Newsletter of the Hartley and District Residents’ Association Autumn 2019 Protecting and Advancing the Common Interests of the Area WEBSITE www.hadra.org Lots of useful information about our area
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CAMPAIGN FOR A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED MAYOR HADRA has been closely following the progress of a collection of individuals who are campaigning for a democratically elected Mayor of Croydon. The group are known as “DEMOC” and you can visit their website at http://www.democ.org.uk. HADRA has been saying for a long time that developer-led planning applications are having a negative impact on our area and, with the creation of the new DEMOC group, we see this as potentially being able to address some of the concerns around planning that are manifesting with our residents. Planning policy is of course decided largely by Croydon Council in relation to national guidelines and local town plans. The local town plans are created by council officials who currently all report to the leader of the council. Unfortunately, as it stands at present, we have no recourse to replace the council leader as he is not democratically elected by members of the public but appointed in council meetings behind closed doors. DEMOC are campaigning for a borough-wide referendum which would ask all voters within Croydon constituencies whether they are satisfied with this current arrangement, or whether they would prefer a mayor for whom they could vote. Clearly an official who is voted into power, such as a mayor, can just as easily be voted out of power if they did not uphold the wishes of the voters. This is why we believe DEMOC is a force for democracy in our borough and why HADRA have agreed to support this campaign. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to obtain 14,000 signatures on their petition. Legally, Croydon council must then hold the aforementioned referendum. We support DEMOC. If you do too, please sign the petition at http://www.democ.org.uk
EDITORIAL We have had a few changes on our committee with Lee Cooper taking the Chair and a new Secretary, Elaine Clark. We have also recruited a new committee member, Matthew Almeida, to assist our Planning Representative. This is great news for the Residents’ Association but with some of us getting a bit older, we need to keep that recruitment drive up, so if anyone can spare a few hours, please get in touch. You can see who is on the committee on page 9. Having been Editor of the Newsletter for 14 years, I was looking back on some of the articles of that early time. Planning then did not seem a big issue with very few applications to build on back gardens being approved and requests to build flats on a plot, almost unheard of. We will keep fighting especially when good family houses are being demolished to build nine flats. The Association has been extremely lucky to receive strong support from residents when controversial planning issues arise. I hope this will continue. I would like to thank all our Councillors who support the Association with many issues and a particular thanks to Councillor Margaret Bird who is good enough to attend our monthly meetings. Lastly, I hope you find the Hartley News an interesting read and if you would like to contribute an article, we would be only too pleased to receive it. If you want to have a moan about something, even committee actions, please let us know. John Clarke, Editor
COMMITTEE REPORTS FINANCES The finance for the past few months has been uneventful. Our main outlay as usual is the cost of printing our Newsletter which is offset by our advertisers and subscriptions.
Talking of subscriptions, these have declined marginally, but is hoped that with the consideration of our automated payment system, this situation will improve. Advertisers are always needed and welcomed, so if anyone would like to be included in any of our future editions, please contact our Editor John Clarke. As usual, we had a tombola table at the Village Fair where all the proceeds go to charity. This year’s Charity was the Epilepsy Foundation and £170 was raised, which was gratefully received. Josephine Hullay, Treasurer HEALTH The Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCCG) have just produced their Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2019.
This year has seen significant progress in all areas of local health services. I wonder how many people recall 6 years ago our concern at the apparent inability of the Group to achieve financial balance. The CCCG has achieved this target by working in closer cooperation with all their partners: the GPs, Croydon Health Services, Mental Health Services, the Council and Age Concern and other Voluntary Services and by improving efficiency overall. The CCCG has increased their communication with the people of Croydon, who now number 396,000, and we appreciate the ease of contact with the Residents’ Associations on an ongoing basis and particularly when there are any problems or issues to resolve. We are still awaiting the development of Primary Care services in Coulsdon which have been long promised but there is very little progress for the much needed service to be provided in our area. General Practice is now moving forward to working in groups of practices called Primary Care Networks (PCN) and closer working with other services in the community, which should only improve the opportunity for more local services to be available for us. Each GP practice has a voluntary Patient Participation Group (PPG) to provide a dialogue between the GP’s and the public and it is important that contact is developed at this level. Finally, there is much support for the GP Urgent Care Hubs in Croydon, and we value the local service at Purley Hospital, which is well used, and we want this service to continue as an 8am-8pm facility. Rita Lewis, Health Representative 2
