GLA - Objections

MAYOR/GLA PLANNING DECISIONS ABOUT TO BE MADE

GLA PLANNING

GLA Planning Apps

LBWF Planning Apps

For reasons best known to the lawyers the Mayor has been able to delegate planning decisions to the Deputy Mayor (Planning) Jules Pipe who is a GLA officer and an ex-politician having been Mayor of Hackney. Because of the Election the GLA is in purdah which normally means major decision have to wait until the new Mayor is elected on the 6th May, but in the case of the following developments in this Borough that does not appear to apply!

Background

Before LBWF's Planning Committee makes its decision large developments have to be referred to the Mayor/GLA for their view. This is Stage 1 and the following sites have gone through that process and the GLA had its criticisms. LBWF has approved both the Town Centre and 2c Fulbourne Road (Homebase). They still have to decide the Families and Homes Hub (Wood Street library site). 

The following links will take you to the Stage 1 reports:

GLA Stage 1 Reports

Homebase/2C Fulbourne Rd  GLA Ref 6606   LBWF   202512

Town Centre   GLA Ref 6607   LBWF  202491

Families and Homes Hub  (Wood Street Library site)   GLA Ref 0184   LBWF  210250

Once LBWF has approved the development the Section 106 agreement and the Community Levy have to be negotiated with the developer and sent to City Hall for the GLA to scrutinise - Stage 2. 

Current Situation

This is Stage 2 which has now started (6/4/21) as LBWF have submitted the papers to the GLA. The GLA have to validate the information they are sent and then prepare a Stage 2 report and the Mayor has to make a decision within 2 weeks. The Mayor can Approve, Refuse or Call In a plan. If a scheme is Called In the Mayor in effect becomes the planning authority and takes over from the council.

I urge you to get your comments in about these 3 developments as there is not much time for our voices to be heard. I suggest you email your comments as follows:

Deputy Mayor Planning  Jules Pipe    jules.pipe@london.gov.uk

Head of Development Management   John.Finlayson@london.gov.uk

Case Officers

2c Fulbourne Road         jaydine.keenan@london.gov.uk

Town Centre                   scott.schimanski@london.gov.uk   TfL gavin.mclaughlin@tfl.gov.uk

Families and Homes      emily.leslie@london.gov.uk

Library Site

Town Centre

Homebase

Draft Local Plan

Draft Local Plan Consultation

Its that time again when, if you are bored and have nothing to do, you can get stuck in to the Draft Local Plan consultation. Don't forget to read up on the London Plan first as the Waltham Forest one has to comply otherwise we won't get money for Min Holland, Borough of Culture to name but two.

Bromley has not met their targets and are being threatened with having their Planning Power taken over by the Planning Inspectors. So be careful what you say about the Draft Local Plan otherwise Mayor Khan will take away any largess he was considering. Oh and don't forget you have to build high and in a much greater density than the the Victorians did to accommodate the extra 3million people the GLA says we have to grow London by!!!

Apparently that means another 27,000 new flats in Waltham Forest in addition to the 20,000 already under construction! When I get a moment I might take a closer look at the Draft Plan but it will only raise my blood pressure even further!!

Town Centre Gyratory

It always surprises me how many times TfL get it right!!?

Dear Stakeholder

Between 22 June and 3 August 2018, we consulted on proposals to change bus operations at Walthamstow gyratory. I wanted to make you aware that we have now published our consultation report and our response to issues raised document.

544 people responded to the consultation with 53 per cent of respondents in favour of removing bus stop AP, with 34 per cent opposing. 52 per cent of respondents favoured proposals to relocate the north and southbound 97 and 357 from the bus station to Hoe Street, with 37 per cent opposing. After considering all responses, we plan to proceed with the scheme as proposed with the changes due to be implemented in December 2018.

If you have any further questions regarding the scheme, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The consultation report and response to issues raised document can be found here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/walthamstow-gyratory/

Yours faithfully

James Pickard

Local Communities & Partnerships

Transport for London

Closure of the booking office at Wood Street Station

Wood Street Station Ticket Office Closure 

Good Afternoon Everyone:    I think you will support us in our concerns at TFLs decision to close the Wood Street Station Ticket Office.  After spending all that money on building a new Ticket Office they now want to close it.  Its totally unbelievable what they are doing.  If they knew they were going to close it why didn't they spend all that money on installing the much needed lifts at the Station. 

