Croydon Local Plan consultation

Residents are advised that Croydon Council will on September 4 commence a consultation process on a new element of the Local Plan. You can find out some details of the council’s proposal to establish a gypsy and traveller site at the Purley Highways depot behind the Purley recycling centre. To see what detail there is at the moment please click on the links below to look at relevant documents.

 

Download the Local Plan Press Release 

Croydon Local Plan: Strategic Policies – Partial Review (preferred and alternative options)

Croydon Local Plan detailed policies and proposals (CLP2)

https://www.croydon.gov.uk/planningandregeneration/framework/localplan/clpproposals 

 

Be ready to respond to the consultation process when it opens on September 4.

 

30 Comments

  1. I was dismayed and horrified to discover that a Gypsy/Tavellers site has been proposed for siting at the bottom of Purley Downs Road behind the Highways & Maintenance Depot and the Recycling Depot.
    I am already a subscriber to the News Letter but would like to receive any further information you have on this topic via e-mail as this will really affect this mainly residential area.

    • I agree with you entirely that this proposal for a travellers site is unacceptable. The council announced this in a low key manner as part of its recent updated proposals for the local plan – it was not in the original local plan, which all interested bodies, the PWRA included, were able to comment upon at the end of last year. The PWRA will be commenting on this proposal as soon as the council website is open for comments on September 5 for a 6 week period, I suggest that you do the same.

  2. I am horrified that traveller site was proposed at the bottom of the purley downs road too. I strongly oppose the proposal.

    • I agree with you entirely that this proposal for a travellers site is unacceptable. The council announced this in a low key manner as part of its recent updated proposals for the local plan – it was not in the original local plan, which all interested bodies, the PWRA included, were able to comment upon at the end of last year. The PWRA will be commenting on this proposal as soon as the council website is open for comments on September 5 for a 6 week period, I suggest that you do the same.

  3. Purley, Sanderstead and Riddlesdown are beautiful residential areas that would be destroyed by this proposal! House prices would be affected, local schools are already full, crime and anti-social behaviour will increase. Why would Croydon Council want to destroy the nicest area of Croydon? This would also affect Coulsdon, Shirley, Selsdon, Whiteleaf and many more close by areas…

    • simply because they can. Its a political matter rather than application of sound strategic thinking. Many years ago I was involved quite closely with an LA in the North on provision and management of such sites under the then provisions of the 1968 Act. Nothing has really changed. we are appalled by the perceived intrusion that such sites and their occupants make on local amenity across a wide range of issues, we get vexed at the issues around anti-social behaviour etc. When you research (which I have) the types of plans that LAs are formulating ( from 2002 onwards) one clear aspect shines through : there is no research on the actual impact! yet I know this is not a misnomer as legal non-compliance and social integration across a whole range of issues is often self-evident. It may be nimby but experience tells us its justified. If you read through the council proposals there is no assessment of the impact on the local existing community ? I wonder why this is—Using the Councils own consultant’s scoring system it is also clear that the Purley Oaks depot is not at the top of the list and I actually have some serious reservations regarding the veracity of the scoring methodology anyway. For one thing it has no substantive justification, it is the king without any clothes. This plan needs to be revoked. On a financial basis the 2002 Government report identifies that 56% of site rents were unpaid, I doubt the project represents value for money for the rate payer, regardless of its supposed efficiency in meeting a legal requirement. The impact on illegal camping will be minimal and it simply moves the clean-up costs from several locations to one, a factor on which the Council makes no comment? definitely nimby

  4. The proposed site is inappropriate as severe traffic congestion already exists at this site, any surrounding areas of land should be used to extend the recycling site, introducing a traveller site would block any future plans to extend the recycling centre. Furthermore a traveller site would be out of place in a suburban environment. Purley residents can have your say by emailing ldf@croydon.gov.uk after 5th September for 6 week consultation period.

    • I agree with you entirely that this proposal for a travellers site is unacceptable. The council announced this in a low key manner as part of its recent updated proposals for the local plan – it was not in the original local plan, which all interested bodies, the PWRA included, were able to comment upon at the end of last year. The PWRA will be commenting on this proposal as soon as the council website is open for comments on September 5 for a 6 week period, I suggest that you do the same.