TRANSPORT TfL intend to make changes to termination points in central Croydon. The only change to affect buses from our area is to the 405 which will terminate at Katherine street instead of the bus station and, in future, if you are travelling to St. George’s Hospital you will need to change at West Croydon bus station because it is intended that the 264 will terminate at West Croydon bus station . Bus services in central London have had the frequencies cut in recent years and, when the Crossrail opens, TfL will make further cuts. This has resulted in an increase on routes in outer London, in our area an increased frequency is now operating on routes 60,127,289 and 466. You may be aware that Govia Thameslink has agreed to invest £15m on stations within the area of its franchise. The results were due to be released on the 30 September and will be available on our website as soon as received. Clive Lang, Transport & Environment
POLICE Please find below some useful contacts: Old Coulsdon SNT Email: SNMailbox.OldCoulsdonSNT@met.police.uk Purley & Woodcote SNT Email: PurleyandWoodcote.SNT@met.police.uk London Borough of Croydon Tel: 020 8726 6000 Council Trading Standards Tel: 020 8407 1311 Email: stading.standards@croydon.gov.uk Council Antisocial Behaviour Tel: 020 8726 6000 Email: ASBTeam@croydon.gov.uk Neighbourhood Watch Tel: 07454 573453 Email: nhw@cbnwa.com Emergency Tel: 999 Non Urgent Tel: 101 As the Police information would be out of date by the time the Newsletter is published, please go to our website www.hadra.org and click onto Police where you will find the latest Monthly Newsletter for Old Coulsdon and Purley and Woodcote Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Tony Sales, Police Liaison for Old Coulsdon SNT & Purley & Woodcote SNT
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UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR After serving on the HADRA committee for the past 10 years, I was delighted to have been appointed Chair at this year’s AGM in what promises to be yet another busy year for HADRA and our committee. As with most new incumbents, the fine line between keeping the good-ship HADRA “steady as she goes” whilst being keen to implement my own ideas for subtle changes is a careful balancing act that I am still fine-tuning, however it is refreshing to report that so far nobody from our committee has resigned and we continue to operate at full speed over gentle waves! One of my first “subtle changes” was to implement Standing Orders to pay for membership subscriptions. Having listened to comments from our road stewards, together with comments raised at our AGM, it was clear that people neither like asking for money on doorsteps, nor like being asked to pay. However, it is still essential that HADRA continue to operate and in order to operate, we need subscriptions. Standing Orders seemed the most logical solution and we are pleased that the initial uptake shows this is welcomed by our members. Whilst traditional payment methods still exist, moving forward we clearly hope that more people sign up to our Standing Order scheme. Details of this can be found on our website, or email action@hadra.org for more information. It is important that HADRA adapts to changes in our society and, whilst it can be argued that if we continue to do what we’ve always done, then we’ll get the same results, we need to question whether those results are appropriate to the needs and wishes of our members in today’s society. It was for this reason that I consulted with our committee and launched the 2019 survey to find out how HADRA is performing, what changes we need to make, what we’re doing well and what our members actually require from a Residents’ Association in modern times. I would please encourage all readers to take part in the survey (see back page) as we shall be carefully looking at the answers to every question early next year. Your feedback does matter to us and we’re open to making changes to what HADRA does where necessary. Developer-led planning applications continue to blight our neighbourhood with family homes being converted into blocks of 9 apartments on several of our streets. We don’t like this anymore than you do, and I am discussing with our committee what additional steps we must take in order to preserve our neighbourhood. Whilst commenting on Croydon Council’s website and speaking at planning committee meetings are all well and good, we must always ask ourselves whether we are doing enough, especially as the Council appears to be adamant in ignoring the voices of Residents’ Associations and their members (despite having an excellent HADRA Planning Officer on the case.) As always, we will post any relevant information on our Facebook page and our website. Thinking more towards the future, later this year HADRA Committee Member Diane Hearne and myself shall be taking part in the Public Inquiry relating to the infamous “Purley Tower”. HADRA is one of seven local Residents’ Associations, led by Riddlesdown, that have opposed the 17-storey development of a tower block in the centre of Purley. We have listened to your comments about this proposed development and HADRA will continue to express the opinions of our members when it comes to out-of-character and out-of-scale developments scourging our community. Our Christmas Party is fast approaching too! Last year was a great success and it is an ideal opportunity to meet neighbours and make new friends in an informal and festive surroundings. We hope to see you there. Finally, I would like to thank our excellent HADRA committee for all the hard work they do throughout the year. Many of their activities go unseen and unheard, but hardly a day goes by when they are not working for the benefit of our local community. They are of course all volunteers who freely offer their time in order to preserve the quality of life and the beautiful area in which we are fortunate to live and I am grateful to them for their continued dedication, support and hard work. Lee Cooper, HADRA Chairman 4
