Found this nice little blog that offers musings about the relationship between transport and planning. It has this to say about Walthamstow:

Walthamstow is a suburb in North East London. Since it is the terminus of the Victoria Line and has suburban rail servcies too is is one of the most accessibe places in London. However most of it was developed in the late nineteenth century with mostly two storey buildings. The plan was to make Walthamstow a reception area for higher density to capitalise on its accessibility but this was met with a storm of protest against high rise developemnts. Earlier developemnts in the East End had imposed tower blocks which were not only very unpopular but had also become very unsafe. They held an enquiry by design which showed that mansion blocks of 5 to 8 storeys with internal courtyards, and terraces with more than 2 storeys woudl be acceptable and increase net resiential density. They also developed a plan to rebuild the existing one storey shopping mall into a 5 to 7 storey building with retail on ground floor. They also “increased permeability” of the centre to create easy walk to station. In a survey this design was preferred by 60% of the respondents. When built out they will have added 2,438 new households and also reduced emissions of CO2 by 4,654 tonnes.

Opposition to development is based on the impact that people have experienced. Development has usually made the place worse. The aim now is to produce developments that enhance the quality of people’s lives.

Estate agents using the houses they’ve sold or let as free advertising space is a common grumble from Walthamstow residents. Aside from the visual clutter, it gives the impression that the area is transitory with people constantly moving in and out.

The law states that Estate Agents must remove boards within 14 days of a property being sold or let, and Waltham Forest Council have launched a scheme to clamp down on those that ignore the law.

To report boards that never get taken down contact Waltham Forest Direct on 020 8496 3000. The estate agents responsible will then be issued with a fixed penalty of 100 pounds per board.

Picture courtesy Fin Fahey

The September issue of the councils Blackhorse Lane redevelopment newsletter is out now.

To view it as a PDF click here

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Yes we know X-Factor is back and then there’s Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 but Sky+ them both and instead spend your Saturday night reading through the councils freshly minted series of 8 PDF’s entitled “Blackhorse Lane Traffic Management Scheme - Public Consultation“.

You can see a simplified map of the plans for redesigning and rerouting the roads around the Blackhorse area in the September Newsletter, but for the full details and to get involved in the consultation visit the councils Blackhorse Lane Traffic Management consultation page.

or click on the documents below:

• Blackhorse Lane traffic management scheme - public consultation (1.27MB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Background and objectives (627KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Why is the road scheme needed? (651KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Road proposals phase 1 (870KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Phase 1 proposals (656KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Phase 2 proposals (929KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Phase 3 proposals (853KB PDF file)
• Blackhorse Lane road approvements - Benefits (31KB PDF file)

The deadline for responses is Friday 7th November 2008

Firstly apologies for originally posting the wrong date on the website but the bat walk was a great success. The evening was dry after a sunny day and 18 people turned up at the Coppermill Pub.

We learned various details about bats and heard their noises on a “Bat detector” which was tuned into the appropriate bat frequency. We couldn’t see any bats as it was dark but the walk over Walthamstow Marshes with an orange moon hanging low over the land was very enjoyable indeed.  We were back outside the pub again at around 10.15 pm.

People must have enjoyed it as Jeanette, our bat walk guide counted the donations of everyone. The grand total came to £37.70.  Thank you everyone for your generosity.

In the future we will strive to organise more public events for residents to participate.

Without any further ado here’s the rest of the news:

LATEST ON THE BLACKHORSE ROAD TOWER BLOCKS

On the back of the comments you made individually and the ones we have passed on, we have had an opportunity to meet members of the council about the proposed 23 storey tower blocks to the back of Blackhorse Road. This shows that we are being listened to!

On the 27th August we met Bob Belam (Lib Dem), (Portfolio Holder for Environment and Regeneration) and John Macklin (Lib Dem), (Portfolio Holder for Service Modernisation and Deputy Leader of the Council) who both seemed eager to hear our views and were sympathetic. On the 3rd September we also managed to meet Terry Wheeler (Lab), (Portfolio Holder for Enterprise and Investment). He stated that the original plan to build vast tower blocks has been shelved.

So if that’s true congratulations must go to everyone who gave their views to us and the council! It doesn’t end there though, a new architect is taking over and new proposals are being developed on which we have no details or assurances over quality, height or ways in which the whole project can benefit the community as a whole.

We have renewed our argument that any development on BHL2 should have mixed facilities for the local community, but we got the strong impression that the Council thinks that very unlikely. So, maybe one battle won but a huge fight still looming.

In addition, we will see new plans to be brought forward to meet the strategy to increase the amount of accommodation available in the Borough. We will keep fighting to be a part of the planning and thinking about them and will keep you posted.

Future meetings are in the pipeline with councillors as well as the developers including English Partnerships and Circle Anglia.

We will continue to put forward residents views at meetings with key players and will provide feedback – and ensure that you remain a part of the action.

NORTH LONDON WASTE PLAN

A new residents group has been set up to stop Waltham Forest becoming North London’s dumping ground. Six new ‘industrial’ sites are proposed, four of these are planned to be in the Lea Valley, and one is earmarked for Blackhorse Road.

There’s a demonstration against the plans on Tuesday the 30th September at 6pm on the Town Hall steps.

Visit Residents Against Pollution for more info and to download some of their very stylish posters.
*The Residents Against Pollution group is supported by the Socialist Party, although RAP have contacted BAG to point out that they are a residents group and not officially linked or funded by the Socialist Party (not that BAG has anything either pro or anti to say about the Socilaist Party!!)

TESCO EXPRESS

Opinion seems divided on plans for a Tesco Express store on the former site of the Essex Arms on Forest Road (2-3 minutes walk from Blackhorse Road tube).

