CQ312 - 11 from Councillor Gerry Ryan

Can the Cabinet Member tell me how much is the cost of the street work that is being carried out at this time in Purley costing? Are there other upgrades for the rest of the Borough scheduled and if so what is there cost.

The Purley Public Realm scheme currently being implemented is costing £1.8m and is funded by Transport for London through the LIP. The LIP also includes future public realm schemes in Addiscombe (£1.36m), South Croydon (£1.667m) and South Norwood (£1.219m). The nature, priority and funding for these three future schemes is presently under review to ensure alignment with our strategic infrastructure needs.

CQ353 - 11 from Councillor Stuart Collins PL

Through several residents’ association meetings, the Conservative GLA member Steve O’Connell has been made fully aware of the public’s anger at the overdevelopment of housing in the North of the Borough.

Will the cabinet member meet with the GLA Member and Cllr’s from the North of the Borough to discuss formulating a plan to halt any further housing developments in the already overcrowded areas of the North of the Borough.

The emerging spatial planning framework for the borough the Core Strategy cannot itself designate individual housing sites. The evidence that supports the Core Strategy however does consider site specific issues. The level of detail required in the evidence base is prescribed in national guidance. National planning policy in the form of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing requires that when assessing an appropriate level of housing a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment should be prepared.

Regarding the smaller ‘windfall’ sites the GLA SHLAA considered how many homes might be built on such sites in the borough (those less than 0.25ha in size). As there are historically many more of these sites in Croydon the study did not identify actual sites. In the period 2021-2031 it is estimated that the rate of windfall development will halve as the number of smaller sites available for development decreases. The overall number of homes on windfall sites is a borough-wide figure.

Urban areas such as the north of the borough have historically provided greater opportunities for intensification and infill development due to their characteristics and existing infrastructure. They do also include greater incidence of scattered industrial land. In contrast some Places within the borough are constrained by statutory designations such as Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land or do not benefit from the same levels of infrastructure e.g. high public transport accessibility.

The Borough Character Appraisal, Residential Character Appraisal and existing Conservation Areas, Local Areas of Special Character, Listed Buildings and the Local List recognises that the predominant character if an area. Future development will need to consider this context and be designed appropriately will be used to respect and enhance those areas in the 16 Places of Croydon that exemplify each individual Places’ unique characteristics and distinctiveness.

Much constructive discussion and debate has taken place as part of the cross party Local Development Framework Member Liaison Group (LDF MLG). Similarly I hold two residents association meetings each year where local residents are encouraged to raise their concerns.

The Core Strategy is to be monitored annually to ensure that the policies and strategies within the final plan are performing as they should and helping to the meet the spatial vision and objectives. If the policies and strategies result in inappropriate development the new Local Development Framework planning system is set up to be sufficiently flexible to react to such scenarios.

CQ384 - 11 from Councillor Sean Fitzsimons

How many homes have been granted planning permission in Addiscombe and Fairfield Wards since January 2010, and how many of them are "affordable"?

Addiscombe ward

A total of 80 homes were granted planning permission in Addiscombe between January 2010 and July 2011, none of which were affordable.

These resulted from 15 separate applications. All were small developments below the affordable housing threshold of 15 units and so there was no requirement for these sites to provide affordable housing. Consequently, none of the homes granted permission were affordable homes.

Fairfield ward

A total of 1012 homes were granted planning permission in Fairfield Ward between January 2010 and July 2011, 172 of which were affordable.

The majority of these homes related to a single site – Former Randolph and Pembroke House Site, Wellesley Road, Croydon (now known as Saffron Square) – which was granted permission for 755 homes following an application for alterations to the scheme approved in July 2008. The remaining 257 homes resulted from 27 separate applications. Only two of these were above the affordable housing threshold of 15 units: 1 Wandle Road/ 19 Scarbrook Road (98 homes) and 10 Tavistock Road (35 homes). The details of these are listed below.

Application site Affordable homes

1 Wandle Road/ 19 Scarbrook Road 17 10 Tavistock Road 6 72 - 74 Sydenham Road 9 Former Randolph and Pembroke House Site, Wellesley 140 Road, Croydon

CQ385 - 11 from Councillor Sean Fitzsimons

What steps are the council taking to resolve the problems with the construction of the IYLO building?

When the main contractor for the IYLO development, Lancsville Construction entered administration in December 2009, the applicants Phoenix Logistics attempted to put a new team together under the name St James Croydon LLP to complete the development. Council officers from both Planning and Building Control entered discussions with the developers to examine ways of deferring payments to assist the recommencement of building works. Unfortunately, the developers were not able to negotiate additional finance from the banks and St James Croydon LLP has been put into administration. We understand that the development is currently for sale. Council officers are prepared to continue discussions with the administrator or any new owners to assist the completion of this development. In the meantime we will track progress through the agents.

CQ412 - 11 from Councillor Mike Selva

The long awaited extension of the 130 bus route to Thornton Heath has been considerably delayed by necessary highways. In particular the urgent need to strengthen the Spring Lane bridge is continuing to cause considerable disruption and delay to the bus service. Can the Cabinet Member please confirm when this bus service is now anticipated to be extended and to run along its designated route.

The necessary highway works to facilitate the extension of the 130 bus route to Thornton Heath were completed last year. The introduction of the extension from Norwood Junction to Thornton Heath is however being delayed until Tramlink complete strengthening works to their Spring Lane bridge to achieve the statutory 24t loading. This work is likely to be completed by Spring 2012.

However, as a consequence of the temporary diversion of the 130 bus route via Woodside Green, Morland Road and Addiscombe Road due to the Spring Lane bridge weight restriction, Metrobus intend to add two further buses to the route by the end of September 2011 in order to maintain pre-diversion passenger service levels. TfL are waiting for the removal of the diversion before they review the service level required for the extension of the130 bus route to Thornton Heath. Nevertheless, we intend to continue liaising with TfL’s network development team to secure the extension as soon as possible.

CQ414 - 11 from Councillor Raj Rajendran

What is the Council's position and role in the renovation work for the Thornton Heath BR station? When will the work start and what exactly is going to be done to address the issues of health and safety with respect to the gap between trains and platforms, access for disabled customers and women with children?

The council has no involvement in the renovation work for Thornton Heath BR Station as the management and operation of the railway station is undertaken jointly by Network Rail and the station operator (in this case Southern Rail). This matter was raised at the recent Public Transport Liaison Panel meeting on 21 June 2011. A representative of Southern Rail confirmed that cosmetic works (i.e. painting and decoration) have been carried out and there are future plans to install lifts, extend the platforms and carry out works to ensure that the station complies with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. The representative confirmed that preparation works (i.e. site surveys) had been carried out but was unsure of the current status of the programme. He undertook to look into the matter and report back to the panel at its next meeting on 11 October 2011.

CQ415 - 11 from Councillor Raj Rajendran

What is the Council doing with respect to health and safety issues at the bus stop by the Thornton Heath Barclays Bank opposite the Thornton Heath Tesco supermarket?

The existing footway is narrow at this location and passengers waiting at the stop can obstruct pedestrians travelling along the footway. The possible relocation of this stop was raised with Transport for London some years ago but not supported by them because the stop was required as it serves as an interchange for Thornton Heath railway station. The current layout of the road makes it difficult to find a suitable place to resite the bus stop. It may be possible to provide some improvement by rationalising existing street furniture and officers will look at this.