Canada Water Consultative Forum s1

Canada Water Consultative Forum

Minutes of Meeting of 18th November 2013 Held at Alfred Salter School, Quebec Way Rotherhithe London SE16 7LP

Forum (in attendance in bold)

P. Adenwalla (PA) Steve Cornish (SC)

K. Whittam (KW) Chris Horn ( C & E) (CH) K.Jassby (QWIE) (KJ) Cllr Nelson (Cllr WN) Miles Price (BL) (MP) Setura Mahdi (Barratt/Hardhat)(SM) Cllr Jeffrey Hook (Cllr JH) Cllr Noblet (Cllr PN) Jerry Hewitt (JHW) Jarno Stet (JS) Kim Humphreys(Kings & SDS)(KH)

In Attendance:

John O’Kelly, Philip Baker, Anne Chadbourne, Alan McDermott(AD), Agate Grabowska, Mike Ransom, Eleanor Heine, Janet Lakin, M Page-Jones, Mark Parker, Richard Orrey, Jason Newbold, Damian Belson, Miyoko Sasan, A Cavouras, Charlz Uvieghara, Stan Cornell, Leonie Oliva, Joan Taylor, Jane Williams, Stephanie Lodge, S Crawley, J Carroll, Jim Lodge, Ilkan Orman, N Asri,

1. Welcome & Introduction

The Chair welcomed all present and outlined the full agenda.

2. Apologies / Approval / Amendments / Action from 22/04/12

Apologies were given for the absence of Jarno Stet, Jerry Hewitt and Ian Moore

Minute of the meeting of 9th September were approved.

Issues Arising: Canada Water pumps have been repaired and the water levels had subsequently risen in the local waterways.

3. Surrey Docks Stadium

Mark Jackson - Fairview New Homes (MJ), Seth Rutt - Hawkins Brown (SR), Leonie Olivia - Deloitte Real Estate (LO), Kim Humphreys - MD Carvil Ventures Ltd (KH)

LO advised that there would be a public exhibition held at the YHA at the weekend which all were invited to view and comment on. MJ reminded everyone that LBS Parks were keen to receive feedback so that community aspirations could be met within the proposals.

Consultation with LBS was still ongoing with regard to the St Paul’s and Fisher sites, planning applications would be submitted by the end of the year. LO stated that the St Paul’s site would be upgraded to make it a suitable home for Fisher FC, and would include an improved quality of pitch, better floodlights and suitable terraces for fans. It would be run by a local college so that in addition to use by Fisher FC, it could be leased to other community concerns. MJ confirmed that they planned to use mesh fencing around the site.

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KW asked if a solution had been found for the YHA coach parking problem. KH advised that no alternative site had been found, however they would work with the YHA to ensure that they were able to use the site until the last possible moment.

SR confirmed that the latest revised layout had undergone minor changes but remained similar to the previous proposal. In brief:

 Following consultation with LBS Parks, the Metropolitan Open Land space had been swapped from one corner of the development to another to create broader views across the park space.  A pedestrianised route allowing direct access from Salter Road to RDW was included.  Buildings would be of different height ranges in keeping with surroundings, the highest being four story apartment blocks.  The development would consist of brick built housing with timber elements and some ecological brown roofing.  50% of housing would have car parking space, in line with LBS wishes.  An additional 80 trees are to be planted.  31-32% of properties would be family housing.

AD wondered if any consideration had been given to the traffic problems in Lagado Mews, in particular speeding. LO said that she would bring this to the attention of the transport consultants.

PA was concerned about providing electrical power to so many additional developments. SR assured her that there is sufficient capacity within the area and MJ stated that the development should have its own electrical substation. It was pointed out that BT will install fibre optic cabling if developers contact them early on in their planning stage.

4. Broadband in SE16

Val Shawcross (VS) GLA Member for Southwark and Lambeth

VS advised that she had met with Andrew Campling, BT General Manager London, Southern & Eastern England, who had explained that the area was in a ‘cold spot’, being so far from the exchanges in Bermondsey and Deptford. There are no on-street booster boxes which would be easier for BT to update, and from a business point of view, BT feels that it does not warrant upgrading existing cabling. VS felt that there was a case to challenge BT’s business case for not investing in the area and suggested approaching Ofcom. She added that if BL and other developers banded together, they would have greater power to challenge BT’s current standpoint. Whilst some residents are able to access 4g superfast broadband at the moment, this will slow down as more people use it and so long term solutions are being sought.