MESSAGE FROM A COUNCILLOR, RETIRED After 28 years it did seem strange at first not to be a local councillor anymore, but that did not last long. I don’t miss the frustrations of long Council and Committee meetings, the 6.30pm starts for these meant eating at 5pm, the phone calls before breakfast or when you are in bed etc etc. However, since then I have enjoyed the opportunity to see more of Marlene and the family especially our two young grandchildren and the freedom of arranging short breaks and days out. My community involvement has continued and in many respects got bigger. I am now able to give more time and effort to The Friends’ Groups that I formed for Bradmore Green Pond, Coulsdon Coppice, Grange Park, Hanging Baskets and the, just completed, World War One commemoration. I was pleased to be chairman of the local group commemorating World War One and its relevance to old Coulsdon. It has been a success thanks to all the local groups, including HADRA, who got involved. The work of clearing and maintaining Bradmore Pond has continued and again a success thanks to local residents. This was the first local ‘Friends’ Group’ set up to restore the pond in 2005 and I am delighted to be the Chairman. The Friends of Coulsdon Coppice was started in 2011 to continue the work of the previous group to protect this valuable wood from possible development and to maintain it for local residents to enjoy. We continue to work there every month and I am still chairman of the small band of helpers. I maintain that in our area we have a record number of residents prepared to give their time and energy and it is a pleasure to work with them. Long may it continue. Chris Wright Old Coulsdon Councillors Report Autumn 2019 Cllr Margaret Bird and Cllr Steve Hollands are as always very busy with residents’ issues, especially over planning, missed bins and parking. Pavement parking is another issue that comes up as mobility scooters and buggies have difficulty getting through if pavements are blocked. Please think of the safety of others before even considering parking on a pavement. Think of the extra steps parking a couple of minutes away will add to your daily total and the benefit to your health! The double yellow lines across Grange Park on Canon’s Hill are there to enable easier passing when there is parking on both sides of the road. Please only use to pass and not to park on, even as a Blue Badge holder, as it causes unnecessary blockages. Parking on the double yellow lines at the junction of Coulsdon Road & Canon’s Hill also affects sight lines and could cause an accident. Planning applications for 9 flats in place of a family home have crept into Old Coulsdon and the application on Marlpit Lane had 272 objections which were ignored in favour of intensification. We are currently dealing with 2 Coulsdon Road, 8 Coulsdon Road and of course 24 Coulsdon Court Road in HADRA’s area within the ward but are aware that developers are actively seeking more sites as the current Council’s administration’s Local Plan encourages. We will continue to fight unsuitable applications on behalf of residents. Everyone has 48hours to report any missed bin collections but please do not try before 6pm on collection day. Use your My Account wherever possible as phoning can test anyone’s patience! Bins should then be collected within 24 hours. Christmas Lights are up in Old Coulsdon and will be switched on, on November 23rd at 5pm. There will be stalls and carol singing so I hope you can come along. You can always find us at our Councillors’ surgery on the last Saturday in the month (excl. Aug and Dec) in the Guide Hut, Coulsdon Road (behind the Bakers) from 10am to 12 noon. If you have an issue which cannot wait for surgery: Email: Margaret:- margaret.bird@croydon.gov.uk or call 07702 900030 or Steve :- steve.hollands@croydon.gov.uk or call 07712 045638 We are here to help 5
PURLEY TOWER UPDATE "Purley Tower" goes by many names - "Purley Baptist Church", "Mosaic Place", or "Purley Skyscraper". Whatever you decide to call it, thousands of local residents have objected to the scheme based largely on its proposed size and the traffic problems it will add to in an already congested area of the borough. The scheme by Thornsett Group and Purley Baptist Church seeks the “demolition of existing buildings on two sites; erection of a 3 to 17 storey development on the ‘Island Site’ (Purley Baptist Church, 1 Russell Hill Road, 1-4 Russell Hill Parade, 2-12 Brighton Road, Purley Hall), comprising 114 residential units, community and church space and a retail unit; and a 3 to 8 storey development on the ‘South Site’ (1-9 Banstead Road) comprising 106 residential units, and associated landscaping and works.” The scheme was originally approved by Croydon Council on 15 December 2016, however, due to a large number of local objections, plus pressure from 7 Residents' Associations and our MP Chris Philp, the decision was "called in" (Referred to the Secretary of State) on 12 April 2017. A two-week Public Inquiry took place on 9 January 2018, then, many Secretaries of State later, Croydon Council's decision was overturned on 3 December 2018. Planning permission had therefore been refused. On 14 January 2019, this decision was taken to the High Court and on 1 April 2019, the decision by the Secretary of State to