Mercy Terrace go-ahead

A Lewisham planning committee has given the go ahead for a three-storey building on Mercy Terrace, the cul de sac that runs at the back of the parade of shops on Algernon Rd and ends at the bridge over the railway line. The building will comprise three flats, two one beds and one two bed, and a multipurpose ground floor hall that might be available for community use. The development also includes a curved stairwell and water tower, clad in zinc and topped by solar panels. Despite the go-ahead, the planning committee has raised two concerns. At the moment there is no proper provision for refuse collection on the proposed site and there are worries that the zinc cladding might prove a distraction to drivers in bright sunlight. The development is in the Ladywell conservation area and some local people fear it will look out of place in the neighbourhood. What do you think? Tony M

Slow progress on Playtower . . . but progress nevertheless!

At last night's meeting at the Misty Moon Gallery, James Jennings (Chair of the Ladywell Tower Trust*) outlined progress towards bringing the Ladywell Baths building ('The Playtower') back into use.  This, he stressed, was a long-term project!

Council and English Heritage money would shortly be spent on weatherproofing, though as much as £6m might ultimately be needed fully to restore and renovate the building.  Whilst the Heritage Lottery Fund might give part of this, other sources of funding were being explored -one option being to secure a capital reciept by selling part of the site for development.

Key elements in the overall strategy are community use and income generation as both are needed to ensure the longer-term viability of the project.

As yet the building is still in Council ownership, but all the signs suggest the Council is keen to get the building 'off its hands'.  Whether the Trust takes the building freehold or leasehold has yet to be determined.

Watch this space for updates . . .

Robert Sheppard

* The Trust is a partnership between Volunteer Centre Lewisham, Lewisham Disability Coalition, The Tabernacle and Voluntary Action Lewisham.  LVIG's very own Vice-Chair, Tony Rich, is a community trustee.

Should Ladywell have a Neighbourhood Plan?

The Localism Act 2011 gives local communities the right to establish local forums, comprising no less than 21 people from a designated area, to develop neighbourhood plans.  Such plans offer the tempting possibility of local people exercising a greater degree of control over local planning policy/decisions.

Representatives of the Ladywell Village Improvement Group and the Ladywell Society will meet Council officers in early May to discuss the best way of ensuring that local planning policy best reflects the needs of Ladywell.  It may be that statutory requirements around neighbourhood plans are onerous and expensive and that a better route, to achieve the same end, will be to modify or better use existing planning controls.  Issues for discussion might include (i) site briefs for potential development sites such as Watergate School site, Mercy Terrace etc.; (ii) criteria to prevent over-saturation of takeway etc. uses; (iii) tighter shopfront and streetscape policies; (iv) a presumption that new buildings will respect the scale of existing, predominently Victorian/Edwardian character; (v) protection of amenity/views, esp. from Ladywell Fields and Hilly Fields; and (vi) a clear presumption against 'backland' and back garden development.

YOUR THOUGHTS WELCOMED ON WHAT A LOCAL PLAN MIGHT USEFULLY INCLUDE!

Chicken tonight - and every night

Ladywell residents will soon be able to eat fried chicken to their heart’s content – and order it from a different takeaway each night. Yes, the country’s favourite food will soon be available from two new outlets on our high street.  Coming soon – The Village Chicken Hut at the old off licence at 222 Algernon Road, expected to open in about two weeks time. Soon after – or even at the same time  – a finger lickin’ fried chicken outlet is expected to open in the Chinese takeway which is currently being refurbished.  LVIG wishes the owners well but remains concerned about the proliferation of takeaway outlets on our high streets. Tony M

Coral-Coomes bow to pressure over flats

The Ladywell Village improvement Group’s long-running campaign to force Coral-Coomes to renovate the landmark double fronted flat above the Coral betting shop at 228-230 Algernon Rd might soon bear fruit.

Inspired by the recent Channel 4 programme – Phil Spencer’s Empty Homes Giveaway – which featured LVIG’s campaign to bring the flats back into use, Nick Long, Lewisham’s empty homes officer, has been putting pressure on Coral-Coomes to renovate the properties.

Earlier this year he applied to the residential property tribunal for an interim empty dwelling management order which could be used to force Coomes to repair and let the property.

But this week Coomes property manager Ashley Hall met Mr Long and indicated the bookmaker was now looking at improving the flats above three betting shops in the borough -  228-230 Algernon Rd,  347-349 Lee High Road, and 357 Sydenham Rd.

Mr Hall indicated Coomes would start work shortly on the six flats above their Lee High Rd shop.. Once completed, rental income from these flats will be used to renovate Corals on the corner of Algernon Rd. A builder is understood to be inspecting the long neglected flat this month.

The large flat is in a poor condition, with broken windows, peeling paint, and a deteriorating roof. It has long been seen by the local community as a sad waste of a family home at a time of acute housing shortage in London. It has been an eyesore on the high street for more than 10 years but Coral-Coomes had always refused to take responsibility for renovating the property.

But Coomes hs now told Mr Long that they have taken a strategic decision to rationalise  the ownership and control of their property portfolio across south east London to generate capital and maximise potential rental income.

 They are reducing the number of shops they own from 49 to 32 because of the tough competition they are now facing from on line betting and a growing number of high street competitors.

Mr Long said that as soon as Coomes confirm the undertakings they have given to the council and builders start work he will adjourn his case before the residential property tribunal  to give the bookmaker time to complete the projects and bring the dwellings back into occupation. 

As Mr Long said: “These are early days but it is encouraging”.

Coomes' about turn on these properties shows that determined action by the local community can force change. LVIG hopes Coomes will now move quickly in 2012 to bring this landmark property back into full and proper use. TonyM

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Lewisham Mayor rules against Church Grove traveller site

In the last half hour Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, has accepted officer recommendations and decided not to pursue plans for a traveller site at Church Grove, Ladywell.  This will come as a huge relief to Church Grove residents and to many other local people who felt this was simply not a suitable site.

Mayor Bullock set to abandon Church Grove traveller site

Sir Steve Bullock, Lewisham's Mayor, is being recommended strongly by officers in a report published today (see http://councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=3040#mgDocuments) to abandon proposals for a traveller site at the former Watergate School site and to look elsewhere for a site to meet the Council's Housing Act duties.

Officers recommend ". . . based on the outcome of the consultation and an independent Technical Report on Access, the proposals for redevelopment of the Church Grove site to meet the current accommodation needs of the gypsy and traveller community in the borough be discontinued and a new site search begun."  Paragraph 18.3 continues "The key issue of concern is access . . . Although it may be possible for some caravans to safely access [sic] the site, the revised legislation means that it would be very difficult for a caravan of the maximum permitted width to safely enter [sic] the site without potential damage to other vehicles or mounting an already narrow footway. The use of mitigation measures have been considered but it has been concluded that these are either impractical or have significant disadvantages.

Paragraph 18.6 concludes "In order to address the need to identify a site or sites to meet the needs of the traveller community, officers propose to fundamentally reconsider [sic] the existing approach to the identification of potential sites. This would involve a re-appraisal of the criteria previously used and a new site search that will take into account both Council sites and those outside of Council ownership."

Split infinitives aside, this looks like ending next week with a victory for commonsense. The arguments from residents seem to have won the day - which begs the question why wasn't there a proper exploration of the issues BEFORE the Church Grove site was put on a shortlist of one!