Concerns have been raised over the planning application, Case DC/15/94002, for a 19 story tower block near the stations in Catford.
The project is related to the new build on the old Catford Greyhound Stadium site and aims to provide 92 residential units along with some commercial space and a plaza between Catford and Catford Bridge stations.
Ben writes:
“We think it would dramatically change the character of the area for the worse. The consultation period ends 31st of December, 2015. Anybody who wishes to comment must do so before the end of the year. The application and contact details for comments can be found on the Lewisham Council website under the planning section. We invite people to register any opposition.
We have also set up a 38 degrees petition that can be found on the 38 Degrees website. Please help us bring this to everyone’s attention. We need to galvanise the people of Catford who have waited for good things to happen for so long. We need to make people aware. Please help us.”
Go check out the plans and if you agree that this 19 storey tower block is not what we need between the two stations contact the Council and have your say.
If you wish to sign the petition you can find it here but remember it’s separate from the consultation process.
The tower looks good to me. A pretty basic but decent design. Sandwiched directly between 2 stations in inner London its a no-brainer to build tall here. It won’t overlook much in the way of other housing, and hopefully will spur on a lot more housing in the area.
London’s population is at its highest ever level and rising by 1 million every 10 years. The alternative is to house people way out in surrounding counties with 1-2 hr commutes on overcrowded trains. Even 3 hours. It’s not healthy or sustainable. The issue here is whether it has sufficient truly affordable housing. I very much doubt that, but building tall? No problem.
A plan for a building was always in the works. They have changed the height at the last minute. They aren’t changing the number flats, that will remain the same. They want to make it taller so they can make the flats a bit bigger so they can charge more. This will also set the stage for whatever they want to build at the Wickes site.
Let’s be clear … The new tower is 100% private ownership. This is not replacement accommodation for Milford Towers.
milford towers are dangerous and understanding safe you get people getting killed knifed there’s asbestos up there you have got family.s up there with kids the asbestos is going in to thire lungs the people who rent them out are Nottingham housing associations they should do something about it not let the tenants die they said milford towers are coming down in between 2019-2020
in lewisham shopping center you have public toilets in them they have cctv watching you go to the toilet the law say cctv should not be in public toilets you have no privately for your self you have kids who go in there they are being watched they have to close the toilets down till they removed them from the toilets the papers have been told about this and the police them people who run the cctv are in joying watching the public go to the toilet they have a dirty mind I have written a letter to landscape they said it’s for the toilets safety that’s not fair on the public we have to get the public to sing the petition about the cctv in public toilets
Demolition was due to start on Milford Towers at the end of this year though it has been delayed as TfL are looking at realigning the south circular. The Council are expecting concrete news in the next few months so hopefully the Catford Plan can move forwards.
I do not think the tower is the issue; it is whether it is out of place. If Catford is to have a more developed centre then this tower would be fine. If it is going to be left with crap connections, transport times, shops, bars, etc and strangled by the south circular then it is not suitable.
Why are they wasting time to pull MIlford towers down they have been saying this for years it’s going to cost 12.millions pounds to work on milfordtowers it would take 6 years to bring down and 6 years to rebuild it the flats in milford towers are dangerous you have drugers and people getting killed knifed and jumpt on for there goods and the new 19 story tower block what’s going on catford dog track should be stopped
catford is a dangerous area to live in you have got drugers people beginning for money so they spend on drugs and alcohol and weed this makes them go mad and pick on people there should have more police officers walking around not cut down on police that’s how you get more crime on the streets and in buildings and this 19 story tower block being built on the dog track will this be for the people who live in milford towers
@Simon it’s easy to say Catford is a dangerous place to live when you live in Orpington, you only work in Catford. Yes addicts hang about around The shopping centre begging for change because that is where they find the most people traffic. They don’t hang about all over Catford and aside from the begging and arguing amongst themselves they are not making Catford any more dangerous than any other inner city town.
Maybe you are lucky enough not to have addicts in Orpington but don’t write off a whole town based on what you see in and around Tesco and Milford Towers.
FAKE….ALERT…!!! JJ and PvP work for the developers….and they know that this Tower is not only a very basic design but an eyesore which will open the way for further high rise flats to be built on the Wickes site…will the 92 flats really provide more homes for local people at the rents they can afford or simply attract higher prices…? they already have consent for a 9 storey building on the site…Does anybody really think they would allow this sort of unimaginative architectural vandalism in Dulwich or Honor Oak…don’t believe the hype..!!
These flats will be going for £450,000 and upwards for City commuters who don’t care about the community…and the real reason for them pushing this through is to get planning for lots of high rise on the Wickes site which is the real moneymaker prize…!! …DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE…!!!!!
We are not stupid….and we will expose the fraudsters, the money makers and the kick back takers…!!
where are our representatives..?? Lewisham councillors should be ashamed of themselves…time to represent the community that voted you in or get out!!
“City Commuters who don’t care about Catford”
I’m a City commuter, and I live in Catford. I care very much about improving the area.
What I have noticed, and in fairness knew before we bought our house, is that SE6 has a lot of potential, (excellent housing and very good connections into Central London), but that it is sadly appallingly neglected. The one party Council doesn’t help – they’re intent on blaming everything on Tory budget cuts, when issues around flytipping, streetscapes, the never implemented Catford Plan, the disaster of Excalibur Estate redevelopment are all decades old, and their mishandling is almost entirely the fault of the inept Council themselves. Try and get a civilised and timely response from one of the useless Labour councillors and see how you get on!