deny planning permission was overturned. On 30 May 2019, we learnt that there would be a new Public Inquiry later in the year. Earlier this year, a very productive discussion was held between Residents’ Associations, the church and the developers and agreement has been reached by all parties to keep the next Public Inquiry as short as possible. The matters of dispute between the Applicant, the Council and the Residents' Associations are: 1. Effect of the proposals on the character and appearance of the area; 2. The height of the tower, together with overshadowing to Purley District Centre and wind tunnel effect to surrounding streets; 3. Consistency with Development Plan policies; 4. Impact on heritage assets; 5. Vehicular access/exit to and from Russell Hill Rd on the island site; 6. Air Quality – principally in relation to 5 above, associated air quality with traffic movements to and from the island site. We did however agree that: 1. The proposed 220 units would make a significant contribution to Croydon’s housing stock, at the two highly sustainable location sites, and they are suited to a residential-led mixed use development. 2. The principle of development on the Island Site for the Church, community facilities, retail space, and residential development is supported by all three parties. It is also agreed that the redevelopment of the long term vacant, highly prominent Island Site in Purley is long overdue. 3. The principle of development for housing on the ‘South Site’ is agreed by all parties. No issues are raised in relation to the proposed design and layout of the South Site. The new Public Inquiry will start on 3rd December at the Purley Baptist Church, and as before, HADRA will continue to represent the wishes of the majority of our members and will oppose the development of this 17 storey tower at the Public Inquiry.
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The Village Fair at Grange Park, Old Coulsdon was held on Saturday, 6th July 2019. The fair was opened at midday by The Mayor, Councillor Humayun Kabir (see right). HADRA had a stall with our usual Tombola which raised £170.00 this year for the Epilepsy Foundation. We also had a “Name the Cat and Dog Breeds” quiz with a prize of a £30 Garden Centre Voucher. This was won by Ms Kate Workman. You can see our Treasurer, Josephine Hullay in the photo below doing a great job on the stall. It was a lovely day and the dog show was well attended. The Rotary Club of Coulsdon Manor do a brilliant job in organising this event with a great deal of money raised for various charities and good causes. The Fair had its usual attractions with a number of Old Cars in amazing condition and a few motorcycles as well. The miniature train is always an attraction with many young people having a ride. We also had an inflatable slide and a merry go round. The rock climbing was back again, if I was a few years younger, I would have loved to give it a try. The Retirement Centre was the place to go for refreshments and was run by the local Women’s Institute, and the Barbecue being run by the local Scout Group, providing a good selection of burgers. There was plenty to see and do with dancing and acrobatics by different groups in the arena and stalls that needed a bit of skill with football and coconut shy. There were many stalls run by local groups from Residents’ Associations to Cats’ Protection and too many to mention in between, all raising money for many good causes. Thanks to Josephine Hullay and Colin Etheridge who helped set up the stall in the morning with John Clarke, and lastly, thank you to the local residents who contributed to the day by supporting this event.
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A NOTE FROM OUR NEW SECRETARY Many years ago I worked for British Gas as a Service Supervisor managing Purley, Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon, Kenley and part of Caterham. As part of my role I would regularly drive and work around the area and I could clearly see all the benefits that living here would provide for my family’s future. Semi-rural and safe with lovely family homes, good schools, excellent links to London, the South East, and of course, the South Coast. I’m not an estate agent - honest! I eventually moved here from West Croydon in 1982 when my sons were 2 and 3. Both boys went to Purley Nursery school where I became a Governor for a few years, and they moved on to attend Hayes, Roke (now Harris Academy) and then Caterham School. For the past 25 years I have lived in my current home within the HADRA catchment area commuting regularly to London for work. I have been a member of HADRA for many years and joined the committee as Secretary after attending the AGM earlier this year. From my experience, the HADRA Residents’ Association Committee is a group of like-minded people who are very focussed on keeping our area the best it can be. We are very fortunate to also have Councillor Margaret Bird on the committee, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. We meet once a month to discuss and assist with many issues facing local residents. Members with specific roles voluntarily attend meetings with the Council and other bodies and we liaise regularly with other Residents’ Associations. It is very important that the Committee continues and we currently have a few places to fill. We need new members to join us and bring their experience and knowledge to the table. If you can spare a few hours and are willing to join us you can be assured of a warm welcome. Please contact me by email; secretary@hadra.org or Telephone: 0208 660 9927. Elaine Clark 8
