Agenda item

Item 5 is restricted – part 2

5.1 Gavin Plaskitt (Senior Programme Manager) introduced the report to the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·           Housing Zones were an initiative from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to accelerate the development of schemes scheduled to deliver more than 1.000 homes. Catford Town Centre had now been designated as a Housing Zone, and would therefore receive funding from the GLA to support the building of affordable housing and infrastructure. The houses would need to be delivered by 2026.

·           A report had been submitted to Mayor and Cabinet to agree to bid for Housing Zone funding. The bid had been submitted in February and the results had been announced in March.

·           A detailed report was due to be presented to Mayor and Cabinet before the summer to agree the details of the Housing Zone agreement.

·           There had been a discussion with Transport for London in January at this Committee to discuss the road network in Catford. A decision on whether Transport for London would relocated the South Circular (A205) was expected after the results of the Mayoral election for London. There was also an ongoing conversation between officers and TfL around the plans for the extension of the Bakerloo line.

5.2 Gavin Plaskitt, Kplom Lotsu (Project Manager), and Emma Talbot answered questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·           The boundaries of what is considered Catford Town Centre are defined in the Council’s Core Strategy. The area considered for the Council’s Catford Regeneration Programme was smaller than the town centre  though. The planning application for Former Catford Greyhound Stadium, Adenmore Road SE6 4RH was considered as part of the town centre, but was not a part of the Council’s regeneration programme.

·           Officers were in conversation with the GLA about the specific conditions for the awarded funding for providing affordable housing.

·           One of the aims for the regeneration programme was to mitigate against the current segmentation of the town centre by railways, roads and buildings.

·           The density of housing for buildings and approved planning applications for Catford falls within the limits of the London Plan for town centres. Catford is identified as an opportunity site in the London Plan. Plans for the town centre have also been incorporated in the Council’s Local Plan which had been extensively consulted on.

·           A high density of housing would not automatically mean lots of towers. The housing present in Victorian terraced housing with multiple flats in a single house could be quite dense.

·           A report was due to be presented to Mayor and Cabinet with an update on the terms of the Housing Zone funding, to present a updated vision for Catford Town Centre and a programme for the next steps in the regeneration programme including consultation.

5.3 The Committee made a number of comments. The following key points were noted:

·           A Catford Town Centre Local Plan had been developed and consulted on, but this had been withdrawn before being agreed.

·           There was a need for a clear vision for Catford Town Centre which should involve creative thinking and should focus on the lifestyle that Catford would offers its residents and visitors.

·           There was a need to ensure that local residents were involved in creating this vision as a first step to developing the town centre.

·           The placement of the South Circular was crucial to the regeneration of Catford, and the preference was for one central area.

·           There should be positive engagement with TfL by the Council about the need for a quick decision about the potential relocation of the A205.

5.4 RESOLVED: That the report be noted, that a report containing an update on the Catford regeneration programme being prepared for Mayor and Cabinet should be added to the Committee’s work programme, and that the following views of the Committee be referred to Mayor and Cabinet:

The Committee were pleased with the funding being made available by the GLA in its designation of Catford town centre as a Housing Zone.

The Committee felt a clear vision for the future of Catford Town Centre should be developed instead of a fragmented approach, and that the feel and attraction of the centre of Catford to its residents, workers, pedestrians, cyclists and its visitors depended on establishing places where everybody feels accepted, relaxed and excited to be. The town centre should be designed to feel loveable, liveable, joyful and iconic.

The Committee felt strongly that the local community should be involved in and consulted on their vision for Catford and that such consultation should happen before the appointment of developers. The Committee urged that the consultation be used an opportunity for the Council to engage closely with the local community in future plans for the town centre and innovative consultation methods should be considered. The aim should be to identify the reasons people chose to live or spend time in Catford and to develop a shared vision for the lifestyle that Catford should offer its residents and visitors.

The Committee also noted the strength of feeling from local residents that had been expressed previously on planning applications for developments in Catford. It was recognised that the level of interest in the future of Catford was a significant asset for any future consultations on plans for the area.

The Committee was concerned that piecemeal development had already begun when a planning application for Former Catford Greyhound Stadium, Adenmore Road SE6 4RH was considered at a recent meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee.

The Committee felt that any decision on realignment of the South Circular through Catford would have major impacts, both for the traffic flow for buses and cars as well as for the quality of public space in the town centre. The Committee noted that Transport for London had previously presented their designs for the South Circular to the Committee, and hopes that Transport for London will weigh their concerns around the quality of the environment for pedestrians accordingly.

While appreciating that progress depends on a decision by Transport for London on whether to realign the South Circular (A205), the Committee requested that a clear timeline be established for the regeneration programme outlining the order of any key decisions, and that this should be shared with the Committee.

The committee strongly felt that the South Circular should be relocated as originally planned in order to achieve the town centre vision built around the theatre and a central piazza.