. On balance I feel this is a good deal, but if between now and 2019, a better alternative to housing development can be found, then so much the better. Realistically however, the choice is bound to be between housing, a football stadium or something ghastly on the topsite. I think it would be tough to better the current plans
I completely agree. There is no pot of gold sitting around in either the LDA or Bromleys coffers to spend on the park, more so now than ever given the cuts to local authority funding. The CPCA challenge to the MP would, if succesful, have set aside the approval of all of it, not just the housing elements. The housing may have been the motivation for the challenge but the net effect would have been setting aside the SoS's approval of the
entire planning application. IMHO this would have left the park without a settled, transparent, and approved planning application which provides a road map for the future of the park.(the LDA could hardly resubmit a revised application, without houisng, given it has now been abolished). Scrapping the MP or setting it aside would , IMHO, have left the park totally at the mercy of yet more alternative and speculative proposals like commercial development of the topsite. And I just don't accept some the figures which are being talked about. The legal agreements I posted (which date from September 2010 , not 2007 as suggested) are clear in their terms - £11 million , paid up front, before a single brick is laid, and which must be used for specificied parts of of the MP before occupation of the housing. And the money is , and always was, only seen as part of a funding solution - including exploring match funding from other sources because the MP was designed to be implemented in phases, not all at once. The need to explore other funding sources was clearly articulated as were potential sources (see page 49 of this , for example
http://www.crystalpa...on_Strategy.pdf) As matters stand: 1. Bromley are currently exploring whether their contribution to Lee Valley Park could be redirected to CPP 2. We have the new Executive Board in place looking at a community trust to run the park (including raising revenue). The Executive Board includes the Eden Foundation (which I think most will admit are pretty good at fusing ecology with commercial revenue), and English Heritage are on board too - so we might, just might , have a decent shot at a profesionally put together appliction by well informed stakeholders for significant capital from other sources - for example by a Heritage Lottery fund application which is matched/seeded by the money from housing. 3. We have the LDA providing £2 million (with more to follow perhaps) 4. We have the chance of the future management of the Park being placed in the hands of a Community Trust, rather than Bromley alone, so that potentaily contentious decisions about raisng both capital and opertaional costs are made collectively rather than by a single Council which, understandbly in my view, is not particularly willing to have to bear the cost alone, out Bromley council tax payers pockets, of maintaining what is a regional, rather than a local , park used by a large numeber of people from across London and the UK. 5. The housing involves selling off parts of the park which have not been acessible "parkland" for a very long time and , in one case, is already occupied by a commercial business (the caravan club) which occupies over 1 acre more of parkland than than wouuld be the case with the housing and which , comparing annual rents against a potential of £5-£6million of capital from sale of the site , does not IMHO offer best value in relation to badly needed park funding. Personally I think the above are positive signs which offer hope for the future of the park. And far far better than another decade of uncertainty over the park - which, IMHO, would do nothing other than play into the hands of those who feel that the best funding solution would be a Hotel and leisure complex on the top site or a deal with the CPFC to turn over a
National sports asset, adajact to a tranquil public park, to a consortia of private businessmen for football matches and, possibly, concerts .
Better the devil you know ???
Edited by jamesl, 15 June 2012 - 10:46 AM.
