Dear friends, the residents from Geoffrey Road, SE4 in the Borough of Lewisham desperately need your support to save not only our road from over development (this is the 3rd in a space of less than 50 metres) from dangerously high pollution and traffic but the rare wildlife and ancient trees along the railway line embankment we must contend for.

The wildlife has been verified (PEA report 2022) as being rare bats, birds, owls, stag beetles insects, hedgehogs, badgers and plants all would be destroyed. 

The unjust judgement that 2 councillors passed on December 14th 2023, which has now led to the site being tagged with a 2 million price needs to be stopped. Lewisham Council and Skillcrown developers have to answer for the unjust and deliberate greedy behaviour. 

WE NEED YOUR SIGNATURES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE NOW

Network Rail are always felling 70 year old trees and vegetation too this land though in the 'Conservation area' from 1990 needs coherent protection.

Where in London can you see Goldcrest birds, woodpeckers, owls, hedgehogs, badgers and humming bird hawk moths to name a few? Plus creatures so rare I cannot print, cited from an ecological report dated 2023. 

The Geoffrey Road in Brockley railway lines is the last slice of ancient railway forest now fighting for survival. A major impending ecological disaster has been facilitated by Lewisham Council Planning department, and fuelled by developer’s greed.

 

 

Local residents have successfully fought several, previous applications to develop the ‘Stables’ site, each application planning to destroy conservation land which is home to rare wildlife including protected bats, birds, hedgehogs and ancient trees. 

Lewisham Planning Department refused a previous application to develop the land by the same developers, Skillcrown, in June 2022. The refused application ended up with the Bristol Planning Inspectorate on Appeal who also refused the scheme on the grounds the proposed development conflicted with councils’ own development plan and was at odds with the requirements of the framework. The inspector’s assessment was that the scheme would NOT preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Brockley Conservation Area and WOULD have an ADVERSE effect on the existing mature trees.

However after marginally reducing the scale of the scheme, though still considered a gross over-development, and following what the community believes to be misconduct in public office, Lewisham Planning Department granted planning permission for the revised scheme in December 2023 even though the previous grounds for refusal were not addressed and still stand to this day.

Back in July 2023 members of the local community met with members of council’s planning department, and representatives for the developers, to discuss the now approved scheme which plans to totally decimate the ecological balance of this ancient land. At this meeting the community were advised they would receive council’s report and recommendations within 10 days of the meeting.

Instead the community waited 5 months before receiving the report and notice that the planning committee hearing had been set for 8 days hence. This gave the community no time to fully read and digest the 113 page report, or to organise themselves adequately as most people were away for the Christmas holidays. The community felt the timing and process was deeply cynical, and orchestrated to limit engagement.

The hearing was attended by only 4 councillors, Cllr Jack Lavery (chair) Cllr Hilary Moore, Cllr John Muldoon and Cllr John Paschoud, none of whom have any planning expertise or expertise in protected species and development.

Two of the councillors abstained from voting so the fate of the stables was sealed by just 2 votes, one of which was from the Chair Cllr Jack Lavery. A shameful outcome given the community has been fighting over 13 years to save this bio-diverse, wildlife rich, eco-system.

The land is an integral part of a unique green railway corridor which in addition to hosting rare, and protected species also helps fight the dangerously high air pollution in Lewisham, which, tragically, took the life of a young girl. This needless death has been well documented.

As a result of planning permission being granted for a scheme which does not address why any of the reasons it was originally refused, the local community, and the thousands of supporters to the ‘SavetheStablesCampaign.change.org’ are now left trying to raise just over £2 million to buy the land with the objective of turning it into a Community Asset *Mini Nature Reserve

Since then the developers discovered an immoveable Victorian pipe on this narrow corridor of land. It is believed that as a consequence of this they have put the land up for sale with hoskingfrancis.com

Priced at £2,250,000.

https://hoskingfrancis.com/property/geoffrey-road-se4/

 

 

 

 

 

 

This land doesn’t work for housing. Estate agents call it ‘spacious,’ yet there isn’t room to drive down the narrow entrance, and the housing would be just meters from the train tracks which carry heavy freight throughout the night as well as commuter trains by day.

This beautiful and rare land needs to be preserved for future generations; residents have plans to create a mini local nature reserve and park for the people. This would preserve all the rare birds, ancient trees and help with the dangerous levels of pollution. 

The campaign to raise the funds to purchase the land is ongoing. The powerful media support in the past is being called into action as the UK needs to understand the importance of saving green spaces like this and preventing a wildlife and pollution catastrophe.

How can Lewisham Council celebrate and boast being the first of the London boroughs to recognise a climate emergency, and talk about plans which reflect the scale and urgency of meeting net zero carbon by 2030 when it approves scheme that only harm biodiversity, and do nothing to protect our communities, or make all our lives better, or gives us all cleaner air to breath.

MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

The Standard, June 2023 fight to stop Network Rail from destroying the all trees in the Brockley Rail line along the Stables land.

View the congestion and pollution for yourself

 

 

 

 

 

 

before the other 3 developments were built

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Comments

Lewisham Council Planning has a track record of pushing through planning and selling off any green space including woodland and community green spaces for profit. Most recently Gorne Wood, Forth Reserve Campaign was in the news as ancient woodland is also about to be sold off to developers.

Thank you for your time and reading.

We launch the funding campaign shortly for 2million pounds and investment for the nature reserve and community wildflife trust.

We are doing all we can to save the stables and highlight a better outcome for Lewisham, South London and the wider nature community. Thank you for reading, funding and your love! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

✔️�CALL FOR ACTION

*Please Sign the petition today and share

*Please follow us on Instagram and twitter X @savethestables

Please Contact Lewisham Council Planning and complain about this judgement

*If you live locally - hand out flyers all around Lewisham and South East London, just get in touch

WHY ACT NOW?

We have to before the developers send in the diggers.  They can at any moment destroy the wildlife and when they do - 'once it's  GONE it's GONE' as Chris Packham said about HSB2...

We must appeal this NOW or loose our wildlife forever.

OTHER REASONS WHY we must purchase the land

There are already three major developments now nearly built within 50 yards of each other in Geoffrey road, creating dangerous pollution levels, massive traffic and danger to people and pets crossing the road as everything gets run over.

Network Rail are constantly cutting down the trees too for no reason.  This is also a constant problem,

This rare piece of biodiversity must be protected or it will be lost forever. We have the PEA report and the ecological report lists the importance of this once untouched piece of land.  We must save it

By the council's own assessment, parking controls will be needed to mitigate the negative impacts of this development, likely to be needed on adjoining streets due to displacement. People can’t afford it and will either lose access to parking or will have less money to spend in local businesses.

The scheme is not part of Lewisham’s development plan and housing targets already met or planned to be met by other means, this scheme is not needed.

Health and safety issues with infrequent but extreme noise levels due to braking trains have slipped through the cracks of the standardised noise assessment process. New residents would be at risk of instantaneous hearing damage if in their gardens at the wrong time, which would be illegal if in a workplace.