Agenda item

Catford Town Centre Road Layout Proposals – Ami Ibitson, Transport For London.

Representatives from TFL attended the meeting to discuss the proposed changes to the road layouts in Catford based around the re routing of the south circular. The group were primarily at the meeting to promote the consultation to residents, to take any questions and to note any feedback about the proposals.

The key change currently being proposed is the relocation of part of Catford Road (part of the A205 South Circular Road) to a new route to the south of Laurence House and returning the gyratory system to two-way working. This will allow:

·        The council to create a new public space in the town centre

·        Improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users

·        Opportunities for improving the public realm with new planting and landscaping around the town centre

The presentation covered the following areas:

·        An overview of the proposals

·        The proposed changes to the South Circular for drivers and changes for cyclists, pedestrians and bus users

·        Environmental issues and consequences

·        Artist impressions and maps

·        How TFL are consulting with the community including online, in person drop ins, attending the assembly meetings

·        Next steps

Summary of main discussion points. Questions and statements from the meeting attendees included an understanding of the equalities impact assessment of the consultation and request to work in a targeted way to consult with minority communities.

Questions around modelling were asked regarding the traffic volume and a concern about issues in Lewisham Town Centre being mirrored in Catford. The TFL representatives were not people that had done modelling themselves so could not specifically give modelling information but hoped to share this information in the next steps.

Other issues of note were concerns over the moving of the bus stops from the town centre, meaning people having a longer walk to or from the town centre – which is an issue especially for people with mobility problems and a risk to businesses and the theatre. TFL commented that they absolutely want Catford town centre to thrive and alongside the proposed redevelopment of the centre, the hope is that the more attractive and free flowing town centre will benefit businesses.

There were also several questions around parking changes and road crossing points, bus and cycle lanes – these were noted as part of the consultation.

Questions were raised around the impact on the environment and TFL have modelled that it will have no significant impact either better or worse on the environment. Questions were raised around the impact on surrounding roads and more traffic going on to the roads off the south circular, TFL confirmed that they had modelled this and that there should be no impact on the surrounding roads as removing the gyratory should improve traffic flow, there acknowledged that there will be disruption while the works are taking place if they go ahead, but will be doing everything possible to mitigate this as much as they can.

TFL noted these concerns and will feed this into the consultation. They highlighted the two in person events that people could still attend and encouraged people to either complete the online consultation by the 5^th of June, or if they are not online to send in their comment and questions by post or call the dedicated consultation phone line.

TFL will produce a consultation report, including a ‘Responses to Issues Raised’ report to be agreed by TfL and the council. The report will contribute to how decision makers decide the next steps. The report and next steps will be published – currently proposed for some time in September 2023 – and ‘close out’ the formal consultation process.

Cllr Royston thanked TFL for attending and providing an update to the assembly.