Is it my imagination or is there a post and guide line in the middle of the plot? Perhaps to still enclose the trees?
Just been past again - will take a photo on my way home, but basically they have reduced the corner height of the fence where Brockley Rise and Duncombe Hill meet, but move the high bit back inside so it is still all effectively fenced off with a high fence and just one corner now has a lower fence, in front of a higher fence that is more set back from the road.
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I knew it!
Iām not entirely sure this follows the direction of the enforcement notice. It will be interesting to see the councilās view on this change.
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I do wonder if the developers are reacting in kind at this point to some of the more aggressive campaigners.
Iām hoping when everyoneās calmed down a constructive compromise can be reached.
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What do you mean aggressive? Letās not forget the developers erected a 2m fence without seeking planning permission and have subsequently been ordered to remove it by the Council. This is not their first ride at the rodeo and they will have done so with the full knowledge planning permission was required. They are now appealing on the basis they must protect the trees which have been been healthy and thriving for many years without a 2m fence.
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Oh I quite agree, the fence should go.
I just think thereās been a fair amount of anger and name calling, and Iām not sure thatās always the best approach to a positive outcome.
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Sure. Any campaign will work better if they donāt react to external provocation. But I just donāt see the Developerās actions today as a reaction to some aggression. In their meeting with a few select campaigners they were reported to have little interest in the safety issues created by the fence. Such as the drug dealing in the newly created alley way.
Iād suggest the Developers, at this stage, are showing little interest in the communityās concerns. Do you think otherwise?
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Here you go - not sure why the developers are acting like this and itās more work for them also. Bizarre. I wondered if there was some clause that if something was fenced off and hidden from view for a certain amount of time it would lose itās status as a public space etc. Strange otherwise.
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I think if I were a developer, Iād be more up for seeking a constructive solution if I had been approached in a constructive fashion.
Mostly the campaign and local action has been very positive, I just feel that if you start publicly calling people idiots they are much less inclined to do what you want them to do.
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True. Though the word idiot was only used once on the FB page.
The most aggressive behaviour has come from the political group Lewisham People Not Profit who tried to organise a posse to tear the fence down. LPNP are not aligned with the FB group I think.
But as the LPNP were able to grab the meeting with the developers at their leaders home maybe aggression is what the developers best react to.
From what I can see I suspect that they will be granted planning permission for the fence now that it does not pose a danger to traffic at the corner.
Perhaps they have been advised and made a compromise with the Lewisham planners, but their action doesnāt appear to follow the original enforcement notice (linked in the thread above).
I also wonder if the new bit of fence compromises the mentioned root protection areas, though unlike planning applications, it seems difficult to find any info on the Lewisham pages themselves.
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Was there a planning application submitted for the fence?
Not that I can find.
There was additional info referenced on the enforcement notice - but I canāt find that either.
If there were a planning application, it would at least allow the public to comment in a structured manner, so long as any objections contain material concerns that can be considered by the planners.
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A possibility here is that the fence is probably still in breach of planning, but the fact that theyāve alleviated the potential danger to the highways by opening up the sight lines might mean that they canāt be made to remove it until after an Appeal against enforcement has been decided.
Perhaps they also are worried about liability (perhaps legally, but at least morally) if there were a serious accident at the junction which was aggregated by the loss of visibility from the fence.
The irony of course that they claim was put up in the first place for reasons of liability.
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Iāve now been blocked from the Facebook group. Which in one way is very predictable, and in another shows how childish one of the admins can be at times.
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I donāt think there was an application made for the fence, Iām nearly 100% sure on that.
My gut feel is that the developers will say the green is not in use so development should proceed. Iām sure I read that they had claimed to have studied the site over x amount of months and had never seen it in use. I suspect they are right on this, Iāve never seen anyone using it other than to let their dog run around it, in the 13+ years Iāve lived here. BUT people do sit on the benches and get to look out onto it my kids like running around it, and it could be so much better with some nicer planting of bulbs and perennials an it is of course a green space on a relatively main road.
Itās a strange one this, in many ways their are other campaigns like the cleaner air one that would have better long-term benefits for residents, and for me for my kids but I think the developers have riled so many people putting up the fences I think itās become almost symbolic of developers etc taking green space for profit with scant regard for local opinion. I suspect if they had approached this differently opposition would have been less. If you ever wanted an example of a bad PR approach to something here it is.
Hopefully everyone with an interest in this can keep things positive as divide and conquer will be music to the developers ears. Letās keep it positive SE23!
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I was informed that a local councillor spoke to the developer today. The developer believes he has improved road visibility at the corner and has done all he can do regarding reducing the impact of the fence.
The developer lodged an appeal last week against the councilās enforcement notice, which means over the next 7-8 months (while the appeal is decided), the fence will remain as is.