WALTHAM FOREST - ONE COMMUNITY This Blog provides information about our Community in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Please send your contributions to wfoc10@gmail.com
The Local Plan will be used to direct developers to certain sites listed in Part 2 of the plan.
Part 1 is the policies which will control the developments they can undertake.
If the Government's Planning White Paper is approved by Parliament then a developer will be able to come and develop on one of these sites, assuming they comply with the policies, the council will be powerless to stop them. It is vital the policies are written in such a way as not to be ambiguous!
Planning Application 202491 for the Mall redevelopment
Planning Application 2020489 for the new tube entrance
CLOSING DATE FOR OBJECTIONS 15th November 2020
Send to: dmconsultations@walthamforest.gov.uk
To see the Save Our Square Objection follow this link.
Feel free to use any of the points in your objection.
The Planning Application 201548 for the demolition of the Nurse's Home was approved in July and work starts soon. Bart's have decided this is the best site for the new hospital.
I was asked to put together a presentation about the Planning Process. It was a useful exercise as it made me realise why our Planning Committee nearly always approve applications. They have a legal duty "of a presumption in favour of sustainable development". That means they have to approve an application so long as it complies with all the policies of Waltham Forest and the GLA's London Plan and the Government National Planning Policy Framework. That means residents have very little say and horrendous developments come forward!
Closing Date for Objections 17th October and scheduled for Planning Committee for December or January. One of the fastest planning applications ever. Homebase sold the site to Inland Homes in January 2020 for £28m. By July all the consultants report prepared and Public Consultation carried out and Planning Application submitted in September. At no point has the scheme, developed by the architects earlier in the year, been changed by public comment and reaction. Once again the planning system has failed residents.
Hello everyone
We should send questions via our Assembly Member Jennette Arnold. If you remember Jennette presented our original 6,000 plus petition in the Assembly for us.
The Council has commissioned a report showing the impact on the skyline from various develoipments. Worth a look to see how our Street Scene will change.
Henrik Ibsen first said "A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed."
Or as we say today "A picture is worth a thousand words" - so rather than a long narrative, I will leave these pictures gleaned from C&R's new Planning Application 202491 to tell their own story!
To object send your objection to: dmconsultations@walthamforest.gov.uk
How the site will change from Year 1 to Year 6 - the estimated construction time
The Part 2 Sites Allocation document identifies the New Road Leisure Centre, 175 New Road, Chingford E4 9EZ as a potential development site for 310 flats. Submit your objection to LBWF Consultation Site
Parliament is at present scrutinising the Government's White Paper - Planning for the Future. Below is Civic Voice's comments and you have until the 24th October to make your comments.
This will have a bearing on how Waltham Forest is allowed to develop over the next few years.
Brief description of the Planning Process
In very simple terms the Government sets Planning Policy ( a review is currently underway which will make the Local Plan even more important) by laying down National Policies and Regional Housing Targets. In London’s Case the GLA and Mayor create the London Plan (currently under review) and sets Policies and Targets for the 32 London Boroughs (the City does it’s own thing!).
Waltham Forest is reviewing its Local Plan and is trying to work out how to achieve the target of 27,000 new homes by 2035. It has already consulted on possible sites and decided to separate out these, so the Local Plan is in two parts. Part 1 is the Polices and this will be published in a week or so, but the list of possible sites has already been published and this is what is being consulted on at the moment.
Action4Whipps is about to have its own web site and will be a source of information about the redevelopment of the site.
Book Your slot for the Public Meeting
The Project Manager has responded to our questions as follows:
Dear Adrian,
Many thanks for your email about the Families and Homes Hub. Please see below for a response to the questions you raised.
We are liaising with our consultant team and hope to be able to issue the report imminently.
The presentation is available online on the following webpage :
Presentation by Project Manager
An application for the demolition of the building has been submitted to the Local Planning Authority. The project team will be working closely with planning colleagues to ensure that a well-designed Families and Homes Hub can be delivered. Demolishing the existing structure in this timeframe allows us to more easily ‘de-risk’ the site from hidden hazards that aren’t typically revealed until after demolition, which might otherwise cause delays. It also helps mitigate the risk of antisocial behaviour that can present with an empty building, such as squatting or vandalism. The Council will be following the correct due process with the demolition.
That’s correct, a construction logistics plan will be submitted as part of the planning application. We will ensure we discuss the construction logistics plan with you prior to the planning submission and happy to meet with you to run through this at the appropriate time.
The construction management plan will include traffic management measures to minimise disruption to the surrounding road network. The safety and wellbeing of children, parents and teachers of the nearby schools is important to us and will be prioritised.
Ensuring that disruption to the school is minimised as much as possible is a key priority for us. Proposals for managing noise, dust and air quality will form a key part of the contractor’s health and safety proposals. We have already met with the school to discuss the redevelopment proposals and how we can ensure we minimise the impact of the construction on the school. We will ensure lines of communication with the school are open at all stages of the development.
The Council will work closely with the developer of the Homebase site to ensure that construction management plans are coordinated to minimise disruption to the local community.
Best wishes,
Stacey
Stacey Clark
Project Manager
Capital Delivery
London Borough of Waltham Forest | Magistrates Court | Town Hall Complex | Forest Road | London E17 4JF
Email address: stacey.clark@walthamforest.
Tel: 07435798136
Twitter: @wfcouncil Website: www.walthamforest.gov.uk
Look for Section 6
OBJECTIONS TO: dmconsultations@walthamforest.gov.uk
and your Councillors and the Mayor.
Come and JOIN the Protest against this out of date badly designed scheme
TOWN SQUARE 1pm Saturday 24th OCTOBER
wear masks and keep socially distanced
while we have the space to do so!!
In 2018 C&R were granted planning permission to build 4 towers on the Mall site rising to 29 storeys, and fell 80 trees, including most of the avenue of lime trees. In July 2019 the fire broke out and we are still waiting for the whole site to re-open. In October 2019 they said they were going to modify the scheme and reduce the tower blocks from 4 to 2 and move them away from the underground tube lines to reduce construction costs. They appointed new architects and tried fiddling it through the planning process by using a Section 73 process, but they quickly changed their mind and said a new planning application would be coming in early 2020.
Covid struck and retail changed dramatically so it made it even more important for C&R to find another way of keeping the company afloat. They did a deal with TfL to enable a second entrance to the tube station, and to move the tower blocks further down Selborne Road creating 2 separate blocks, one 34 storeys (5 more than the consented scheme) and the other of 27. This creates space for 495 flats with another 43 above the expanded shopping centre. Just 45 less than the Homebase site in Forest Road which is only 18 storeys!!
The avenue of lime trees have been saved but the Town Square is squeezed out and is split by the extension to the shopping centre and the 43 flats above. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words so take a look at the future...........
Aerial View of Proposed Development
