The 10-day Public Inquiry is over and the decision is due to be handed down by the Secretary of State, Ruth Kelly, on or before 19 October.
Absolutely the right decision
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Sydenham Society Executive took the right decision to be a full participant at the Inquiry and to appoint a barrister to represent us. There were a number of occasions when being a party to the proceedings gave us the opportunity to challenge facts and statistics which were being used to promote the applications.
Statistics challenged
Figures produced by Lewisham Council showed that traffic in Sydenham Road had reduced by 28% over the period 2002 to 2005. There was an acknowledgment that Transco work in Sydenham Road had possibly had some effect from April to December 2004 and March to November 2005 on the traffic count but no mention was made of other Transco works in Kirkdale throughout 2003 or the saga of the Pedestrian Accident Reduction Scheme (the Cobbs Corner roundabout fiasco), which contributed to bringing the area to a virtual standstill for 3 years.
Without these figures being challenged it would have been easy to suggest that Sydenham Road could cope with an additional 10% increase in traffic, should the Retail Park get the go ahead.
The developers and their consultants concentrated their statistics on the area immediately surrounding the Bell Green site stating that the Gyratory System cope with any additional traffic, which they considered would be modest.
Giving a wider picture
The Sydenham Society was able to provide the Planning Inspector with a much wider picture of how the area works, and especially the difficulties we all have with the limited opportunities of crossing the railway line under either Southend Lane or Catford Bridges.
As full participants we were also involved in choosing the sites and roads the Planning Inspector visited during the course of the Inquiry, and these included both bridge crossings during peak rush hour periods.
Expert witnesses supported our views
The Society was able to offer expert witness evidence from John Hutchinson and Alistair Bryan relating to alternative proposals for development of the site (housing), and on traffic and the environment. Jimmy Dickens, with many years of expertise in employment matters, challenged the developer's statistics about the number of jobs a Retail Park would generate.
I offered evidence as a local resident on the effect of a Retail Park on local high street retailing and on traffic and the local road network.
The decision will be the result of the Inspector's deliberations on whether the claimed need for a Homebase and other bulky goods retailing to regenerate Bell Green outweighs the fact that the applications are against national, regional and local planning policies, which they quite plainly are.
The Society's final bill will be just over £7150 which for legal consultations, site visit, and representation at the 10 day inquiry is extremely good value for money.
Members have so far generously donated a magnificent £4480 toward these costs. Having read this article and the report on the proceedings on the centre pages of this newsletter I hope that further contributions to the Bell Green fund may yet be forthcoming.
If you wish to make a donation, please contact the Society's Treasurer
Pat Trembath (Chair)
Autumn 2006
Absolutely the right decision
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Sydenham Society Executive took the right decision to be a full participant at the Inquiry and to appoint a barrister to represent us. There were a number of occasions when being a party to the proceedings gave us the opportunity to challenge facts and statistics which were being used to promote the applications.
Statistics challenged
Figures produced by Lewisham Council showed that traffic in Sydenham Road had reduced by 28% over the period 2002 to 2005. There was an acknowledgment that Transco work in Sydenham Road had possibly had some effect from April to December 2004 and March to November 2005 on the traffic count but no mention was made of other Transco works in Kirkdale throughout 2003 or the saga of the Pedestrian Accident Reduction Scheme (the Cobbs Corner roundabout fiasco), which contributed to bringing the area to a virtual standstill for 3 years.
Without these figures being challenged it would have been easy to suggest that Sydenham Road could cope with an additional 10% increase in traffic, should the Retail Park get the go ahead.
The developers and their consultants concentrated their statistics on the area immediately surrounding the Bell Green site stating that the Gyratory System cope with any additional traffic, which they considered would be modest.
Giving a wider picture
The Sydenham Society was able to provide the Planning Inspector with a much wider picture of how the area works, and especially the difficulties we all have with the limited opportunities of crossing the railway line under either Southend Lane or Catford Bridges.
As full participants we were also involved in choosing the sites and roads the Planning Inspector visited during the course of the Inquiry, and these included both bridge crossings during peak rush hour periods.
Expert witnesses supported our views
The Society was able to offer expert witness evidence from John Hutchinson and Alistair Bryan relating to alternative proposals for development of the site (housing), and on traffic and the environment. Jimmy Dickens, with many years of expertise in employment matters, challenged the developer's statistics about the number of jobs a Retail Park would generate.
I offered evidence as a local resident on the effect of a Retail Park on local high street retailing and on traffic and the local road network.
The decision will be the result of the Inspector's deliberations on whether the claimed need for a Homebase and other bulky goods retailing to regenerate Bell Green outweighs the fact that the applications are against national, regional and local planning policies, which they quite plainly are.
The Society's final bill will be just over £7150 which for legal consultations, site visit, and representation at the 10 day inquiry is extremely good value for money.
Members have so far generously donated a magnificent £4480 toward these costs. Having read this article and the report on the proceedings on the centre pages of this newsletter I hope that further contributions to the Bell Green fund may yet be forthcoming.
If you wish to make a donation, please contact the Society's Treasurer
Pat Trembath (Chair)
Autumn 2006
Bell Green Public Inquiry:
worth the effort?
worth the effort?
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