Last night's Putney Society meeting & a Plan for Putney

Wandsworth Council has published draft new plans to guide future planning applications and redevelopments across the borough. The plans are out for consultation, and as part of this, Martin Howell, from the Council?s planning department, delivered a presentation at last night?s meeting of the Putney Society. Given the concern caused over the past few years by a string of inappropriate development applications ? some of which have been agreed by the Council in the face of fierce opposition from local residents ? the meeting was extremely well attended.

Along with the Putney Society I have been urging the council to produce a town centre plan for Putney for some time now, the absence of which has been a key factor in the propensity of developers to ?try their luck? with hugely inappropriate tall buildings proposals like Putney Place and Tileman House on Upper Richmond Road.

The Wandsworth Local Development Document comprises the Development Management Policies Document and the Site-Specific Allocations Document - Preferred Options. They can be viewed on the council's website: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning. I encourage you not to be put off by the somewhat impenetrable jargon and lengthy nature of the documents. By all means attempt to respond on the full range of issues being consulted upon; but I urge you to ensure that you definitely send in your comments on specific sites such as Tileman House, Capsticks and Putney Place ? stating the upper height limit you think would be appropriate.

The mood of last night?s meeting seemed clear to me: there was a definite consensus that the proposed upper height limit for tall buildings on certain sites was too high. For example, the council seems to think that a 15 storey tower would be appropriate on the Capsticks site. This for me continues to be too tall for this site and it would have a hugely detrimental impact on neighbouring residential properties. Other proposed heights are also alarming. I urge you to make sure your voice is heard, and take part in this crucial process.

I intend to submit my response to the consultation ahead of next Friday?s deadline. I?ll also post more on the council?s proposed plans once I have had a chance to go through it in more detail.

English Heritage says East Putney under threat

English Heritage, the body with responsibility for all aspects of protecting and promoting the historic environment in England, has named three areas of our borough - including the East Putney conservation area - as under threat in a nationwide survey.

East Putney is the part of our area that is under greatest threat from overdevelopment: there are at least three local sites: Putney Place, Capsticks/Carlton Place and Tileman House that developers want to pile-up huge towerblocks on. One of the other borough sites English Heritage have highlighted is Clapham Junction - again, under threat from massive overdevelopment.

I do find it remarkable that there is such a widespread coalition against overdevelopment - one that includes the Putney Society and English Heritage as well, of course, as myself and local residents. The only people who just don't get this are the Conservatives, who at best can be described as dithering over this issue - and at worst are complicit in creating the overdevelopment problems we're battling against.

You can download a whole range of information about the English Heritage campaign.

And here's how the Wandsworth Guardian is covering this story - focussing on Clapham Junction.

BREAKING NEWS: TILEMAN PLANS WITHDRAWN

Residents: 3 - Overdevelopers: 0

The developer of the controversial and unpopular Tileman House site has withdrawn his planning application for the site.

This is great news - provided that the developers have withdrawn it because they have heard the local voices about their plans. But if they are hoping the objectors will fade away or be worn down by drawing out this application they won't succeed.

So that's:

• Putney Place - plans rejected
• Ram Brewery - plans called in by our Labour Government
• Tileman House - plans withdrawn

Let those who believe local action doesn't make a difference see that it can.

The tower plans came in two by two...

Plans to redevelop Tileman House, at the Putney Hill end of Upper Richmond Road have just been unveiled.

Tileman House, like Putney Place, is currently an eyesore building. The office space element has been empty for years, while the residential side has become more and more run-down. In the photo to the right I'm standing in front of Tileman House.

The new building could be up to 16 storeys tall.

That compares with 25 and 18 storeys at Putney Place, and a proposal for a 22-storey Carlton Tower on the Capsticks site. You'll find the artist's impression of the new Tileman House at the foot of this post.

Here's the good news: the design is nowhere near as garish as the Putney Place towers that were rejected a fortnight ago.

Now the bad news: they're twice as tall as the next door building, No.125 Upper Richmond Road (the building that houses the Heathbridge Doctors surgery), and four times the height of the beautiful curved Victorian terrace that sweeps round onto Putney Hill. The buildings are also well over twice as high as the abutting apartment blocks in St John's Avenue: Albany and Marlin House as well as No.18 St John's Avenue.