HADRA Website, Facebook page and Eblast The HADRA Website address is www.hadra.org and has lots of useful information including Police, Planning, Transport and a Social Page where local functions are advertised. You can go to facebook and type in HADRA and you will be able to sign up for our facebook page. Or you can sign up for our Monthly Eblast email which has details of local events and any urgent issues in our area. Go to our website to enlist or send your name and address to: action@hadra.org. 9
UNDERSTANDING PLANNING IN OUR AREA Pre-Application Advice. Some developers will seek pre-application planning advice from Croydon Council’s Planning Department. As of the 1st January 2019 the Council should be publishing its pre-application advice alongside the submission of a formal planning application if both are submitted by the same applicant. However invariably this is not done and it has to be requested. Planning Application Submission. This is made by the applicant/developer; the planning department then validates the application and publishes it on their Planning Access Register which can be found on the Croydon Council Website. A time limit of three weeks is allowed for making any comments/objections. Croydon Council only sends notification letters to those properties that are adjacent to the application site. So if you live more than a property away, opposite the development or the letter gets lost in the post, you could be left unaware of the application. Site notices are no longer posted. HADRA update their planning table for their area every Monday and publish it on the HADRA website, which can be found at:- http://hadra.org/index.php/planning/planning-envoy. HADRA’s Planning Officer checks the planning table weekly. If there are any planning applications that may be contentious then a letter will be written and delivered to nearby residents affected by the planning application advising them of it and how to comment/object to it. Also the planning application will be put on the HADRA website, an eblast and Facebook message will also be posted to alert residents to the planning application. If you are notified of a planning application that you are not happy with then discuss it with your neighbours and seek advice from HADRA’s Planning Officer. You can object to a planning application online on the council website, by email or write to Croydon Council’s Planning Department. If HADRA supports the residents’ objection to a planning application, HADRA can refer it to the Planning Committee and request our local Councillor to also refer it. Additionally, we can request our MP to write in and support our objections. Planning Decisions. Many planning applications are decided at officer level. However, if it has been referred to the Planning Committee and the case officer has recommended approval then the council will write to all objectors giving them one week to register their intention to speak at the committee meeting. A three minute time slot is allocated to all objectors, so it is best that only one person speaks and puts the views of the objectors forward. Also, our local Councillor has a three minute time slot to speak if he/she has referred it to the Planning Committee. The Planning Committee then discusses the application and makes a decision to grant or refuse the planning application after taking a vote on it.
Planning Appeals. Should the planning application be rejected then the applicant has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector giving their appeal reasons. Once a Planning Inspector has been appointed Croydon Council should write to all objectors advising them who to send further written representations to. The Planning Inspector visits the site and takes into account all representations before making his decision to allow or refuse the appeal. 10
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ROAD STEWARDS
THE HADRA 2019 SURVEY HADRA has always been keen to take on-board comments we receive from our members, however it occurred to us last year that we’ve never specifically gone out to our membership and asked them what they want from a Residents’ Association. It was for this reason that we decided earlier this year to begin a 2019 survey in order to gauge how well we’re performing and, equally important, whether people feel we are providing a service they need or want. In May this year, we launched our survey to get feedback on just such issues and we are pleased to say that a large number of residents have taken the time to complete the survey. The survey will run until the end of the year at which point the results will be made public. We’ll not make too many comments about the interim results until then, however it would be remiss if we didn’t mention our interim 98% approval rating! You can complete the survey at: http://survey.hadra.org up to 31 December 2019 at which point the survey will close. All correspondence to be addressed to: The Chair, HADRA, 54b Haydn Avenue, Purley Surrey CR8 4AE Or email: action@hadra.org
ASMAR CLOSE Ann Smith BENCOMBE ROAD Susan Bentley BRIGHTON ROAD Maureen Lee (odds) BURCOTT ROAD Alan Lloyd BYRON AVENUE John Peachey (evens) Jackie Smith (odds) CEARN WAY Rita Lewis COULSDON COURT ROAD Kim Clerkin COULSDON ROAD Margaret Davidson HARTLEY DOWN Andrew Dunlop (evens) Helen Ali (odds) HARTLEY FARM Sharon Smith HARTLEY HILL Nigel Preston HARTLEY OLD ROAD Christos Nicoli (odds) Helen Moon (evens) HARTLEY WAY Terry Barnes HAYDN AVENUE Susan Quaintance HIGHER DRIVE Sam David HILLARS HEATH Elaine Tindall OLD LODGE LANE Vacant (1-53) Sharon Smith (2-58, 55-115) Valerie Woodley (60-116) PETERSFIELD CRESCENT Ann Smith STOATS NEST ROAD Linda Lawrence STOATS NEST VILLAGE Vacant ROAD STEWARD LIAISON OFFICER Vacant This position is to organise the distribution of our biannual Newsletter to our Road Stewards. If you are interested please contact our Chairman.