Minutes:
Sydenham Community Updates
Sydenham Assembly 25 January 2020
1 Planning issues
1.1 OLSPN
A planning enforcement notice was issued by Lewisham on 25th
October 2019 following the refusal of a planning application
seeking to address the non-compliances at OLSPN School. Appeals
against the refused planning application and enforcement notice
have been received by the Planning Inspectorate and these appeals
have not been formally started by the Planning Inspectorate. The
appeal case will likely be at a Public Inquiry in mid-2020. Local
Residents will be notified by Lewisham of the appeal when it is
formally started by the Planning Inspectorate.
1.2 Mais House and Otto Close
Garages
A Planning application has been received for the
demolition of existing buildings at Mais House and Otto Close garages, SE26, and
redevelopment to provide a part four, six and seven storey building and a part two and three
storey terrace building providing a
total of 110 residential units (use class C3), community room and
estate office; together with alterations to the existing ball
court; associated works to vehicular and pedestrian access from
Sydenham Hill, Lammas Green and Kirkdale; provision of car and cycle parking,
refuse storage and landscaping including amenity space and play
area. You can comment on this at the Lewisham Planning Portal,
search for DC/20/115160. Deadline for
comments is 31st January 2020.
1.3 21 Sydenham Road
A
Planning Enforcement Case
Officer has visited this site where a breach of planning control
has occurred. The council is of the
view that the loss of the historic features of the frontage
including the stallraisers, recessed
door and glazing bars is not acceptable and contrary to adopted
planning policy and guidance. The
installation is not level access. The owner is seeking a
planning pre-application to agree a way forward for the
re-instatement of the shop front.
1.4 Bell Green
Gasholders
The Gasholders have now been
largely dismantled.
Officers are aware that some local residents and organisations,
including the Sydenham Society, are advocating that SGN make use of
voids resulting from the removal of the gas stores to bring forward
an alternative energy proposal at the site, which may allow for the
provision of geothermal energy and the subsequent provision of a
district heat network in the Bell Green Area. As at January 2020, officers are awaiting the
results of a study into geothermal energy generation at the
site.
1.5 Bell
Green and Lower Sydenham Masterplan
The potential
transformation of Bell Green and Lower Sydenham has been identified
through the revised Character Study as part of the evidence base
for the emerging Local Plan. Whilst there has been no formal
decision on preparing a masterplan for
the area, officers (with authority from the regeneration board)
have prepared a high level scoping report and have submitted a bid
to the GLA through the Homebuilding Capacity Fund to prepare a
masterplan for the area. A decision is awaited.
Any decision to progress with a masterplan for the area will be subject to M&C
approval. No further
information available at this time.
1.6 154 Sydenham
Road
Peabody have been granted
planning permission. No pre-commencement conditions have been
formally submitted to the Council, whilst a start date for works
has not been confirmed to officers. The S106 has now been
completed. To date, no works have commenced on site. Officers have no further update
at present.
1.7 138 Sydenham
Road – corner of Knighton Park
Road
The ground floor commercial
space has been granted a change of use to a yoga studio and at
present is vacant and full of builder’s rubble as homes above
now occupied. Officers understand the owner has had difficulty
occupying the unit for commercial activity but is continuing with
marketing procedures.
1.8 Site on the
corner of Mayow Road and Berrymans
Lane
This is being reviewed by the
development team at Lewisham Homes as one of nearly 20 sites that
will form the first wave of Council/Lewisham Homes development in
the 1,000 home programme. Work is at an early stage. No further
updates at present.
1.9 Regents House,
Cobbs Corner (291-307 Kirkdale)
Two
applications are currently being considered by officers:
Part demolition and partial conversion of 291-307 Kirkdale and 1 Spring Hill SE26, together with the
construction of an extension at 2nd floor level incorporating a
mansard roof extension at 3rd floor
level to provide 35 residential units, (16, one bedroom, 14, two
bedroom & 5, three bedroom self-contained flats), a Use Class
D2 unit and commercial unit (Use Class A1/A3/D2), alterations to
the elevations, formation of courtyard and terraces, 72 bicycles
spaces, vehicular gates and refuse stores. DC/19/113878
Part demolition and partial conversion of 291-307 Kirkdale and 1 Spring Hill SE26, together with the construction of an extension at 2nd floor level incorporating a mansard roof extension at 3rd floor level to provide 35 residential units, (16, one bedroom, 14, two bedroom & 5, three bedroom self-contained flats), a Use Class D2 unit and commercial unit (Use Class A1/A3/D2), alterations to the elevations, formation of courtyard and terraces, 72 bicycles spaces, vehicular gates and refuse stores. DC/19/113878
Internal discussions are ongoing between officers, and to date, no recommendations have been made for either scheme.
