Agenda item

Resolved: that the Committee would share its views with Mayor and Cabinet as follows:

·         The Committee believes that the sustainability of the town centre redevelopment should be a key consideration. It recommends that this should take account of both - the methods used for the construction of new buildings and infrastructure - as well as the long-term sustainability and energy efficiency of the whole centre. Accordingly, it recommends that ‘sustainability’ should become one of the key place shaping principles for the town centre and it would welcome detailed information about how issues of sustainability will be considered in future reports.

·         The Committee also believes that further work should take place to secure the future viability of the Broadway theatre.

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration should be given to the scope and scale of the development both with and without the extension of the Bakerloo line to the town centre.

5.1    Tony Piggott (Development Advisor), Sara Walsh (Regeneration and Urban Design Programme Manager), Viv Evans (Head of Programmes) and Kevin Sheehan responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         The realignment of the south circular would definitely be going ahead.

·         Transport for London (TfL) had general resourcing issues – these were not specific to the road realignment project for Catford.

·         The Council was working well with TfL – although there had been a delay in modelling work.

·         The same team at TfL that was working on the realignment of the A205 would work with the team developing the feasibility work for the A21 corridor so learning could be shared.

·         All options for transport were looked at holistically to manage ‘rat running’ and to encourage greening and ‘livability’ of streets.

·         Officers still intended that a report would be presented to Mayor and Cabinet in October for decision on the next stage of the masterplan.

·         Officers were conscious of the need to minimise disruption for local people during the delivery of the masterplan. It was hoped that TfL would implement the road realignment work as soon as possible.

·         There was no proposal to close the pub on the site of the Catford Constitutional Club.

·         Everything in the pub that was currently open to the public would remain as part of the pub.

·         All of the parts of the pub that could be retained would be retained. The architect working on proposals for the building had expertise in preservation of old buildings.

·         No decisions about the Catford Constitutional Club were being made outside of the Council’s usual governance or planning processes.

·         Any issues related to the operation of the pub and potential new housing on the site of the Catford Constitutional Club would be dealt with through the planning process.

·         All options would be explored to ensure that the development of Catford was as sustainable and as carbon neutral as possible.

·         The masterplan provided a platform for future consideration of the operation of the theatre.

·         A third director would be appointed to the Catford Regeneration Partnership Limited (CRPL) – this was currently scheduled for a decision by Mayor and Cabinet in September.

·         All decisions taken by CRPL were in line with the Council’s decision making processes. Any key decisions about development in Catford would be made by Mayor and Cabinet.

·         The overall masterplan for the town centre would provide a framework for development in the Catford that would have weight (as a supplementary planning document) in planning legislation.

·         A key difference between the Catford masterplan and other plans – was that the Council had significant land owning interests in the town centre and it had to ensure that the plans were deliverable.

5.2    In Committee discussions, the following key points were also noted:

·         Work should take place with the Lewisham cyclists to ensure their views on Catford were incorporated into the masterplan.

·         The Committee re-emphasised the importance of retaining the ancillary elements of the pub in the Catford Constitutional Club to ensure that the business remained viable.

·         The Committee highlighted the Council’s declaration of a climate emergency and urged that all plans for development should take account of this.

·         Members expressed concerns about the future of the Broadway theatre.

·         Questions from a member of the public present at the meeting would be submitted to officers for a written response.

5.3    Resolved: that the Committee would share its views with Mayor and Cabinet as follows:

·         The Committee believes that the sustainability of the town centre redevelopment should be a key consideration. It recommends that this should take account of both - the methods used for the construction of new buildings and infrastructure - as well as the long-term sustainability and energy efficiency of the whole centre. Accordingly, it recommends that ‘sustainability’ should become one of the key place shaping principles for the town centre and it would welcome detailed information about how issues of sustainability will be considered in future reports.

·         The Committee also believes that further work should take place to secure the future viability of the Broadway theatre.

·         The Committee recommends that further consideration should be given to the scope and scale of the development both with and without the extension of the Bakerloo line to the town centre.