If like me you would like to have your say about the Ticket Office Closure you can do so in the following ways:

By Post:  London Travel Watch, 159 Union Street, London, SE1 0LL

By Email:  Consultations@londontravelwatch.org.uk

Or go to:  www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CDVZWTM

St James Quarter

St James Quarter Newsletter

A key development area for the council is the St James Quarter which already has a massive amount of redevelopment underway. The council has recently refurbished properties in the Conservation Area and new businesses are starting to move in - my favourite greasy spoon cafe being replaced by a Coffee Grind!

701 flats are due to be built adding another 1,500 people to the area.

South Grove

518 flats in blocks up to 16 storeys

After many years as an underused car park and then when it received planning permission for a Morrisons store they pulled out, this site has been underused for decades. Planning Permission was granted for residential but the developer decided to let Network Rail use the site for storing the equipment for the upgrade of the Barking to Gospel Oak line. At last development is underway and the groundworks have been completed and work has started on building the flats.

Essex Brewery

183 flats in 8 storey blocks

Despite being planned much later than the South Grove site work started before the other site and the flats are nearing completion and are on sale for £600k.

Brunner Road

This part of the site may be developed by the council's new development company Sixty Bricks.

Companies House - Sixty Bricks

Tottenham Hale - thousands more homes coming

Continuing along Forest Road you come to Tottenham Hale which has already had thousands of new homes built. Now even more are planned. The latest ones amount to 1,725 flats which means at least 3,500 more people in the area.


Hale Works

279 flats in 32 storey blocks

Hale Wharf 
Lock 17

500 flats in 21 storey blocks

Albermale Court

120 flats in 6 storey blocks

Ashley Road South

826 flats in 20 storey blocks

Forest Road - thousands more homes coming

Having taken a stroll to the Wetlands I thought it would be interesting to see how over developed the area will be in a few years time. Bearing in mind the Victoria line is already at capacity and these new homes are still unfinished. As to Forest Road and the Tottenham gyratory road network it can barely cope with the existing traffic let alone thousands more people moving in to the area.

The Mayor of London is to blame and his planning guru Jules Pipe (ex Mayor of Hackney) thinks you can create higher density and still keep London moving. The only major infrastructure improvement for getting around London is the Queen Elizabeth line and that opens at the end of this year so it will be interesting to see how quickly that fills up! No wonder people are now starting to leave London and move away from the inevitable congestion.

This is not a definitive list of developments in the LBWF part of Forest Road area but it indicates the scale of the looming problems. Total number of flats 1,498 - at least 3,000 more people moving into the area.

1 Hoe Street

18 flats in 5 storeys

Blackhorse Point

350 flats in 3 blocks highest being 21 storeys

4 to 10 Forest Road
4-10 Forest Road consultation

353 Student flats in 9 to 17 storey blocks

Equipment Works
LBWF Regeneration Equipment Works

337 flats in 7 storey blocks




Blackhorse Mills
LBWF Regeneration Blackhorse Mills

440 flats in 16 storey blocks

Blackhorse Point - update

Blackhorse Point

It is depressing how developers use a public consultation to push their plans to the limit. This is the Blackhorse Road Car Park site and TfL own it so the Mayor should not be selling it for expensive flats. The land should be reserved for social housing. 

Somehow the developer has decided that the public want an even higher block, so in typical "willy waving" architects are so good at, the height is going up to 21 storeys so that it is the highest block around! How a 21 storey building can reflect its Victorian history is interesting - I interpret that as meaning that the Grenfell disaster means bricks now have to be used as cladding will not be accepted by the public!! I hope it also has enough lifts to let people escape! It is nice to know that at one of the busiest traffic junctions in the Borough they will be providing play space for the up to 11 years old!

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your interest in our proposals for Blackhorse Point.

We have now held our second public exhibition where we displayed our updated plans for the car park opposite Blackhorse Road station. If you were unable to attend this, you can download copies of the boards from our project website (www.blackhorsepoint.com).

Throughout our public consultation period we have listened carefully to the feedback we have received and this has resulted in the following:

·         We have reduced the heights of four of the proposed buildings adjacent to neighbouring developments towards the northern and eastern parts of the site. These buildings now range from five to eleven storeys.

·         In order to ensure that we deliver the same number of onsite affordable homes, we will be increasing the height of the building on Forest Road – closest to the Blackhorse Mills development – to 21 storeys. This is only slightly taller than the 18 storey tower at Blackhorse Mills, and the 17 storey student accommodation on the south side of Forest Road.

