Defiant residents in the block of flats immediately next to the proposed One Battersea Bridge tower last week unveiled colourful protest posters.

Eight impressive tarpaulin wraps have been strapped across the balconies of the five storey building called Thameswalk demanding: STOP THE TOWER.

The man behind this petition (for it is he) suggested this idea to the residents of Thameswalk (built circa 1988) many months ago and they have stepped up and delivered at a cost of £3,000. They should be duly commended for this action, which will be widely seen by thousands of drivers and pedestrians around Battersea Bridge.

The banners include a reference to a website for the 'Friends of Battersea Riverside'. Since its inception, the group has gathered more than 2,000 letters in opposition to the tower, which it has presented to Wandsworth Council.

In further developments, this campaign can confirm that the planning application from Rockwell Property will be considered by Wandsworth Council's Planning Committee at 7.30pm on Thursday, 27th March at Wandsworth Town Hall.

If you are in any doubt, that fine establishment is at SW18 2PU.

So, dear comrades, you have NO excuses. Be there! Fellow activists Felicity, Mick and Eric will be invited to attend. Maybe they will sing a few protests songs by the fountain to cheer everyone up before the hearing.  

In more serious developments, it has emerged that 245+ letters of SUPPORT for The Tower suddenly appeared on the council's planning portal in just six days after 6th March. By some remarkable coincidence, they all state similar reasons for supporting the project.

A spokesperson for Rockwell Property confirmed last year that they had solicited many hundreds of similar such letters. It seems that the same tactics have been deployed to flood the system with 'support' in an effort to sway the committee's view in the days before the hearing. 

I have submitted a written objection to this "support dump" on the council's portal and I have written directly to Cllr Tony Belton, chairman of the planning committee, to ask that the letters are examined and dismissed if the committee senses that the signatories of the letters may not have been fully informed as to the details of the tower proposal.

As Editor of The Chelsea Citizen - the newly launched hyper-local online newspaper for Chelsea - I will be writing an in-depth article about the One Battersea Bridge development proposal. The working title for the article is The Rockwell Files. Geddit! Please subscribe to the newsletter to get alerts about new articles.

In closing - the Planning Committee is duty bound to consider all Comments posted to its portal right up until the day of the hearing, so you still have time to Comment. 

Simply click HERE and click 'Make a comment' and start writing. Case number FS-Case-663310381. You don't have to write much. 

So far, there are 1,593 Objectors and 710 "Supporters".

This petition currently has 4,770 signatories. Let's get it to 5,000 by 27th.

Step up. Don't click on by!

Thank You for all the support.

Positive first.

Regards

Rob Mc.

Up-date 14th March

Below are the questions I put to Rockwell, followed by their reply...

1. Have all 245+ letters been posted by Rockwell? Do you have a specific number tally?

2. How were the letters solicited (by person-to-person canvassers knocking on residents' homes?)

3. What specific questions were residents asked?

4. What detail about the project were these residents given in order to solicit support? Were they given the full facts of the proposal?

5. Why has Rockwell resorted to proactively seeking more support letters?  Are you unhappy with the level of genuine support so far?

6. Is Rockwell deliberately attempting to sway the view of the planning committee by flooding the portal with positive messages?

7.  Does Rockwell accept that adding so many letters in this way is tantamount to an abuse of the system?

By email....

Dear Mr McGibbon,

Thank you for your email, and congratulations on your new position as Founder and Editor of The Chelsea Citizen.

As previously explained, we have continued to gather additional letters of support since your last inquiry and have submitted them in the same manner. Residents continue to express their desire and support for more affordable housing in Wandsworth which One Battersea Bridge will make a significant contribution towards. 

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via this email.

Kind regards,

The Rockwell Team

RMc.