1.10 7A Kent House
Road
This is a commercial premises with
unauthorised residential use. Following a trial at Woolwich Crown
Court on 14 May 2019, Mr Errol Lueshing, the owner of 7 Kent House Road, was found
guilty on all 6 counts under S179(2) of the Town and Country
Planning Act 1990. Sentencing is thought to be imminent, where a
confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act will be made in
addition to a fine and a costs award to the Council. Counsel was
Gary Pons of 5 St Andrews’ Hill.
With regards to the excavation of the basement of the premises, Case number ENF/18/00277 the owner of the premises submitted a planning application for a revised scheme in December 2018. However, officers refused to consider the application under powers set out in Section 70C of the Town and Country Planning Act (as the property is subject to the Enforcement Notice and it was not considered appropriate to determine the application whilst the Notice has not been complied with) and it was returned to the Applicant. An Enforcement Notice has been served, the case is ongoing.
1.11 30 Sydenham
Road
Application for the
redevelopment of 30 Sydenham Road, corner of Newlands Park. The
application was refused by officers on 12 July 2019. Subsequently,
a written representations appeal was received in
September. This was dismissed by the
inspector in October 2019.
1.12 74 – 78
Sydenham Road, Former Co-op
An
application has been made for change of use from A1 to D2, to
introduce a Gym to the former Co-op on corner of Sydenham Road and
Girton Road. Two objections have been received to
date. Officers are currently reviewing
this.
1.13 20 Sydenham Road
20 Sydenham Road will reopen shortly as Apollo Estate Agents - ex Catford - no application has been made for change of use,
1.14 291
Kirkdale (former nightclub)
A change of use
application has been approved from Sui-Generis (nightclub) to D2
for a Bingo Hall.
2 Highways
2.1 Parking on Sydenham Hill outside
Bluebell Close.
The consultation by
LB Southwark on Bluebell Close/Sydenham Hill bus lane has closed.
We are in communication with Southwark, and are in the process of
responding to objections and other communications received during
the consultation period. The council will be contacting residents
of Bluebell Close directly regarding the proposals.
2.2 Traffic calming on Sydenham
Hill
The council understand that
Southwark council plan to start implementing the traffic calming on
their (southern) section in March/April 2021. Lewisham Highways are
planning to submit a report to Mayor and Cabinet in the next few
months to include traffic calming in our section of Sydenham Hill
within the Council’s 20mph speed limit programme. The
intention would be to carry out the work on our section of road at
or around the time of the works to the section owned by LB
Southwark.
2.3 Footbridge between Sydenham Park Road
and Dacres Road
Works to upgrade
the Sydenham Park footbridge are scheduled to start in summer 2020.
The contractor (Topbond) who was to
undertake the works pulled out of the project due to Network Rail
requirements and which extended the risk to their company.
The Council is in liaison with other Principal Contractors to
take on this role with Topbond as a
nominated sub-contractor which in turn will increase the cost of
the project. The timescales are dictated by this liaison and track
possessions, which are controlled by Network Rail. Once we
have made this appointment and costs known we will then be in a
better position to pick up discussions with Network Rail and
progress the works.
2.4 Issues of speeding
-
Although our roads have been made 20mph limit, speed surveys have
shown that a lot of drivers are ignoring it and driving too fast.
It is therefore planned to carry out further measures on the worst
“offending” roads to try and bring the speeds down to
those acceptable in a 20mph limit. The detailed designs for the
proposed measures are currently being developed and will include
physical traffic calming and extra signing etc. The designs will
vary from road to road.
Lewisham has now defined the top 30 roads to be treated under the 20mph programme. Further batches of roads will follow though, dependent on funding. Roads in Sydenham to be treated in this first batch are: Lawrie Park Ave north of Sheenewood
· Sydenham Road East of Highclere Street
· Trewsbury Road north of Allendale Close
· Kent House Road north of Hillmore Grove
· Newlands Park north of Tredown Road.
We continue to work with Transport for London and the Police on the Community Road Watch initiative.
2.5 Cobbs Corner
roundabout
The replanting has been
completed. A schedule of monthly
maintenance is planned.
2.6 CPZ Zones
The council is considering the introduction of a new
Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in Sydenham. Officers will be meeting with councillors shortly to discuss draft boundaries,
after which a design process will be undertaken. The intention is that this will then go out for
consultation in the Spring of
2020.
2.7 Girton Road Car Park
The Pay and Display machine in
Girton Road car park is working. It is
hoped to have two machines working by the close of next week which
if in the future one of the machines is out of order the other is
working.