The developers want to provide 2,322 sq m of office space coupled with 106 apartments (that compares to 19 flats in Tileman House). You can read more on the website skyscrapernews.com.
I am, to say the least, exasperated with the developers, and with those elected representatives locally whose do-nothing approach has led to the situation we're now saddled with. It is totally unfair to the local community to have to fight and fight again to defend Putney from these threats. One could be forgiven for thinking that this is a campaign of attrition by developers to wear residents into submission in the knowledge that if only one application can be forced through the precedent will be established that will open the floodgates.

The new blocks, while architecturally better than Putney Place, reminds me of Campden Hill Tower that looms over Notting Hill Gate. I have to question the wisdom of replacing one genuine sixties monstrosity with a new neo-sixties monstrosity of even greater size.

So, I hope you have one more good battle within you - I do, and I'm up for the fight. We've defeated one set of poor plans: now its time to cross swords with another!

Putney Place application unanimously rejected

This evening I attended a packed meeting of Wandsworth Council's planning applications committee. Over 60 residents filled the public gallery and many were left outside unable to gain entry so full was the meeting.

The outcome was exactly what all of us who have campaigned against this monstrous proposal wanted: a unanimous 8 votes to nil rejection of the application. As you might expect, those of us who attended the meeting left delighted having seen a clear decision in our favour.

The councillors on the committee had clearly grasped the range of problems associated with this development, replicating in their comments on the evening points that I and local residents made in our submissions. I was particularly impressed with Councillor Rosemary Torrington's analysis and speech at the meeting.

I have now written to the Chief Executive of Oracle ? the owners of the Putney Place site ? urging them to respect local opinion and not to lodge an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate. Oracle has six months to decide whether to appeal. I hope they won?t.

I believe their decision on this will signal whether they want to work with us towards a new plan for Putney Place or instead just want to try their luck with the planning inspector. The latter course of action would be misguided. Over two thirds of appeals submitted to Planning Inspectors are rejected.

Whatever Oracle's next course of action I will continue to work alongside local residents to protect this site from any over development.

Putney Place Decision Day: 06 November

Councillors will be determining the Putney Place planning application on Thursday 06 November.

The fantastic news is that council planning officers are recommending that councillors refuse the application.

They state emphatically that the application is unacceptable on five grounds:

1. Overbearing impact on the area
2. The adverse impact on surrounding residents
3. The loss of office space
4. Too few affordable homes
5. The buildings are not sufficiently environmentally-friendly

You can read the officers' report that councillors will be considering here.

You are also entitled to attend the planning committee meeting: it starts at 7.30pm at Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street and this application is the first item of business. I for one will be attending.

And I hope the owners of this site will now bow to the inevitable: there is no public support for their plan, there is no planning basis for it and there is no council support for it. If, as I expect, councillors follow the officers' guidance and reject this application Oracle should accept this verdict and not pursue an appeal to the independent planning inspectorate.

"Landmark" buildings

The ever-helpful architects for Putney Place have provided some more images of their "landmark" designs for us all - even here slightly misleading as the cylindrical tower will be black, not the sort of soft, gentle, almost transparent white they've drawn it as:


From Fawe Park Road, junction of Skelgill Road


From Brandlehow School.....................................From Wadham Road


From Disraeli Road jct Bective Road.......................From Oxford Road

Putney Place latest

A message from the Chairman of The Putney Society:

Council officers tell me they have met with the developer. Oracle will not withdraw or amend their plan. If it is rejected by the Planning Applications Committee then Oracle will appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Planning Committee date is likely to be 6 November 2008. Rejection would mean an appeal some months (maybe 3 - 6) later.

I am optimistic about rejection - but we cannot assume that this will happen.

It is important that there is a continuing flow of objections to this application in order to both strengthen the case pre-committee and be in place as evidence at an eventual appeal if required.

