Tower Block Safety
Capital and Regional's Plans
CONSULTATION
This is your chance to find out more about this horrendous development
CENTRAL LIBRARY Monday 3rd July from 1pm to 3pm
Thursday 6th July from 7pm to 7pm
QUESTIONS TO RAISE:
1. How will the construction traffic reach the site without disrupting existing traffic?
2. How close are the 4 tower blocks to each other?
3. What fire precautions are there?
4. What happens to the rest of the plans if the outline permission for the 4 tower blocks is refused?
5. Will the public be excluded from the open space during the building works?
WALTHAM FOREST TRADES COUNCIL
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HOUSING ACTION NETWORK
Open Air Meeting
in Town Square: 6.30pm July 7th
( ALL WELCOME ~ bring a blanket or a chair)
Along with the vibrant local
campaign to stop the building of a monster block in the market, we are calling
on all residents to come along to this gathering to plan a mass lobby of the
Council. Our market (and now potentially
our town hall) is being redesigned out of all recognition for the sake of
corporate interests.
Capital and Regional UK are seeking
planning permission to build four high rise blocks of luxury flats including a
monster block of 29 floors to overshadow the remains of the town square. Half
the Mall will be demolished, approximately one third of the open space in the
Square taken away, and a new commercial shopping area built, with cafes and
leisure units (could even be a casino). 500 residential units are proposed, but
with no indication that they will include social or "affordable"
housing of any kind for those in housing need in the borough!
We say there should be a moratorium
on the granting of Planning Permission for all new high rise builds until after
the Grenfell Public Enquiry has reported, and any new fire or safety
regulations agreed and written into law.
There will be a consultation
exhibition in the library in High Street on
Monday July 3rd 1pm -3pm, and on
Thursday June 6th 5pm-7pm
We will have a campaign stall
outside the library at those times where you will be able to record your
objection directly onto the Council website using an Internet-connected laptop
that we will provide. If you want to do this yourself at home you can go to:
Fill in the first part of the form as
follows:
Planning Application No: 171355
Address of the property: The Mall Shopping Centre and Town
Square
Description of the development: Extension of the The Mall into the public open space to create new
covered-in commercial units, the construction of four new residential tower
blocks including one of 29 stories and other residential units integrated into
the re-modelled shopping mall and the
re-modelling of the remaining parts of the Square including the destruction of
a large number of trees and the replacement of the existing children's
playground with a smaller 'play area' somewhere else on the site.
The remaining box is for your
comments. Ask for acknowledgement of your contribution
THE DEADLINE FOR OBJECTIONS IS WEDNESDAY JULY 26th
wftradescouncil@gmail.com
Reply to my appeal
Dear Mr Stannard
Thank you for your interest in the application to redevelop The Mall. As Cabinet member for Economic growth and High Streets I thought it might be helpful if I clarified some points. My answers to the issues you raise are set out below:
1. Consultation
· In view of the scale, complexity and importance of the proposals LBWF has instigated an enhanced public consultation process which includes direct mailing to 10 000+ town centre addresses, an extended consultation period until late July (rather than standard 21 days), a summary flyer and public drop in sessions at Walthamstow Library on 3 July between 1pm – 3pm and 6 July 5pm – 7pm.
· We are aware that there are difficulties in downloading plans from the website. We are therefore transferring the application on to our Local Plan Consultation system. This should be done by the end of the day and should enable easier access to and viewing of the application information and plans. A hard copy of the application is available to view at the Council’s offices (Sycamore House) and at the library.
· Dates for the drop in sessions etc. were included in our flyer and we are using social media and other digital channels to publicise this further.
This is one of the most important applications we have in the system at the moment and we are going to extra lengths to ensure that residents and others have an opportunity to have their say.
2. Resident Safety
· Residents safety is our absolute priority both during construction and post completion.
· As part of the planning application consultation we will be liaising with our own building control and highways teams, Met Police, London Fire Brigade and TfL. All but the first are statutory consultees for an application of this nature.
· This should ensure that concerns about construction methodology, the principle of the safety of the building and access and servicing arrangements for all traffic including emergency vehicles are fully addressed as part of the consideration of the application.
· We will of course comply with any changes in regulations that come out of the Grenfell House investigation and inquiry.
3. Benefits of the scheme
· The benefits of redeveloping The Mall were highlighted as part of the Walthamstow Town Centre Area Action Plan
· These include a re-invigorated, flagship retail and cultural venue with improved shops, food and drink uses and an enhanced town square. The development would deliver much needed homes along with significant numbers of new jobs both during the construction period and permanent jobs within the completed development
· Without the significant investment that the scheme will deliver these benefits could not be realised.
4. High quality
· We are striving to deliver high quality development across the Borough. To enable this we have established the Waltham Forest Design Review Panel delivered by CABE. The Panel has already reviewed the scheme and amendments and improvements that they suggested have been made incorporated.
· By working with the applicants, Capital and Regional, and seeking this external review of the proposals we are confident that a high quality development can be achieved.
5. Engagement with other stakeholders
· We have been liaising with the GLA and the London Mayor in the run up to the submission of the planning application.
· By working with the Mayor and other partners, such as TfL, we are hoping to deliver a package of town centre improvements that will provide the best deal for Walthamstow.
· This will build on the success of other schemes that have already been delivered such as The Scene and the town centre public realm scheme.
I hope this is useful and answers the concerns you raise.
With best wishes
Simon
Simon Miller
A Labour Councillor for Leyton
Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and High Streets
To Councillors
WALTHAMSTOW TOWN CENTRE REDEVELOPMENT
1. Please get the plans for the Town Centre made accessible to the public. Planning App 171355 on the planning web site will not download as the files are too large. Previous large plans have been given their own dedicated web site and the files split up.
The officers have had the plans since April but there was no mention of them in the latest WFN and hard copies of all the documents should be available in the Central Library. As it is a complex plan officers should be holding presentation sessions to show what is proposed. Why is the council deliberately keeping the public in the dark about this huge redevelopment?
2. The scale and massing is totally inappropriate for the Town Centre and the whole of the Mall site should have been cleared to get the right spacing between the tower blocks instead of squeezing them on to the edge by Selbourne Road.
3. Where is the space for emergency vehicles?
4. If a fire broke out in one block it could easily spread to another block as they are so close. Do the blocks have two staircases and sprinkler systems and will the cladding be fire proof? No doubt Kensington and Chelsea Council said Grenfell Tower complied with all regulations. Do you want a repeat of that disaster in Walthamstow? There is no need to redevelop the already successful shopping centre so why take the risk?
5. Has the London Fire Brigade examined the plans properly to ensure they are safe? Have you checked this has been properly carried out?
6. How can the site be redeveloped with 4 huge tower blocks one being 29 storeys – twice the height of anything around, while keeping the Mall operating? Will shoppers’ lives be at risk from the building works which will be very close? How will the developer ensure the streets of Walthamstow are not clogged up while the heavy lorries deliver materials and the work force come into the centre? – the bus station already struggles with the traffic congestion.
7. Over 500 dwellings are proposed which will be at least 1,500 more people in the Town Centre and on public transport which is already bursting at the seams. A further 500 dwellings have been agreed to in the St James Street area before the Buxton Road site is developed. How will the existing users manage with the extra crowds?
8. The green space, vitally important for a good environment, will be decimated and will be in greater demand. Any chance of expanding the bus station will have to be abandoned as there will be not be space for it.
This is one of the worst schemes I have seen, is totally unnecessary and will destroy Walthamstow as we know it. It will make residents lives a misery while it is constructed and will then pour masses more people on to our already congested streets and public transport. This scheme must be abandoned.
Adrian
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