  5. Another outrageous idea in keeping with the equally outrageous 16 storey Purley tower. What is the Pwra doing about raising these issues and how is our Mp being involved. I have not seen the Travellers’ Site mentioned in any of his communications ( in fact it was not in his top ten worst proposals in Croydon’s local plan )

    • I agree with you entirely that this proposal for a travellers site is unacceptable. The council announced this in a low key manner as part of its recent updated proposals for the local plan – it was not in the original local plan, which all interested bodies, the PWRA included, were able to comment upon at the end of last year. The PWRA will be commenting on this proposal as soon as the council website is open for comments on September 5 for a 6 week period, I suggest that you do the same. You will know that central government has set targets for a major UK-wide programme to build a huge number of housing units between now and 2036. Hence the Croydon Local Plan which is in response to this central government target of building some 47,000 new housing units in the London Borough of Croydon by 2036. Croydon Council itself believes that the most that it can proiduce during this period is something less than 32,000 units – hence there is great pressure to build huge number of houses within the borough. The GLA is also being pressured by central government to ensure that the capital meets its targets. The long-running Baptist church development saga is one such which has been caught up in this process and is now a intensive development – which meets current planning regulations. The Association’s view is that the current proposal is the least worst option. Further delay on this scheme is highly likely to result in an even more intensive development on this site. Phil Reed

    • Bill is right drawing attention to the outrageous tower proposal. This is even worse than the Travellers’ site which, should it prove a problem, can be changed . The tower will be with us permanently. No wonder all the other local residents associations are up in arms against it.

  6. Crime, rubbish, increased traffic more people knocking on doors selling pegs …. This is a ridiculous idea spread the word and oppose this crazy plan. Why not build it in Addiscombe or Norwood where it would be more appropriate.

  7. To propose a travellers site at the bottom of Purley Oaks road would be a complete disaster. The effect on the surrounding areas would be a catastrophe. What are Croydon council thinking of!!!

  8. What is the best way to oppose this? 2 weeks is not long and the website does not make it easy. We need to mobilise!

    • Thank you for your comment – the window for making comments on this matter is 6 weeks from the date the system was opened so time is on our side. Now that I am returned from holiday we will soon be posting information to provide suitable reasons for local residents to object to this proposal. It is important that as many as local residents as possible let the council know their views on this matter – the more individual comments there are the more likely that the council will take notice. In addition the PWRA will be putting in a response. Best wishes, Phil Reed (PWRA Chairman)

  9. Please note that the consultation on the Croydon Local Plan, including the proposal for Gypsy/Traveller sites at Purley Oaks Depot (besides Purley Oaks Recycling center) is now open for responses (between 5 September to 17 October).

    I found it a bit time consuming to get all the information on how to respond, so I have put together a quick guide on how to respond.

    Important
    Please note that the consultation is a formal process which will form an important part of the larger quasi-judicial planning decision. As a result, it is important that responses to the Council follow certain guide lines. Simply writing to the Council and saying that you support/oppose the site is not enough – your message needs to make clear your reasons for why you believe the site is suitable or unsuitable.

    To be valid the comments must:
    • Be received by the council between 5 September and 17 October (inclusive);
    • Include a name and either an e-mail or postal address all of which must be legible;
    • Not contain offensive or racist language; and
    • Be related to any part of the draft Croydon Local Plan: Detailed Policies and Proposals (If commenting on the proposal for the Gypsy/Traveller site at Purley Oaks Depot, please include the following references to the “Croydon Local Plan: Detailed Policies and Proposals” document:- Policy No DM44, Para 11.124, Table 11.13, Reference 324).

    How to make representation:

    Please see “How can I make a representation?” on the following page: https://www.croydon.gov.uk/planningandregeneration/framework/localplan/clpreview

    My recommendation is to use the online representation form. You can also email on ldf@croydon.gov.uk

    Arguments against the proposal:

    My opinion is that the site is unsuitable for Gypsy/Traveller pitches or stopping location for the following reasons (please feel free to copy paste in your representations if you agree):

    • The pre-existing, severe traffic congestion in the area has reached breaking point recently; with queues of vehicles trying to access the recycling centre from the main road. A traveller site would greatly exacerbate this situation.
    • The area is almost entirely surrounded by residential properties. As such, the traveller site would be completely out of place in a suburban residential environment.
    • The adjacent Recycling Centre is in very high demand and sees frequent road blocks and traffic jams. It would be prudent to increase its size – and therefore capacity – in the future. However the traveller site would block any future plans to do this.
    • The site is located in a Flood zone. Heavy flooding over an extended period was witnessed on the site couple of years ago.
    • The site is also located in a Surface water management area. Couple of years ago, the adjacent site was used as a holding area to contain the local flooding.
    • The site is located in a Ground water source protection zone.
    • The council’s own “Assessment and selection of sites for Gypsy and Travellers” document published in Aug 2015 did not include the Purley Oaks Depot site in the list of 3 sites that it proposed to consult further in the Detailed Policies and Proposals draft consultation. In fact, 12 other sites within Croydon received higher scores based on the council’s own assessment criteria for finding an appropriate site for the purpose. It is therefore perplexing that the Council has now decided to ignore its own study and is now proposing Purley Oaks Depot as the only site in Croydon for establishing a Gypsy/Traveller site.