3 Neighbourhood
Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) Fund
We have some money to spend for
Sydenham Ward. This funding, called the NCIL (Neighbourhood
Community Infrastructure Levy) Fund, is available to fund small
scale projects to improve the local area such as:
The online consultation on NCIL priorities is now closed and the priorities will be finalised at the Assembly on 25 January 2020. You can still visit the Commonplace consultation pages to see what people said here:
https://sydenhamncilmap.commonplace.is/about .
The next stage will be the Open
Call for Projects – more details on this soon. If you are not already on our mailing list, please
email laura.luckhurst@lewisham.gov.uk
or call 07392 860155 to be added.
4 East Sydenham Healthy Neighbourhood
The Healthy Neighbourhood programme is aimed at encouraging walking and cycling for shorter journeys in the borough, enhancing air quality, tackling congestion and improving road safety. This is in line with our Transport Strategy and our aim to reduce Lewisham’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. The initial consultation stage for East Sydenham HN is now closed, and officers are working on the implementation of the trial period. This will involve temporary road closures (modal filters) which will be closely monitored to assess their impact. If you would like to know more about the next stage and how it may affect your local journeys, more information can be seen at: https://lewisham.gov.uk/HealthyNeighbourhoods, and you can sign up for regular updates by email at: www.streetbuilder.io/eastsydenham or get in touch with the team at: eastsydenhamhn@lewisham.gov.uk
5 Vibrant High Street
5.1 Christmas
Lights
Congratulations to Sydenham
Community Project who succeeded in raising funds for eight new
column Xmas lights this year. The
lights look great and this is a great accomplishment after 10
months of work! Thank you to all those who have already supported
this effort, with special thanks to Sydenham Society, The Poodle
Club, Kirkdale Bookshop, Property World
and R Woodfall.
The project will continue to raise funds through their GoFundMe page (gofundme.com search for Sydenham Christmas lights), to continue the transformation of Sydenham High Street. Keep an eye out for further fundraising events throughout the year. If you have an idea or can host an event please get in touch with the team at sydenhamcommunityproject@gmail.com.
6 Thriving Arts
Scene
6.1 Sydenham
Arts
Sydenham arts have successfully
made up their funding shortfall thanks to some sterling fundraising
efforts and dedicated supporters. Their
programme for 2020 kicks off with the Film club’s
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood showing on
30th January, followed by Beethoven & Mozart with
enSEmble26 on Saturday 1st Feb (At St
Bartholomew’s Church). Their Moving with Parkinsons series then
gets started on 5th February, running weekly through
February and March. Full details of all
events at: https://sydenhamarts.co.uk/whats-on/
6.2 Spontaneous
Productions
Love Bites: 3rd Time
Lucky is their next show, performing on Saturday 15 February
2020. Short plays on the theme of love
and heartbreak by emerging playwrights.
From 7 March to 5 April,
Spontaneous presents The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the
Sailor. Tickets available from
February.
All tickets and details at: spontaneousproductions.co.uk plus all
upcoming shows such as Abigail's Party by Mike
Leigh!
6.3 Montage
Arts
Montage are now offering Mini
Melodies for ages 2 – 4. They continue to offer Showtime for
ages 5 – 7, and Street Dance for ages 6 – 8 and 8 - 13.
They have a Half Term holiday course from 19 – 21 February
and accept childcare vouchers for this. All classes take place at
the Sydenham Centre. Prices and full details of all courses at
www.montagetheatre.com
6.4 St.
Christophers
7.30
pm Thursday 6 February Alfabeto
Runico. A night
of Italian traditional music. Tickets include wine and
canapés at St Christopher's Hospice 51-59 Lawrie Park Road London SE26 6DZ. Tickets
available at www.stchristophers.org.uk
6.5 Poodle
Club
They have a full programme of
Comedy Nights on Fridays and Saturdays, starting Saturday 25 January with Diane Spencer and friends
Doors open 7.30 pm Details and tickets at
www.poodleclub.co.uk
6.6 Film
Club
After Once Upon a time in
Hollywood on 30th January, their next showing is the
very charming Amelie, showing on 27th
February.
7 Vacant Premises update
8 Community
Safety
8.1
Sydenham Safer Neighbourhood
Team
Sydenham and Bellingham police are holding a joint Community
Contact Session at Bell green Sainsbury’s Café, 1
– 2 pm Saturday 25 January.
8.2 Elderton Road Littering issue
A petition was presented by Cllr
Chris Best, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham, on behalf of the community at
Full Council on Wednesday 22 January, in relation to issues
including a litter problem on Elderton
Road.