But as for “City commuters” not caring about the area – pull the other one. The amount of littering, neglected houses, dangerous driving on local streets, un-dropped kerbs with three cars in the front yard, bins left lying around willy nilly,etc. etc. show that there was a massive problem with local engagement well before any scary Yuppie invasion.
In fact – the bits of community engagement I do see are often from people who haven’t been in the area that long – some of whom *gasp* work in the City.
Build the towers, bring in some new blood who will almost certainly push for the clean up of the area and bring Catford back to what it must have been at some point in the distant past.
Absolutely spot on there friend. This sad excuse of a council do not do a thing for Catford. And as you rightfully mention it appears to be people, like myself, who are from outside the area actually trying to make a little difference in the place. Catford could be such a nice place with a little effort.
The planners and developers do not live in Catford. We do. The community needs buildings for the community – not only for city commuters. There is also the issue of aesthetic value. Keep the block of flats at a lower level. Nineteen stories is too tall!
Councillors please do not allow yourselves to be bullied by those who ruin the environment and move. Act on behalf of the community interests.
I have set up a Facebook group – Catford Tower Opposition Group – for anybody who wants to co-ordinate a response to this application.
Hi Ben,
Do you have a link to the group as I did a search on FB and nothing comes up.
Try this…
We have been out canvassing to see what people think. There are two buckets; those that had absolutely no idea this was happening and those that new and had already wrote in to object. What is apparent is that opposition is high. We are not effectively working together, so outside of the petition, we have started a Facebook group called Catford Tower Opposition. We want to get together with like minded people. Please join to keep track of where we plan on meeting up.
This has the decidedly fishy smell of a stitch up about it – 4 storey proposal turned to 19 at the last minute with the unsuspecting public too slow to react.
Beside my dislike of this type of structure looking out of place with the area my main issue with this proposal is that the area just does not have the infrastructure or services to support the influx of people. Transport links and congestion around catford are some of the worst in London and TFL have just last week permanently terminated the idea of the Bakerloo line extension ever coming to Catford so how is it going to get any better?
South East London trains is widely recognised as the worst operator in the country so I think the council and TFL need to get their heads together as a matter of urgency before this bad situation is made worse for residents.
It’s disgraceful that the Bakerloo line looks like it will terminate at Lewisham. However, I hope that as this dawns on people they will remember that the TfL Consultation showed only 50% approval for the Bakerloo line going beyond Lewisham – and perhaps pause to think about why they didn’t fill that online form in.
Tuesday 29th at 7pm we have a room at the Catford Constitutional Club to discuss the way forward with this campaign … Anybody who is interested in opposing this application please come!
It’s the ideal location for such a development. London is gradually moving away from car-dependency. The best way to do that is to make it a no-brainier: build densely around the tube/train stations.
What we should be talking about is how to ensure the development helps makes Catford a nice place to walk or cycle through. At present it is neither.
We must not let these developments get muddled by irate car drivers polluting Catford from the South Circular and the A21.
I agree it’s a good spot to build some homes. There is existing planning permission for 92 1 and 2 bed flats in a 5 and 8 storey building with a public plaza between the stations. This application is to provide the same number of flats in a 19 storey building … I.e. Building less densely at the expense of an architectural eyesore to maximise developer profits. I also don’t think that this proposal will make Catford a better place to walk or cycle through.
Nothing to do with cars at all, walking and public transport are fine by me thanks.
Catford is not pretty – and this will make it worse. I oppose it because is not how the majority of people want to live, and will be an eyesore, with many more to follow, to the massive benefit of developers’ pockets.
If people want to live in Croydon it’s just down the road. It’s that pile of ugly massively high buildings that dwarf people, homes and many existing buildings which are attractive – and they are creeping ever outwards.
I just wish we could build up a similar head of steam over the failure to demolish Milford Towers and the shopping precinct; promised now for at least six years and getting worse and worse…
They have been saying for years that milford towers was coming down but every time but nufthink happens they keep putting it off they are in a bad way the walls are cracking up there’s asbestos up there in the flats with family.s in there with this asbestos around them so after they have done the dog track then they will start on the shoppingcentre
…and why not…lets do the whole lot together…its about time the planners took account of the community views…join us!!
Too right. The Catford town centre has been meant to be redone for decades. It seems like one step forward, two steps back unfortunately.
Hot off the press – some important updates:
– Due to the scale of the changes proposed the Council have requested that a full planning application (and not just a variation) be submitted; this has been done.
– The application will be considered by the Strategic Planning Committee possibly in March or April (date to be confirmed).
– A date for a public consultation meeting will be set shortly.
– Objections will continue to be received from residents even though the amended deadline of 31st December 2015 has passed.
There is still every reason to oppose this tower and the more people that get involved, the more likely we are to succeed. Keep spreading the word! Facebook and 38 Degrees petition links can already be found in this thread.
Whilst not opposed at all to providing housing for the ever-growing population, this proposed development is just hideous!! I feel sorry for the people that will have to look out their windows at it, well people who have to look at it at all!!!!
These buildings are awful! The colour, rather than the beige shown in the designs, turned out as some greyish brown. The buildings would completely change the dynamics of the area, and would fiercely block out many people’s sunrise (mine included). What makes things worse is that Barrett tried to sneak the plan past, meaning they knew from the beginning that it would disliked.