulwich College quadproduce and arts and crafts stalls

Hillyfields Farmers’ Market, 2nd Saturday of the month, 10 am to3 pm.Hillyfields park, Brockley

Telegraph Hill 4th Saturday of the month, 10-2 pmnortheast of Nunhead Cemetery

Support your local farmers and reduce your food miles!

With your correct email we can keep you

informed of events.

13 to 17 August 2009Modern Pentathlon

World Championshipsat

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre

This summer, London will hostthe Modern Pentathlon World Championships;

thrilling sporting action acrossfive events with top pentathletes.

Competitors take part inshooting, running, fencing,

swimming and show jumping.These will be the first

World Championships of anOlympic sport to be held in

London since 1986.For more information visit:

www.pentathlongb.org/mpwc

Denniss MatthewsSolicitors

Established 1791

Domestic & Commercial Conveyancing(written estimates given)

Wills & EstatesCompany Law

Accident ClaimsMatrimonial and All forms of Litigation

145 Anerley Rd London SE20 8EG Tel: (020) 8778 7301/7631 Fax (020) 8778 6782 [email protected]

CPCA c/o 10 Jasper Road, Upper Norwood, London SE19 1SJ Tel / Fax: 020 8670 4395 [email protected] www.cpca.org.uk

Member of the London Forum of Amenity & Civic Societies and the Open Spaces Society Registered Charity No. 261790

Bandlish Dental Surgery5 Gipsy Hill, Upper Norwood, London SE19 1QG

WELCOME TO BANDLISHDENTAL SURGERY

providing all kinds of quality dentistry Monday to Friday 9am to 6 pm

and Saturday 9 am to 1 pm.

We are a very friendly, sympatheticand prevention-orientated team.

We aim to provide the highestquality of clinical care andtreatment, and are committed toContinuing Professional Educationto constantly upgrade our techniques.

We are a modern practice locatedat the top of Gipsy Hill, ten minuteswalk from Gipsy Hill BR station andfive minutes from Crystal PalaceParade.Limited parking is available in front of the practice.

We provide variousservices subject toconsultation,including:• Cosmetic/white fillings

• Implants• Crowns & Bridges• Tooth whitening• Home visits• Same-day gold fillings

• Same-day denture repairs

• Hygiene appointments

• Prophyjet stain removal

• Panoramic x-ray imaging

• Orthodontic referrals• Dental photography• EMERGENCY SERVICE

Tel: 020 8670 2296, 020 8761 3609 Fax: 020 8488 4794email: [email protected] www.bandlish.co.uk

0% FINANCIAL PLANBandlish Dental Surgery

are now able to offer a 0%interest free financial plan toenable our patients to have

the treatment of theirchoice: cosmetic dental

treatment, implants, crowns,teeth whitening and more.

EVENING EMERGENCYDENTAL

Tuesdays,Wednesdays,Thursdays5.30 pm until 7.30 pm (NHS)

PRIVATE CALL OUT SERVICE after 7.30 pm.

In case of dental emergency,kindly call 07730 963 127

out of normal surgery hours.

cpca newsletter spring 2009

Documents

application isone

ldapark masterplan application

application forpublic

thelondon mayor

thesecretary of state

housing proposals

londons greenand open

themayors london plan