·         The materials of the tallest building continue to reflect the history of the area.

·         Play areas will be provided within the public amenity spaces for all ages up to 11 years old.

·         With regards to the proposed commercial facilities - we will look into delivering a range of facilities across 9,000 sq ft of retail space. These facilities could include a bakery, grocers, gym and restaurant or pub.

This summer we will be submitting a full planning application to Waltham Forest Council. In the meantime there is still an opportunity for you to provide us with your comments on our proposals. You can do so by completing the Feedback Form on our project website or by emailingBlackhorsePoint@londoncommunications.co.uk with your comments.

Yours sincerely,

The Blackhorse Point Consultation Team

TfL Walking Action Plan

Walking Action Plan

Good afternoon Adrian

I am in our Local Communities & Partnerships team at TfL, and lead on engagement with organisations in Waltham Forest. I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself, and share with you a plan we launched today.

Today we have launched our Walking Action Plan. The plan, which is supported by Public Health England, has an ambitious vision to make London the most walkable city in world, with a million extra walking trips taking place each day by 2024.

The Mayor of London wants to increase the proportion of people walking, cycling and taking public transport to 80 per cent of journeys by 2041, from 63 per cent now. He is investing a record £2.2bn in streets across London to make them better for walking and cycling, and to improve air quality.

Walking is an easy and affordable way for Londoners to integrate more physical activity into their daily lives. However, research shows that too many people are put off because of concerns about road danger, overestimating the length of journeys or worries about their levels of physical fitness.

The Walking Action Plan aims to help Londoners overcome these barriers by:

• Designing, building and managing streets for people walking, by delivering better public spaces, more walking routes and safer pedestrian crossings
• Ensuring that walking is prioritised in every new infrastructure scheme, through London’s first ever pedestrian design guidance and a range of other tools and analysis to support boroughs to deliver local schemes
• Enabling thousands more children to walk to school by doubling the number of Gold accredited STARS schools which champion healthy routes to school, and by supporting timed road closures, car free days and 20mph speed limits around schools
• Rolling out innovative new traffic signal technology that makes it safer and easier for people to cross roads, while minimising congestion
• Creating new ‘Active Travel Hubs’ at TfL stations, making it easier to walk as part of an onward journey

Major projects are already underway to enable more walking across London, such as Highbury Corner, where a new public space and new pedestrian crossings are being installed, and at Old Street where work will begin to transform the roundabout in 2019.

We will work with London’s boroughs and other partners to develop and publish London’s first design guidance for walking in 2019, which will help ensure walking is at heart of the design process for London’s streets.

The published plan is attached. Please take some time to read it, and share with any colleagues who may find it helpful. We are keen to hear your thoughts on the plan, and how you believe we can work together to meet our aims. If you would like to discuss the plan further, please contact me.

Best wishes

Peter Fletcher

Community Partnerships Specialist – North and Active Travel Lead | Local Communities & Partnerships

Public Affairs & External Relations | Transport for London

5 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN

020 3054 7208 (int 87208) | 07595 066919

peter.fletcher@tfl.gov.uk

www.tfl.gov.uk

The mess the council has created in Walthamstow Town Centre

Surely this is what people really need and is good for the environment

Blackhorse Point Consultation

Blackhorse Point Consultation


TfL is selling Blackhorse Road station to Barratt Homes to build 350 flats - here are my comments about the consultation:

Blackhorse Point

Comments on Consultation held at the Mill on 16-5-18.

Developer – Barratt London

350 flats 50% affordable

1.       Car Park – if people are to be encouraged to use public transport removing car parks from stations is not going to help. Waiting for a bus, particularly in the winter, will not incentivise the use of the underground. The car parking space should be retained and the building constructed over the car park similar to Walthamstow Gateway at Walthamstow Central car park.

2.       Infrastructure – Currently there are thousands of new homes being constructed in Walthamstow particularly between Tottenham Hale and Walthamstow Central (Tottenham Lock, Forest Road, Mannequin House, Mandora,  Eclipse, South Grove, Walthamstow Brewery, Walthamstow Gateway etc.) Over 4,000 flats which means at least 10,000 more people in the area.

The Victoria Line is already at capacity and most of the new construction work has not yet been occupied so how will the line cope with severe overcrowding? Travellers further down the line will have no chance of getting on a train, particularly in the rush hour.

We would argue there is no spare capacity on the roads, public transport, health services etc. for another development. Blackhorse Point has come along too late and could be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back!” At some point residents will not be able to get around because of the congestion on the transport network.

