We knew that the council has given its officers the ability to clear areas for large site development by "negotiating" to buy up people's homes across the Borough with up to an individual value £1 million
We knew that the council has sneaked us in to the London Plan as the first whole Borough to become an "opportunity area" for development on an even denser basis that would otherwise befall us. This designation has in the past been reserved for large brownfield sites in need of regeneration not vast swathes of a long settled Royal Borough
We also now know that the council has agreed with the GLA that our large site housing targets can double in preparation for Crossrail 2, rising to a minimum of 32,000 new homes, as well as provision for a whopping 43,000 new jobs in just 20 years
So what didn't we know?
Well, hidden away in a little link in the council's draft Statement of Community Involvement is a table on the Draft Planning Charter that shows that the council will only notify neighbours in adjoining and opposite properties and post site notices of major planning applications, whether the proposed scheme is for 10, 350, 1000 or 3000 new homes and the provision for hundreds or thousands of new jobs
We may never know about a developer's plans until it is too late
And in the case of developments that require an Environmental Impact Assessment which are accompanied by an environmental statement, are a departure from the Local Plan or which would affect a right of way to which Part 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 applies the situation is even worse:
The council will only notify neighbours if applicable and depending on the location of the development
This is not the only problem we face. The council is effectively attempting to disenfranchise residents in order to push through the growth agenda it has agreed with the Mayor of London
Please send comments on the draft Statement of Community Involvement and draft Planning Charter by the deadline which is the end of day tomorrow, 24 May 2019
I will post my thoughts on the statement tonight on www.shahscott.com