People's Republic of Southwark

Elmington Estate, SE5 (presumed)

The number of affordable homes is now estimated to be 27 after a re-calculation, dunno what the original proposal was and, obviously, have no idea of final number as the council don't. It was the entire estate before the council decided to put affordable housing in.

Only residents are to consulted on the mix of redevelopment and refurbishment, presumably it is considered not to have any effect on anyone outside the area - it is our coucil tax.

Coopers Road, SE1

Land to be sold on a 125 year building lease. No other information available as it is in a closed report. The Head of Property can change the agreement and the freehold to be sold after completion of 50 homes - unless Head of Property decides otherwise.

Silwood, SE16

To be sold freehold to Higgins Homes plc and Notting Hill Housing Trust on gaining planning consent. Hmmmmm. More is in a closed report.

Peckham Road, SE5

West House, Central House, East House and South House are to be sold. The buyers will not require any additional land in Lucas Gardens, whether any land in Lucas Gardens is included in the sale is unkown as the information is closed. Parts of the buildings to be leased/licensed back to the council even though the council claimed as part of the Tooley St move these properties were surplus to requirements, facilities to be moved to Tooley St - or did we get something wrong here?

There is no information as to where the money raised is to go - any one giving good odds on the Tooley St lease?

Any other information is closed

Aylesbury Regeneration

Phase 1 of re-housing of residents to be approved and the re-housing to begin.

First stage of bidding process be noted - what this is we have no idea, it's closed.

We were hoping to bring you information on the Heads of Terms agreement for the Elephant & Castle Regeneration. So far Eleanor Kelly (Deputy Chief Executive) and her PA have only managed to let us have two documents relating to schools, the 15 page report we are after is more like 15 lines of rubbish.

The planning application for 1-6 Camberwell Road & 307-311 Camberwell New Road is now up on the Council's website.

The application is for yes more flats in yet another oversaturated, impoverished and 'underamenitied' area with severe traffic congestion problems.

To object to the proposal, please email your comments to the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Important update (17/02/10):

Some of the objections to the proposal so far have been about:

Design:
the building would destroy the existing character of the area (a number of buildings are Victorian with curved corners, bay windows, ex surgery on the corner of Camberwell rd/Camberwell New Road, Father Red Cap pub on the green); existing sightlines (rooftops, cupolas etc) would be affected

Height:
the proposal is taller than the surrounding buildings and would have a negative effect on the amount of daylight available;

Nature of the proposal:
Camberwell is already a high-density area with a great number social housing estates nearby. This space would be better suited as a community amenity to be used by all.

Parking:
development does not include any parking provisions. it is possible that some of the new residents already own cars which they would need to park somewhere. This could have a negative effect on already poor parking situation in the area.

Transport:
Transport problems around Camberwell town centre are already severe, as travel is exclusively road-based. Camberwell train station should be reopened before any new housing development is considered.

My own reservations are:

The first major concern I have about the proposal is the demolition rather than recycling of the space – the existing space can be used creatively and enhance and benefit the area without having to destroy then rebuild. Both demolition and rebuilding are costly, ecologically unsound and there are better alternatives.

The area around Camberwell Town Centre (which most certainly extends beyond Camberwell Green) is already suffering from severe traffic problems (lack of safe cycling routes; no overground train station; no underground; congested and not well planned and managed bus stops; continued issues with cars parked on pavements etc); proposed 129 new dwellings would mean at least 258 new people and I do not think that the existing infrastructure (including transport, GP surgeries, children's nurseries, facilities for disabled and older residents) could cope with this. I think that any new housing development is at present unrealistic as transport problems alone would need to be resolved first.

The height of the proposal would have a negative impact on people who live or regularly pass through the area. It would diminish the amount of daylight, restrict the feeling of openness of the area as it is at present – this can affect some people quite severely (people who suffer from S.A.D. for example).

The proposal does not include any public green spaces.

Camberwell Town Centre is a vibrant, densely populated mixed community, yet it is sorely lacking in any community amenities. This housing development proposal, although it makes provisions for some mixed use community amenity, would have no benefits for the local communities. A community-run community space or a cultural centre would.

Hope some of you may find this helpful.

The detailed list of all comments received can be seen on the council's website (search the planning applications for 09/AP/2896, click on the documents; comments are in the 'Neighbour Consultation Replies' document).

The deadline for responses is 23rd February. If you would like to comment, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , quoting the 09/AP/2896 reference and include your full name and address.