We are asking for two things:
1. Honesty and transparency from the Council regarding the
Framework plan. We want the Framework submission to be put on hold
for at least 6 months until we have had the opportunity to properly
review the proposals and comment on them. The Council/TeamCatford
recently claimed it has given our Community ample warning and
opportunity to oppose the plans. This is not true. The
Council/TeamCatford claims it distributed (by door drop) a
newsletter in December 2020, clearly explaining new proposals (e.g.
20-storey towers) and ways in which community members could respond
to those proposals.
We have not received this newsletter.
2. We request uncropped pictures of the Framework plan showing the skyline. It has been widely noted that the Council has deliberately cropped the skyline out of all their Framework pictures. We ask Lewisham Council to enter into consultations with us using honest representations and visualisations which include the proposed skyline.
The Framework plan is being pushed through at a time when few have the time, mental capacity or physical ability to access and fully digest the document. Some of the most important information is buried and hard to reach, and the visuals used are misleading and do not offer us (and those who might struggle to read this document) the visual aids that would help form a real picture of this proposed development.
Our Community would like to see the Framework consultation period extended by at least 6 months and the final framework document made more accessible and better publicised, including a door drop of the final Framework publication to surrounding areas.
This ePetition ran from 22/01/2021 to 21/07/2021 and has now finished.
21 people signed this ePetition.
Catford Town Centre Framework – response to e-petition
The draft Catford Town Centre Framework was widely communicated within the local community and, given the strong levels of participation, it was never the intention to extend the public consultation. The community involvement in shaping the vision has taken place over four years, which has seen over 3,000 comments shape the Framework Plan.
We are mindful that it has taken several years to get to this point and there is a desire from many people to see progress against the vision. The Framework Plan will help shape proposals and planning applications that will likely come forward from private landowners. Having a collective vision will help to channel energy and investment to achieve the outcomes and vision that residents have supported – a green town centre, an accessible town centre and a vibrant town centre. A delivery programme is currently being refined that will secure a number of funding opportunities from the Government, Transport for London and the GLA in order to secure the vision.
The latest phase of public consultation took place during a 12-week programme from November 2020 until early February 2021. During this period we asked for the community’s response to the draft Framework Plan during a series of ten Zoom sessions, via our website (and Commonplace) as well as collecting ideas from a response form in the current edition of Catford Conversations.
The consultation was widely publicised through local media, a feature within the Lewisham Life magazine delivered to all households in Lewisham, the community newsletter - Catford Conversations distributed to over 14,000 households in Rushey Green and Catford South wards, as well as email news and website updates and social media. Some residents in a few selected streets close to the town centre, noted they had not received copies so further newsletters were hand-delivered to these areas in early January 2021.
Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, there was a strong level of participation with 232 local people joining consultation sessions and 910 comments received in relation to the draft Framework Plan.
We believe that throughout the public consultation, we have been entirely open and transparent on the vision and the opportunities for local people to share their views.
During this stage of consultation, the full 120+ page draft Framework Plan has been available to read and download on the Council’s website and included in briefings to key Council meetings - Mayor and Cabinet and Sustainable Development Select Committee. In order to bring this lengthy, technical document to life, summary versions with the key aspects were included in presentations, community newsletters, websites and other communication channels clearly signposting to the full document.
In terms of building heights, the Framework Plan explores appropriate densities across each of the character areas and shows indicative height ranges. In 2019, the community consultation introduced an earlier version of the Framework Plan which tested a greater number of homes (3,000 +) exploring how the resulting densities and building heights might work across the town centre. Our discussions with the local community focused on building density across the town centre and where taller buildings would be best located across the regeneration sites.
Following community feedback on the housing density, the current draft Framework Plan explores a lower target of new homes - showing a reduction of 10-20%, meaning our indicative drawings now show buildings of a scale and height that we feel are more appropriate to the neighbouring residential areas over the next 10-15 years.
The exact heights of any building is a level of detail that will emerge as individual planning applications come forward. The Framework Plan does not propose 20-storey buildings, but presents a maximum height range of 17-20 storeys in a few locations across the town centre.
It is important to note, this is not a planning application,
which would be more prescriptive with a specific number of homes
and resulting building heights to be delivered in a short
timeframe. Rather the Framework Plan offers the opportunity for a
measured consideration of wider growth over a longer timeframe. It
may well be several years, or even a decade, before planning
applications come forward for these sites. The Framework Plan
should be considered as a collective vision, a tool for both the
Council and the community to shape any proposal in a way that
balances the requirements for new, affordable homes, sensitive
building design and is realistic in terms of the development
potential of these sites.