Croydon Local Plan Review now re-opened
You may be aware that the Council has reactivated its’ review of the Croydon Local Plan, after pausing it as a result of Covid:
It has released its’ proposed updates for public consultation, with a closing date for receiving comments / feedback from the public of 17th February. After the 17th February the Council can make amendments to it’s current proposals, and then submit the updated draft plan, plus submissions / comments made by the public and other public bodies like the emergency services, to the National Planning Inspectorate for their review. The Planning Inspectorate will then review the proposals, and can make amendments to the proposed changes, after which the Updated Plan is finalised and becomes the primary document that the Council will use in determining planning applications.
Over the past eight years or so we have seen how the Council have used the current Local Plan to approve many inappropriate developments in our area
Over the past eight years or so we have seen how the Council have used the current Local Plan to approve many inappropriate developments in our area, apparently in support of their desire to ‘concrete over the South of the Borough’.
The proposed Local Plan Update proposes more of the same for Purley and its’ surrounding area. Notwithstanding that they have approved 1,544 new housing units in Purley since 2018 (more than the rest of the Borough combined), the Council propose 5,735 additional housing units for Purley, all without the provision of additional infrastructure.
This is the third latest number for a district within the Borough by a very large margin! Furthermore, and almost to add insult to injury, the Local Plan Update proposes that Purley should have a new leisure centre, after the Council orchestrated the closure of the existing one!
It is therefore essential that we make our voice heard in this Local Plan Update process, so that both the Council and the Planning Inspectorate are clear about our views on the Update.
Your Next Step (before Feb 17th)
Below is a link to the Council’s Local Plan Update website and the electronic form through which to make submissions.
The two most important questions on the Councils’ submission form are:
- 1) Please give details of why you consider this part of the revised Local Plan is not legally compliant, is unsound, or fails to comply with the duty to co-operate, and
- 2) Please set out the modification(s) you consider necessary to make the revised Local Plan legally compliant and sound, in respect to the matters you have identified above.
At the PWRA we have carefully reviewed the Purley section of the proposed Update and prepared comments in answer to these two questions, which we have already submitted to the Council.
These are below, and please feel free to use all or part of these in your own submissions.
- Council Local Plan Update website – GO HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE
- Download and read the PWRA’s Response HERE (Please copy & paste or adapt our comments for your own submission, if helpful)
1,544 new housing units have already been approved for Purley, with planning applications for a further 807 yet to determined. Irrespective of any additional housing unit targets being applied to Purley, all those already approved, including very significant developments (100+ housing units) in the town centre, have been approved without the provision of any additional infrastructure, such as GP Surgeries, provision of police and emergency services, schools (note: the new school at Reedham has a Borough wide catchment), and also basic infrastructure such as drainage, water, gas electricity, and broadband. Further intensification of the Purley area without additional infrastructure is unsustainable, irresponsible, and potentially dangerous.
Further intensification of the Purley area without additional infrastructure is irresponsible – Include realistic proposals for additional infrastructure, including accessible leisure facilities, and phasing for any housing targets to enable infrastructure provision to keep up.
Purley is supposed to be a community and not a flat-filled Moscow-style district. The Council is clearly deaf to public opinion in Purley. For whatever reason – and political punishment for not returning a Labour councillor springs to mind – it seems bent on strangling the community with parked cars owned by flat dwellers.
There are far too many new flats for sale in Purley with not enough
parking spaces if any. The roads are becoming packed with cars parked on both sides making it very awkward for people to navigate their way up of down the roads. This is very apparent when the bin men are doing their job. Also all the builders lorries and workers cars
are parked making it impossible at times to pull in so another car can pass. The flats are not selling due ti their high cost.
Just to say that I have struggled through the Council site for making submissions about the Plan and think I have been successful! Basically, I have copied and pasted your recommended comments (with due acknowledgement to PWRA), which are much more thorough and researched than anything I could produce.
Thanks for the detailed response which I will use. Much more considered in tone than the one Chris Philp has recently circulated.
One question – having skimmed the Plan there does seem to be a policy of retaining “family” houses namely 3 bed or larger. This seems a positive development – do you agree?
We are disgustedly with the Croydon council for destroying Purley and surrounding areas. Please stop further damage it is still not too late
London Borough has changed but in the last 4 years changing fast for the worst. When I go out every where building woks is going on. Beautiful family homes destroyed and monstrous multi-storey buildings erected. The whole green area is spoilt. I urge Croydon council to stop further destruction of our beautiful dwellings.