Agenda and draft minutes

The Assembly formal meeting is deferred for the Fun Palaces, which are taking part from 12.00 noon – 4.00 pm on Sat 5 and Sun 6 October and supported by the Assembly.   

The Fun Palaces will be officially opened at The Sydenham Centre at 12.00 noon, by the Mayoress Barbara Grey, together with Deputy Mayor Cllr Chris Best, and Cllrs Tom Copley and Liam Curran.

Weather permitting, we will have an Assembly tent outside the Sydenham Centre, to listen to your views and concerns and with a range of community information and updates.  For those unable to take part in the online consultation on the NCIL Fund there will be paper forms.  Councillors will be at the Assembly tent or circulating around the Fun Palaces between 12.00 – 4.00 pm engaging with residents.

If the weather is bad the Assembly “tent” will move indoors within the Sydenham Centre.

We look forward to seeing you there.

The next Assembly meeting will be on Saturday 7 December, when we will decide the ward priorities for the NCIL fund, taking into account information from the online consultation.

There are no formal minutes from this Assembly, as it was decided by the Co-ordinating Group to hold a stall outside the Sydenham Centre to run alongside the Fun Palace on Saturday 5 October.  This enabled engagement with the residents that do not usually attend Assemblies, informing them about the Assembly, the new NCIL funding consultation, and other issues of interest.  Councillors were present to answer questions from local residents.

The next Assembly is due on Saturday 30^th October, barring a General Election.

Printed community updates were available at the Assembly and can be read below:

Community updates for Sydenham Assembly 5 October 2019

1          Planning issues

1.1       Our Lady and St Philip Neri School Construction

Update from Planning officers as of October 2019:
An application submitted under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 was made valid on 17 May 2019 to allow for the variation of Conditions (2) and (8) in connection with planning permission dated 7 October 2016 DC/16/096041 as amended for the demolition of the existing buildings at Our Lady and St Philip Neri Primary School, 208 Sydenham Road SE26 and the construction of a three storey school building including a nursery, a multi-function sports court and a running track, together with the creation of a formal pedestrian access from Home Park, the provision of cycle and scooter spaces, refuse storage and associated landscaping works to provide the amalgamation of the Infant and Junior Schools, in order to allow the following changes:

·         Alterations to the materials

·         Alterations to the fenestration pattern

·         Increase in the height of the building

·         Alterations to the roof profile

·         Alterations to the siting of the building

·         Installation of UKPN cabinets and planting on the corner of Sydenham Road and Fairlawn Park

·         Reduction in the number of fins on the Hall building

·         Installation of an internal ball fence to the playground on the flat roof of the Hall building

·         Installation ventilation grilles

·         Alterations to external lighting

·         Alterations to extraction flue

·         Alteration to playground canopies

·         Alterations to nursery entrance

·         Installation of an air-conditioning unit near the nursery entrance

·         Alterations to the brick plinth

·         Alterations to external plant store

The application is a section 73 ‘minor material amendment’ application, which allows for the merits of the scheme and an assessment of the scheme as built, plus any proposed alterations to be fully considered. 

During the consultation period, 40 responses were received, comprising 10 objections, 29 support and 1 comment.  Subsequently, a local meeting chaired by the Council was held on 8 July 2019, and in the event, 48 attendees were present. 

The Planning Committee meeting on the 3rd October 2019 received a presentation on the details of the proposed scheme to vary the 2016 planning permission and details of the enforcement issues at the school. 

The Archdioceses of Southwark was represented at the meeting by a planning agent.  The agent addressed members, speaking against the officer recommendations to refuse planning permission and proceed with formal enforcement action.  Two parents with children at OLSPN School (who were also local residents) addressed members, speaking against the recommendations.  OLSPN’s Head Teacher also spoke against the recommendations. 

Annabel McLaren, Chair of the Sydenham Society, spoke in favour of the recommendations, but stated that in her view the flexibility set out in the draft enforcement notice was too lenient.  She contended the school should be demolished and re-built in accordance with the 2016 planning permission.  Ms McLaren also spoke against the officer decision to support the retention of the as-built  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.