We oppose the proposed development on the Bells Gardens community park for the following reasons:

• Southwark Council's proposed development will remove a well-used community park and the only communal space serving 545 homes on Bells Gardens estate. It is used by residents and the wider community for children's play, tennis lessons, roller skating lessons, football, leisure, exercise, relaxation, and much more.
• The proposal includes a 9-storey block of private apartments (among other buildings) to be sold off by Southwark Council. The council ignored the community's clear and repeated objections to this.
• The new development is out of character with surrounding buildings and the wider area in of both height and scale. It did not follow the Peckham Area Action Plan recommendations for height. It will reduce the quality of life for hundreds of current residents.
• The scale of the development would not fit within Southwark Council's own guidelines so they extended the site boundary line to include another green space (outside Edwin House) without informing or consulting residents.
• Southwark Council has not engaged with the community in good faith and has consistently ignored the express views of residents. It has also hidden the scale of the development in all its communications.
• The plans do not adequately replace the existing community centre which is used by many community groups and three TRAs. Southwark Council did not provide a separate consultation with the three TRAs for the centre as it had promised.
• Southwark Council has broken its promise of matching the size of the current multi-games area (football pitch). This is reduced to 1/3 of its current size but is meant to serve more households.
• Overdevelopment in our area means there are already 2,000 new homes planned in the vicinity of Bells Gardens. Our park  would be a vital space for these new communities too.
• Southwark Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and should be protecting our park. Green space is finite - once removed, it is gone forever. Protect our community park!

REJECT THESE PLANS AND PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY PARK!