VS confirmed that the Mayor has a £25m fund to assist with the installation of superfast BB, however EU anti-competition laws prevent public sector money from being used to subsidise domestic use. The Mayor can apply to the EU Commission to invoke the exemption procedure since this is an essential economic utility, necessary for the support of small local businesses in the area. VS asked for a volunteer to assist her in research and collating data in order to put the case for superfast broadband to the Mayor’s office. Damian Belson (DB) offered to assist with this, and presented the idea that we make use of existing cables which Virgin have installed in the past.

Issues raised by the floor included:

 Poor customer service and mis-selling by BT, who promise to provide fast broadband but are unable to give confirmed installation dates.

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 Why are new developers not required to fund this?  How is it possible for rural areas to get financial support but not here?  Can CIL funding could be used to install faster BB since this would improve the economic viability of the area.

A suggestion was made to use the £9m earmarked for Lower Road to provide superfast broadband, however SC felt that these were not mutually exclusive and that both were needed to support the economic growth of the area. PA felt that the CWCF should set up a working party to follow up these issues collectively and continue to liaise closely with VS.

5. Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks Neighbourhood Planning Forum

Brian Hodge

BH advised that in accordance with the Localism Bill, Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks wards are combining to form a Neighbour Planning Forum where local residents and businesses can plan the economic, social and environmental development of the area. With an expected population increase of 8,000 it was important to collectively address the impact this will have on existing residents and all were urged to get involved. An application to be recognised as a designated body had been submitted to LBS.

6. Site C (Decathlon) & Site E (What Store) Scheme Application Modifications 12-AP-4126

Chris Horn (Chris Horn Associates), Ian MacGregor (Sellar Director of Development Mgt)

CH thanked CWCF for their assistance in helping to put the development together and confirmed that:

 The site would provide 1,030 new residential homes.  LBS are considering their proposal for the temporary relocation of Decathlon and it was hoped that this work would commence at the end of 2014.  Site E had been brought forward.  Funding generated by this development included £9m under S106, and £4.5m for CIL.

Broadband difficulties had been noted and would be considered as the development progressed.

Again concerns were raised about marketing local developments overseas and investors buying properties, which lessens the community feel of the area. CH gave assurances that the scheme would be released locally, although this would not prevent overseas purchasers from buying available properties. He felt that as the area matured more people were choosing to raise families here, and hoped that by creating a town centre at Site C it would make it even more appealing.

7. QWIE & Docklands Settlement

Agate Grabowska - Alan Camp Architects

AG provided the following update for QWIE:

 Currently working towards discharging planning permissions.  London Quadrant is aiming to provide 35% affordable housing, an increase on the 25% originally agreed.  Demolition work starting immediately.

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SC congratulated Alan Camp Architects for their consultations with local residents which had enabled Docklands Settlement to provide facilities to better meet local needs. He added that Kings College had agreed to fund the provision of equipment for the centre.

8. Site Updates

Albion Street

LBS plan to demolish the library and build social housing on the site although there are still concerns about ground floor level usage. The Sublime Foundation proposal is to be submitted within the next two weeks.

Convoys Wharf

The original plans had been rejected by Lewisham Borough Council, and have now been called- in by Boris Johnson. The council had indicated that it would take a report to committee in February 2014, so a decision from the Mayor’s office is not expected before then.

Downtown - Setura Mahdi - Hardhat Communications

SM stated that works are on schedule. A road will be renamed Blondin Way, as suggested by SC.

Harmsworth Quays – Miles Price – British Land

MP stated that British Land had taken control of the site and a management company had been appointed to look into interim usage.

Library/Plaza - Nothing to report

Mast Leisure Centre – Nothing to report

Mulberry/Kings – Kim Humphreys – MD Carvil Ventures Ltd.

KH reported that the planning application had been agreed and thanked the Forum for its support.