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Let the public have their say on park plans
6:07pm Tuesday 9th October 2007
Comments (9)MPs and local groups have joined this newspaper in demanding that the London Development Agency (LDA) allows the public to see and comment on its Crystal Palace Park masterplan before it is submitted to Bromley Council.
For many months its consultation website crystalpalacepark.org promised the masterplan would be submitted after the public exhibition of the plans, scheduled for later this month, allowing people to give their views on it to the planners before they finalise the masterplan.
But last week an LDA spokesman told this newspaper that the consultation had closed and that its statement on the website had been a mistake'.
Closing down the consultation without any prior warning means thousands of people, who might have been prompted into giving their views by a deadline, have been denied the opportunity.
And the failure to stand by its pledge to allow residents to see and respond to the masterplan before submiting it to the planning authority has been condemned as a major breach of public trust which will seriously undermine the future credibility of the consultation - unless the LDA decides to honour it.
Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, speaking in her capacity as a local MP, agreed. "This issue has for many years been hugely controversial in the area and it is of the utmost importance that local residents have the opportunity to be consulted," she said. "This must be before and in addition to the statutory provisions."
And Beckenham MP Jacqui Lait added: "My view is if the LDA say they are going to do something then they should do. Having made public that they will do it, it doesn't look terribly competent not to."
John Payne, chairman of the Crystal Palace Community Association (CPCA), said the LDA's actions: "gives us little faith in their ability to provide the sort of park people want to see".
This week, under pressure, an LDA spokesman said it had made another mistake when it said the consultation had closed, insisting that people will continue to be able to give their views to both the LDA and Bromley Council during the planning process.
And he claimed the statement about the consultation process on the website was "a genuine mistake". He said: "We should have had a closer eye on the copy and we apologise for that."
Although it is true that the LDA has made a series of major gaffes in communication in recent months, it beggars belief that, in a £5million project, the consultation framework on its own website was not approved at the highest level.
The LDA is still refusing to honour its promise to the thousands who have used the website.
But its spokesman could come up with no overriding reason why submission of the masterplan could not be delayed for a few weeks.
He said: "The masterplan is ready now. There are lots of people who are very happy with our consultation. They've had ample chance to engage in the last four years."
He also claimed that the masterplan only sets out the height of landscaping, the size of buildings and issues concerning trees, and that for all the detailed proposals the public will have plenty of opportunity to have their say during the planning process.
We believe the LDA must restore public confidence in the park consultation by honouring its pledge to continue consulting on the masterplan until after the public exhibition at Crystal Palace station which starts on October 18.
Your Say YourCroydon Guardian
richard francis, thornton heath says...
1:48pm Wed 10 Oct 07
(5th line from the end). Pay attention!
richard francis, thornton heath says...
10:49pm Wed 10 Oct 07
Peter, Brum says...
11:45pm Wed 10 Oct 07
richard francis, thornton heath says...
9:49am Thu 11 Oct 07
The fact that I write to myself is just a little bit of self-deprecation or self-ridicule. Try laughing at yourself one day, Pete, and see if it cheers yoy up!
Incidentally, my concern about our local Park is shared with thousands of others - the issues discussed here are very serious; otherwise, I wouldn't bother.
Paul, Upper Norwood says...
10:59am Thu 11 Oct 07
naff accent, naff outlook and now no appreciation of the English language due to lack of imaginative reading!
Eccillud viri morio!
Col, South London says...
3:29pm Thu 11 Oct 07
vincenzio, crystal palace says...
12:19pm Mon 15 Oct 07
For example where in the consultation did the majority of people ask for a Crystal Palace made of trees? Where did they ask for two huge glass houses on the top terrace? Where did they ask for a tree walk or a 64 foot high upwind chimney? Don't get me wrong, I am not necessarily against all of these things, but where did the consultees say they wanted them. This masterplan could have been drawn up before the consultation. After all what are they proposing that excused millions of pounds worth of consultation. Trees, plants a new sports centre, a farm/college and boats back on the lake. NOthing too contentious there. Nothing exciting either! Any local resident would have suggested these things and saved them the millions of pounds that they have spent on the consultation. In fact without the consultation, they may not have neede3d the 12 million that they will make from selling parkland for housing (the only contentious element in the masterplan)
Where was the new Crystal Palace in the consultation? Where was the Wilkinson Eyre Pod? Where was the butterfly house?Where was the excitement and inovation. What a lame tribute to Paxton's legacy this masterplan is.
How is the park going to be funded in the future? Without any commercial element, how can we ensure the park/s future? A development that respectfully reflected Paxton's brilliance would have provided funding, entertainment, jobs and culture to an area of South London that so desperately needs those things.
Four years of consultation to arrive at a scheme that a six year old could have put together. And that is the problem with the LDA's consultation. If you ask a six year old if he would like more trees planted in his park he will probably say OK. but If you asked that child if they would like a wonderful new buiding that would offer them a place to go on a family day out doing exciting things like skating climbing, virtual reality, cinema, museum of sport etc. they would say WOW yes please. Same with a lot of adults. They were never asked if they would like a place to go to a concert, a show or an exhibition, watch a film or sample the museums and other delights that a commercial venture could offer.
Because of the total disregard that the LDA has shown to the public's feelings and desires, the only way we can now have the new Palace or any other scheme considered would be if the LDA fail in their plans to take over the park. This is because once they have planted the proposed 350 trees on the site, no building will ever be possible there.I for one am very sad about this. For all their supposed consultation, they have in fact simply done what Bromley Coucil did before. They have listened to the people and then decided themselves what would be best for us. Of course Bromley Council did not succeed and It is unfortunate, but I feel that the LDA may go the same way. People really won't be bullied anymore.
Go to the consultation but please bare in mind that the scheme that yu are being consulted on is not the result of four years consultation, it is a sheme that suits the LDA.
For all we know the new Crystal Palace may not have been considered because it may have interfered with the proposed tram station. We should have known these things as it may have influenced our view on tramlink. For example many of those who supported tramlink may not have done if it had meant no development on the top site. The questions we have been asked have manipulated us toward a chosen goal and because of that I am encountering a feeling of dissappointment in the community now that the master plan has been unveiled. Am I alone in this or are others dissappointed also.
richard francis, thornton heath says...
11:31am Fri 19 Oct 07
Dialogue/process" which has already cost the entire projected profit from house-building, before the ink has dried on the Masterplan - now to be scrutinized by Bromley. We have, indeed, all been treated like children: "Shut up, sit down and listen!"
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richard francis, thornton heath says...
1:43pm Wed 10 Oct 07
- LDA/TFL, it doesn't matter which set of letters you're looking
at (they are all the same when it comes to informing/consulting the public whom they are salaried/financed to serve, with OUR money. As a Dialogue Member/Stakeholder, for the full length of the "Process" so far, I am still waiting for a reply to my correspondence, which has been steadfsatly ignored by Roger Frith, the Senior Development Officer, to whom it was addressed, and who has now moved on to "pastures new". RF had time to write to the press, including the local "Guardian", but chose to treat me with disdain.
This "Consultation/
Dialogue/Process has been a sham, one-sided and very poorly conducted, from the outset. Personalities come and go, taking their fat cheques (taxpayers' money) with them. We, the public, deserve BETTER and DEMAND TO BE HEARD.