3.       Social Housing – there is a huge need for social housing to house the work force this area will need once these buildings are completed. As this site is owned by TfL the site should be reserved for social housing to ensure the workforce does not have to commute long distances to get to work. There are already too many expensive flats being built and not enough to allow lower paid workers to live near their work.

4.       Balconies – we would urge all balconies to be internal and not protrude as they are usually used as storage and look an eyesore if they protrude from the building.

5.       Design – the current 6 blocks ranging from 6 to 17 design is bland, uninteresting and is not suitable for such a gateway site as this. The Student accommodation in the exciting Mannequin House next door sets a good example on what exciting and interesting architecture can achieve. The height is not compatible with the surrounding Victorian terraces.

6.       View from Walthamstow Wetlands – currently Mannequin house creates a good back drop to the urban environment when viewed from Walthamstow Wetlands, but this view will be blocked by Blackhorse Point which is a very dreary design adding nothing to the street scene or long distance views.

7.       Shops – with thousands more people moving in to the area what provision is being made for day to day shopping?  This site only provides 836sq m which is barely enough space for 3 shops.

8.       Amenity Space – the central courtyard is too small to provide enough space for future residents to be able to use in good weather.

This scheme is bland and uninteresting and more importantly does not provide the social housing which is so desperately needed. I am lucky to own a 5 bedroom semi detached house in Upper Walthamstow and need to downsize, but from what I can make out the price of flats are such that I cannot afford to downsize which shows the mess the housing market is in.

London Environment Strategy consultation

London Environment Strategy consultation

Buses easier to find

Buses changing

Policing in London

Policing in London

Mayor's Newsletter

Mayor's Newsletter

London Assembly

THE ASSEMBLY LINE - JUNE 2016 The New AssemblyOn May 5th, Londoners chose their new London Assembly.  The largest group is Labour with 12 Members, followed by the Conservatives with eight, the Green party with two, UKIP with two and the Liberal Democrats with one.  14 Committees have been formed and public meetings began again on the 13th May, when Tony Arbour AM was appointed Assembly Chairman.  Tony has written a blog listing the 10 things new Assembly Members need to know about City Hall. Read the blog

Armed Forces Week Saturday 25 June 2016 is Armed Forces Day.  On Monday 20 June at 10.00am Assembly Chairman Tony Arbour AM joined the Mayor and representatives of the Armed Forces to raise the Armed Forces Flag to mark the start of the week of celebrations. Find out more   Helping earlier HIV diagnosis 37 per cent of HIV cases in London are diagnosed late (2,984 out of 8,067 cases in 2012-14).  In June the Health Committeediscussed HIV awareness in the capital and the barriers that prevent people taking HIV tests and being diagnosed. Watch the webcast

Deputy Mayor for Housing Housing issues dominated the recent Mayoral election debates. New Deputy Mayor for Housing, James Murray, faced the Housing Committee on 7th June; where he was asked how he plans to fulfil the Mayor’s campaign pledges about housebuilding and tenants’ rights. Watch the webcast   Pedestrianising Oxford Street In his transport manifesto, the Mayor of London committed to pedestrianising one of the world’s busiest streets. In June, theTransport Committee discussed how the Mayor can fulfil this manifesto commitment and identified the implications for road users and retailers.   Watch the webcast

COMING UP... Tuesday 28th June - Budget and Performance Committee - 10am Wednesday 29th June - Planning Committee - 10am Wednesday 29th June - Police and Crime Committee - 2pm Thursday 30th June - GLA Oversight Committee - 10am Tuesday 5th July - Housing Committee - 10am Wednesday 6th July - London Assembly (Plenary) - 10am Wednesday 6th July - Economy Committee - 2.30pm Tuesday 12th July - Regeneration Committee - 10am Tuesday 12th July - Budget Monitoring Sub-Committee - 3.30pm Wednesday 13th July - Transport Committee - 10am Wednesday 13th July - Environment Committee - 2pm Thursday 14th July - Police and Crime Committee - 10am Thursday 14th July - Budget and Performance Committee - 2pm Tuesday 19th July - Police and Crime Committee - 10am Tuesday 19th July - Audit Panel - 3.30pm Wednesday 20th July - London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) - 10am Wednesday 20th July - GLA Oversight Committee - 2.30pm You are welcome to attend these public meetings or watch the webcasts here. Follow us @LondonAssembly Join in the conversations with our new #Assembly[Committee] hashtags.

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