Letters will count after the Council's cut off date of 17 October - desirably they need to be in by 31 October 2008

Regards

John Ewing

You can either write to the council direct by emailing planningapplications@wandsworth.gov.uk or by visiting my Putney Place page and completing my online survey which, if you tick the relevant box, I'll submit to the council for you.

Local Guardian reports on Putney Place

The Wandsworth Guardian was at the Putney Place meeting last Thursday, and you can read their report of the meeting here.



Local residents have also set up a blog to help people keep in touch with what's happening:
http://saveputneyfromthetowerblocks.blogspot.com/

Tonight's Putney Place meeting

I'm just back from the Putney Society-organised meeting between residents and the developers at St Mary's Church which I was able to address briefly.

Over 300 people turned up - as you can see from the photo below the hall was packed - as was the upstairs gallery. It's really pleasing that so many turned up over what is such an important issue; though I'm a little surprised at how few Putney councillors bothered to attend.

I'll write more about my thoughts on the meeting in the next few days but I don't think the developers' team had a good night. In all likelihood they were never going to - this is a massively unpopular plan and deservedly so. But they did themselves no favours by arguing that white was black: that the plans were not intrusive, that they would not overshadow, that public transport capacity could accommodate them, that the towers were just what Putney needed.

I think one resident summed the scheme up perfectly when they said that this was a plan to win architecture prizes for daring, not a plan for the people. And the presentation was pitched at architects rather than local residents: it was a very, very poor show and I wonder why the public relations person present hadn't sat them down and gone through it with them before they spoke.

I've had almost 300 surveys back so far, and I can tell you that just 9 have been in favour of the plans. Those nine I don't think were present tonight!

Anyway, a good night for Putney, a good night for local democracy and a bad night for Oracle.

Don't forget the Putney Society meeting this Thursday

Just a quick reminder that the Putney Society meeting with the developers of Putney Place, Oracle Ltd. takes place at 7.30pm at St Mary's Church, Putney Bridge.

Everyone is welcome regardless of whether or not you're a member of the Society.

I've now sent out almost 2,000 copies of my Putney Place survey - thank you if you've already returned one either by post or online. And if you haven't yet had your say, you can do so by visiting the special Putney Place page on this website: www.stuartking.net/putneyplace.

There's also plenty of time to submit any thoughts you may have on Putney Place - for or against - to the Council and you can find out where to send them to by visiting my Putney Place page. The deadline is 17 October.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Planet Clegg

In the past week Putney has been attacked twice. The first, as the Putney SW15 website picked up, was by members of a pro-towerblocks website, skyskrapernews.com attacking the area as "boring".

I too have been criticised by that weird little website for my opposition to Putney Place - but frankly who cares as long as we turn back this dreadful application.

But Putney was also attacked from one of its own residents last week: Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. His comments are far more serious because they show a shocking ignorance AND demonstrate how out of touch with real people he is. This is how the Putney SW15 reports it:

"He recently was quoted as saying that the credit crunch was hitting him hard particularly after his discounted deal on the mortgage on his Putney property expired forcing him to consider giving up Ocado for Sainsbury's."

It must be truly inspirational for everyone struggling with the credit crunch to know that the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, on his meagre £61,000 salary (excluding perks, freebies and allowances, his parliamentary pension and whatever his own party pays him), living in his massive corner house in one of the most exclusive, expensive parts of West Putney, has had to forego Ocado to slum it in Sainsburys!

He then proceeded to rubbish Putney Secondary Schools, tell us all how he'll just have to go private - a remark which appears to have even stirred Putney's Tory MP to complain. And let's not even start on his belief that the State Pension is "about £30 a week".

I am hardly impartial when it comes to the Liberal Democrats but really - is this what the party of Gladstone has come to?

My Putney Place page

I've now set up a special page on this website dedicated to the Putney Place planning application. From it, you can:

• Complete my online survey - whether you're for or against the plans
• Read my submission to the council's consultation on the planning application
• Download the Council's planning news briefing on the application
• Visit my news archive on this and other overdevelopment stories
• Sign up for my fortnightly email news bulletin to keep in touch with this and other stories.

