South London Islamic Centre planning application 'likely to be refused'

Correspondence from the planning officer responsible for making the decision on the development of the mosque, the South London Islamic Centre at 8 Mitcham Lane, suggests that the application will be refused.

In an email to local residents he states:

"At this time there are numerous issues identified with the application which mean that the application is currently minded for refusal. A previous scheme was withdrawn on the advice of officers due to serious concerns mainly relating to the scale and design of the building and the potential for the development to result in significant harm to the current levels of parking stress in the surrounding streets. The current application is largely the same as this previous scheme and the fundamental concerns previously identified still exist. I have briefly outlined these issues below.

"The applicant has failed to provide sufficient justification for the principle of the demolition of the existing building which has been identified to be a positive contributor to the character and appearance of the conservation area. The applicant has also failed to provide an up to date parking survey/modal split/trip generation analysis to allow for a full and comprehensive assessment of the likely transport and parking impacts of the development. The scale and design of the proposed building still also provides serious concern however Conservation officers have not been able to carry out a full assessment of the proposals due to the poor quality of the drawings currently submitted.

"As well as the fundamental concerns outlined above there are also potential issues surrounding the residential element of the development in terms of noise transmission and quality of the accommodation along with the narrow width of the footway adjacent to the main entrance creating hazardous highway conditions at times when the congregation is exiting the building through potential overspill.

"For the reasons outlined above, the application is minded for refusal and I do not envisage any scenario where minor tweaking or amendments to the development could address these concerns."

Want to get involved in the Streatham Festival 2014?

Streatham Festival is an accessible arts festival celebrating local talent, presenting a mix of emerging and well-established artists and encouraging the imaginative use of the different venues across Streatham that characterise the area.

The 2014 festival will consist of four days of events from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 July with a festival theme of ‘Street of My Imagination’. The flagship event ‘Streatham UnCommon’ will feature fantastical streets of entertainments, activities and food on Streatham Common. A festival pop-up shop will operate as both an information point and as a venue for exhibitions, workshops and performances, and there will be an umbrella music event the ‘Streatham Strut'. The Lane and Vale Carnival will also be returning for second year

If you are interested in getting involved, there will be an event partners meeting on Wednesday 4 December from 7-9pm at the Hideaway, 2 Empire Mews, Stanthorpe Road, Streatham SW16 2ED.

The event is being hosted by Streatham festival for artists, arts organisations, community groups, schools and colleges and local venues to present the wide range of opportunities to get involved in Streatham Festival 2014.

There will be refreshments, and there will be staff on hand to discuss ideas and answer questions.

RSVP to bec.britain (at) virgin.net to confirm your attendance.

Graffiti at Becmead Avenue (Garrad's Road) bus stop

We have asked TfL to clean the graffiti at the bus stop on Garrad's Road, known as the Becmead Avenue stop (but actually closer to Tarrington Close!). TfL say they aim to clean it in 48 hours.

Graffiti on Conyer's Road

We have asked the Council if they can clean the graffiti from Conyer's Road, including outside number 46A, at the corner with Fairmile Avenue and the hoardings opposite the Water Works:

[Update 22/11/13: Local residents have been in touch to say that the graffiti has been cleaned]

Potholes on Ockley Road (Woodbourne Avenue and Becmead Avenue)

We have reported potholes on Ockley Road (near the junction with Becmead Avenue) and at the junction with Woodbourne Avenue, hoping to get them fixed ahead of the winter freeze!

The truth about resurfacing

If you have ever wondered about claims made by councillors to have got this or that road resurfaced, then you may be interested to see the following, which are the carriageway scores for roads in St Leonard's Ward.

The 2 roads highlighted in green (Tooting Bec Gardens, Rydal Road) were just resurfaced.

To determine which roads should be resurfaced the Council carries out an assessment of every road to determine its condition. The carriageways not highlighted above currently sit on the authority resurfacing list and are prioritised primarily on their condition score.

Other factors are also considered in prioritising roads for resurfacing, these factors are listed below:

- Link/Traffic sensitivity i.e. TFL Network linkages, A road and B Road linkages etc

- Profile i.e. Schools, place of Worship, Community/leisure Centre, Library’s, cycle route etc

Once the Council has made the above considerations of condition, sensitivity and profile the final score for each road is produced (highlighted above in yellow) and the Council prioritises road resurfacing accordingly.

It's on old political trick for councillors to get hold of resurfacing data in advance, and then claim that they have got a road resurfaced through their lobbying. The truth is that it has a lot more to do with other factors including the number of potholes reported. If you report a lot of potholes, you can make a case and secure the resurfacing the road.

We have reported over 100 potholes in St Leonard's Ward in the last year either using the website www.fixmystreet.com or direct to Lambeth council. If anyone would like to see the potholes we have reported in their street, we would be happy to send a copy of the emails we have sent to the council, pictures we have taken, or records from fixmystreet.com

There's bin trouble

If you are one of the many local residents who has experienced problems as a result of Lambeth Council's scheme to replace refuse bins and introduce food waste collection, we’d like to help.

While we support the principle of reducing waste and improving Lambeth’s poor recycling rate (Lambeth has one of the worst recycling rates of any London borough) the new plans have been implemented very badly.

Residents have not been consulted or asked what their needs are. Many have not been given crucial information. Some smaller bins aren’t realistic for larger households. Some residents have even had their bins taken away completely, with nothing to replace them.

If you are having difficulties you can call Lambeth Council on
020 7926 9000, or email streetcarecallcentre@lambeth.gov.uk However, the Council’s call centre has been overloaded with complaints, and so you may have also had problems getting through.

If we can help in any way - for example by helping to get the right sized bin - please do get in touch. We will do all we can to help. We would also like to hear about any difficulties you have experienced so we can compile a full report.

You can email us: streathamgreenparty (at) gmail.com