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Bulletin 6

Letter to all Councillors, London Borough of Southwark

Canada Water Campaign
C/O Time & Talents Association, The Old Mortuary,
St. Marychurch Street, Rotherhithe, London SE16 4JE

Email canada_water_campaign@hotmail.com
Information on the Website
http://www.se16.btinternet.co.uk/canadawater.htm

Councillor ....
The Member’s Room
Town Hall
Peckham Road
London SE5 8UB

Dear Councillor ,

Canada Water – Consultation on Draft Development Framework

Item for information, Cabinet, 24^th July 2000

We write to express concern that the London Borough is being misinformed in a number of important respects by the authors of the report.

At the meeting at the Holiday Inn on the 6^th July 2000 the four hundred members of the community present strongly rejected the vision of a high rise town centre development, the principles from which the vision was drawn and the destruction of the wildlife habitat of Canada Water. Constructive comments from residents regarding the need for traffic planning, regeneration and linkage of Albion Street and Lower Road into the framework plus the need for more options than those presented to the meeting were omitted.

The Canada Water Campaign believes therefore that the vision offered by the Draft Development Framework is flawed. Specific comments showing the clauses we feel are unacceptable are attached as are the aims of the Canada Water Campaign.

Many sections of the community were present at the meeting. The view of the meeting was that sympathetic development could be promoted. However this should not be at the expense of the factors that make the Surrey Docks Peninsula so attractive; space, wildlife habitats, waterside and the low rise suburban feel of the area.

We would urge you to read the Draft Development Framework report with these comments in mind. We would hope that you will consider the points raised in this letter and on the Canada Water Campaign Website bulletins. Our requests are that you should:

• Refer the report and the principles it contains back to officers for further consideration pending proper dialogue with the community and
• Require officers to offer more options and a broader vision.

Yours sincerely

David Brunskill
For the Canada Water Campaign

Schedule 1

Draft Development Framework paper to cabinet dated 24^th July

Clauses Causing Concern

• 3.1 Responsibilities for the maintenance of roads and docks infrastructure
• 4.1 "a number of initial principles were established at this stage", "mixed uses within a relatively high density"
• 5.1.2. "….physically possible to incorporate improvements…..even a relocation of Canada Water itself" !!!!!!!!!

• 5.3 "could result in up to 5 million square feet of mixed residential/retail/leisure/commercial floor space.

The points made in para 3.1 imply maintaining and preserving the docks and infrastructure, not the destruction of Canada Water. We would like to know what was agreed to in the "Statement of Agreed Intentions" at the time of transfer of these assets from the LDDC to the London Borough of Southwark.

In the public meeting on the 6^th July we were told by Councillor Steven Lancashire that nothing has been established. We would like to know why Council officers feel that principles have been established. The principles outlined in 4.1 have certainly not been addressed by the community. Furthermore the other items outlined above: high density, destruction of the Canada Water Wildlife habitat and the sheer scale of the developments were those most strongly rejected by residents. We were surprised that Council Officers should persist with them in their report to Cabinet.

We were equally surprised that comments of proper concern and made by the residents were omitted from para 6.4

• That the whole development vision is flawed and that the impact of options other than that of a high density town centre development should be considered.
• That the Draft Development Framework totally ignores regeneration and linkage into Albion Street and Lower Road
• That the opportunity of redesigning the northern part of the Peninsula should include traffic planning studies to remove or reduce bottlenecks at the Rotherhithe Tunnel and Lower Road.

In item 6.6 it is not reported that

• A number of speakers specifically evidenced deep mistrust of the council’s intentions
• The mood was not concern but rejection of the scale of the initial proposals

Finally we believe that the questionnaire attached to the report is so structured as to provide no meaningful feedback on the above issues which are of prime concern to the residents of the Surrey Docks Peninsula.

Schedule 2

The Canada Water Campaign

The Canada Water Campaign has been established with the following aims:

To constructively participate in regeneration proposals for the plots of land surrounding Canada Water and adjacent to Canada Water Tube Station.

To do so by:

1. Preventing the destruction of Canada Water and its wildlife habitat.
2. Maintaining an overview and commenting on any further related development proposals.
3. Preserving the environment for the long term benefit of all residents of the Surrey Quays Peninsula.

Our intention is to build a group of individuals and institutions committed to these aims and to ensuring that democratic processes will influence the London Borough of Southwark so that they can be achieved.

The last general meeting on the 10^th August was attended by 64 members of the community including representatives from tenants and residents associations, councillors from both main parties in the Borough of Southwark and our Member of Parliament, Simon Hughes. We are moving rapidly to form a broad based community forum on the lines of that successfully involved with the Elephant and Castle Development and have already requested recognition and funding from the London Borough of Southwark.

The Willowbrook Centre, Planning Aid and Time & Talents are already providing appropriate assistance.

Further meetings are planned on the 11^th September and 14^th October.

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