This is a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in the Putney Place planning application, so please take advantage of it. The address?

stuartking.net/putneyplace

Putney Place: when a picture speaks a thousand words

This is a "section" drawn by architects of the Putney Place developers of Upper Richmond Road from Putney High Street (on the left) along to Oakhill Road on the right.

It shows the scale of the two Putney Wharf Towers and the overbearing, oppressive impact these two ugly skyscrapers will have, dwarfing the surrounding streetscene.

As someone who opposes this gross overdevelopment, I'd actually like to thank the applicants for this drawing, because - as I say in the headline - this artist's impression makes the case against this scheme better than 1,000 words ever could.

You can click on the image to get a full-size version.

Putney Place plans now out for consultation

The owners of Putney Place, the site opposite East Putney tube where they want to build two massive tower blocks, have at last submitted all the documentation to enable Council officers to begin deciding whether to recommend that councillors grant planning permission.

This includes a 52-page "planning statement" which is produced by contractors of the applicants rather than an independent and impartial agent, but which is supposed to represent an objective assessment of the impact the development will have on the area and a justification or mitigation for that impact.

The EIA is a detailed document and I haven't yet had the time to plough through it, but the basic application is as follows:

• Two blocks: one 26 storeys (84 metres high) and one of 21 storeys (67.5 metres high)
• 300 residential units, approximately a third of which will be what the developers call "affordable" housing
• 3,439 square metres of office space
• 114 square metres of retail space
• 443 square metres of restaurant, retail or office space
• 84 square metres of space for a cafe
• 2,862 square metres of what they call "public amenity space"
• and "New public art"

You can find all the relevant documents about this application - the reference number for which is 2008/3321 here

Have your say on Putney Place

The long-awaited, much-dreaded plan to build two high-rise blocks across the road from East Putney tube station has finally been submitted to the council.

I am 100% opposed to this application which you can read up on here.

It is this planning development that I made the front page story of the latest edition of The Putney Paper - because while the existing Putney Place carbuncle is an absolute eyesore, my solution is to replace it with a better building of similar or smaller scale that complements the area and which our infrastructure can cope with. Instead the site's owners, Oracle, want to cram two ugly 25 and 19 towers onto this tiny triangle of land.

The planning application that has been submitted is incomplete and incredibly vague:

* It doesn't assess the impact on the environment or on local services

* It doesn't address the grotesque overdevelopment this plan amounts to, or the precedent it will set for the middle of Putney.

* It doesn't explain why surrounding residents should have to be overlooked and overshadowed, or why they think they have the right to transform Putney's skyline for decades to come.

* It doesn't talk about what proportion of the housing will be affordable

The Council must extract satisfactory, detailed and practical answers to each of these questions from the developer and tell us what it believes is a satisfactory development on this site. If it cannot or will not, this application must be refused.

Please register your views - and hopefully your objections - to this scheme. A groundswell of local protest will make it far harder for the Conservatives to cave in to the developers and blight our environment further.

You can comment online here, or email planningapplications@wandsworth.gov.uk, referencing planning application No. 2008/3321.

Redevelopment in Putney

We're facing an increasing wave of plans to build huge tower blocks in our patch. Rising land prices and the general lack of space in London is prompting developers to build up rather than out.

A couple of years ago, the first of these applications, for the site at the top of East Hill above the Wandsworth Bridge roundabout, was rightly rejected by the Council; a slightly less tall block is now almost complete.

Today we have three "landmark" buildings proposed for the area:

• Putney Place, opposite East Putney tube in the triangle between the two railway viaducts plans for two tower blocks: one of 25 storeys and one of 19.
• On the corner of Carlton Drive and Upper Richmond Road a 20-storey building is being proposed to replace the Capsticks building - I wrote last year about loopholes in the council's planning rules that enable developers to leave office buildings derelict and then convert them into windfall residential blocks
• And in Wandsworth town on the Ram brewery site, another set of twin towers are being planned that, hard to believe, will actually dwarf the blocks on the Arndale Estate, which currently hold the record for the highest towers in the constituency

My views on these so-called "landmark" building are the subject of my latest Putney SW15 parliamentary report, which you can read here.