  10. Gypsy/Tavellers site at the bottom of Purley Downs Road is one of the most outrageous idea of Croydon Council. Council is making a mistake like O2 arena. End of the day council will close it after wasting a fortune on it. Purley Residence will never stop opposing it, everybody know what happen when Gypsy arrive, people feel unsafe and live like prisoner in their own house. Children will be house bound, people will be scared to let them out.

    I strongly oppose this plan.

  11. Gypsy/Tavellers site at the bottom of Purley Downs Road is one of the most outrageous idea of Croydon Council. Council is making a mistake like O2 arena. End of the day council will close it after wasting a fortune on it. Purley Residence will never stop opposing it, everybody know what happen when Gypsy arrive, people feel unsafe and live like prisoner in their own house. Children will be house bound, people will be scared to let them out.

    I strongly oppose this plan.

    • Make your views known to the council by October 17 – I strongly recommend that you use the pro forma letter in the website article on this subject. Best wishes Phil Reed, PWRA Chairman

  12. WE STRONGLY OPPOSE THE SITE THE TRAFFIC IS HORENDOUS THERE AT THE MOMENT IT IS TOTALLY OUT OF CHARACTER AND IF ANYTHING THE DUMP SHOULD BE EXTENDED

    • Make your views known to the council by October 17 – I strongly recommend that you use the pro forma letter in the website article on this subject. Best wishes Phil Reed, PWRA Chairman

  13. Had a thought that someone may be able to answer. I know it is not relevant at the current time, but should there be long term implications. Are the Travellers Sites an EU requirement, or UK driven?

  14. Last day for lodging objections to Site 324 in the Local Plan. The main objection for me has to be safety concerns, with a pond full of deep contaminated water, dangerous machinery and a railway line in the immediate area. The flood risk has already been considered by the council and they are disregarding it on the basis that only a tiny part of the site falls within Flood Zones 2 and 3. We need to say that shifting the goalposts like this is against national policy. They should also take on board the June 2016 consultation on their own plans to upgrade the recycling centre and consider the knock-on effects on the local roads. Purley Downs Road is only single lane and the railway bridge is very close to the proposed exit point, so traffic going in and out of the site will be obscured. Looking at the scoring used to evaluate the various sites, it seems to me that too much respect is being paid to Metropolitan Open Land. Perfectly good sites are being ruled out for this reason, when somewhere like the open scrub land bordering Purley Way would be a much better location. There are no buildings to knock down and the site could be built very quickly. The only slight problem is getting approval from the Highways Agency as the travellers’ vehicles would have to exit onto Purley Way. The council also ruled out any sites that are within Social Deprivation Areas as they don’t want to place extra burden on local services, but when you look at the 7 domains of social deprivation used to compile the statistics, it is not axiomatic that the travellers would make matters any worse (apart from crime maybe). Likewise, they seem to be ruling out any sites that would require Compulsory Purchase Orders, but if this is necessary in order to obtain the best sites, then they should bite the bullet and follow that course. It will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

  15. I understand the Council like all local authorities are mandated to provide accommodation for travellers. If so, these people have to have somewhere to stay within the Borough.

    Please let me know if I am misinformed.

  16. I understand like all local authorities Croydon Council is mandated to provide accommodation for travellers and gypsies. If this is not so please let me know otherwise.

    Peter

  17. These are UK residents and yes, the Council has to provide camping sites for them. l am shocked at all the replies implying that there will be stealing . crime, mess and anti social behaviour just because they live a life of travelling
    ie they are much more enterprising than those of us who never or rarely move to live in other parts of the country.
    Please let us provide them with a designated site with enough facilities and accomodation for all (as we home owners take for granted we will be provided with.)

  18. Travellers cause crime and provide shoddy workmanship at high cost to local residents we don’t need the aggravation in the local area

  19. This site has now been approved by Croydon Council – http://www.purley-residents.org/urgent-let-council-know-views-latest-version-croydon-local-plan-2/

    This is the Government guidelines for housing Gypsy/Travelers – please read and send any relevant clauses to the Council via ldf@croydon.gov.uk – or send letter to
    Croydon Local Plan,
    Spatial Planning, Bernard Weatherill House,
    Mint Walk,
    Croydon
    CR0 1EA

  20. Hi, is council still considering this place for gypsy travellers.
    Thank you.

  21. Is this site approved as a gypsy traveller site? Any update on it. Thank you

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