The proposed store would have 9 car parking spaces, secure bays for 14 bikes and would be open between 7am and 11pm.

Debate has raged over whether this will decimate local business’s and destroy diversity or whether it’s actually a good use of a derelict site.

Visit here for more information and to give us your views.

LONG LIVE THE STANDARD

The Standard Music Venue has been given a temporary reprieve from the bulldozer. Developers have reportedly shelved the scheme, due to the slowdown in the housing market. There is however an agreement to buy in place that gives them the right to return to the deal whenever the housing market recovers.

Read more here.

SAVE OUR STOW

BAG found some old Walthamstow Dogs footage from 1937, 1968 and 1986 down the back of the sofa so we’ve put together a 30 minute video tribute to “The Stow” through the ages.

Watch “The Soul of Walthamstow: 75 years of ‘The Stow’” here.

The latest news is that representatives of Save Our Stow have met with housing developers L&Q.

L&Q issued the following press release:

L&Q acting on behalf of the above consortium met with the SOS consortium on the 17th September.

This was not, as has been reported, a meeting to negotiate the sale of the land. No deal has been agreed between us and the SOS consortium. Instead this meeting was an opportunity for the SOS consortium to actually introduce themselves, for them to present a more detailed business proposal and to provide evidence that funds are available for any proposed purchase. The proposal received on the 23rd July was far too brief to be considered.

Following this meeting we are now able to look at their proposal and give it our full consideration. Once a decision has been made we will contact the SOS consortium directly. As this is a private business matter until a decision has been reached we have no further comment with regards to the proposal.

VICTORIA STILL EARLY TO BED

BBC London has revealed that early closures on the Victoria Line are likely to continue throughout 2009 after a brief pause for Christmas and New year.

Watch the BBC London report including a look at the new trains.

New homes in England are being built smaller than almost anywhere else in Europe, a new exhibition reveals. Are the gleaming new apartments buildings of the past decade the inner-city slums of tomorrow?

Read the BBC article here.

Waltham Forest Council are seeking your views on how it should “plan for, and manage change and development over the next 15 years“.  You have until the 1st of September at 5pm to submit your opinion on basically everything!! Land use, physical development, transport, environment, education, housing, employment, leisure, social and community facitlities, health and shopping etc, etc, etc.
There’s more, click here to read more…

Response to Blackhorse consultation

The Council’s consultation on “Annexe to Planning Obligations - SPD Blackhorse Lane Planning Obligations Strategy” or in English, the Blackhorse Road development consultation closes Friday (8 August).

You can read the document and electronically comment on the Blackhorse Lane Regeneration site.

Please send your individual responses via email to the Council (email).

BAG have sent local councillors our response to the consultation, see the document below, or Download the PDF.

At present the scheme appears to be experiencing delays, but we’re keeping an eye out for any news and will keep residents informed as soon as we hear anything!

Blackhorse Action Group’s response to the consultation
Annexe to Planning Obligations SPD - Blackhorse Lane Planning Obligations Strategy
By email - 6 August 2008

Dear Sirs

I am writing on behalf of the Blackhorse Action Group (BAG) in response to your invitation to comment on your proposals for funding the infrastructure required to support the new development in the Blackhorse Lane and Blackhorse Road area.

I would like to state from the outset that BAG has serious reservations about the proposed developments which straddle Forest Road and Ferry Lane and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss these with you in further detail.
We are particularly concerned that there is a lack of clarity about how the stated Objectives are going to be met and the extent to which the proposed tariff and other funding streams are going to contribute to an improved environment which is sustainable and which will result in the creation of a vibrant community of which we can all be proud.
There’s more, click here to read more…

Tesco have leafleted residents of the Blackhorse Road area about their plans for a Tesco Express store on the site of the former Essex Arms pub on Forest Road. For those that don’t know the location it’s about a 2 or 3 minute walk up Forest Road from Blackhorse Road tube (or about 0.1 miles) (see map).

We’d like to know what residents think? Are you pro or anti Tesco building a 3,000 sq ft store in the Blackhorse Area? Let us know your views either by leaving a comment or emailing us. Tesco would also like feedback either by returning the form on the questionnaire or for more information email Carol Leslie.

The proposed store would have 9 car parking spaces, secure bays for 14 bikes and would be open between 7am and 11pm.

“We want to bring this site back into use for the local community to use and enjoy”

The leaflet is obviously designed to sell the store to the community, Tesco say up to 30 full and part time jobs will be created and that the new store will regenerate what is a semi derelict site. Deliveries would be restricted to two or three lorries a day, between 7am and 4pm (this does not include deliveries by other suppliers e.g. milk, newspapers etc).

More questionably they claim the local store will “boost local businesses”. In their view, new Tesco stores give other local businesses a boost by encouraging more customers to the area.

For a balance to the Tesco PR side its worth visiting the Tescopoly website. It was set up in 2005 “to highlight and challenge the negative impacts of Tesco’s behaviour… on small businesses, on communities and the environment“.

Their view would be that Tesco destroys small independent stores, that the money spent in Tesco’s does not remain in the local community and independent stores have a greater bond with their area:

“A shopkeeper is likely to notice when the old lady from number 26 doesn’t come in to pick up her paper. But checkout 13 is not going to do that.”

As a community group we want to represent the opinions of the local residents, so let us know what you think?

The council wants your views on the Blackhorse Lane re-development, and more importantly who pays for and is obliged to provide what. Here’s what the council says:

“The draft Planning Obligations Strategy for Waltham Forest has now been published for consultation. As part of this there is a specific area based strategy for Blackhorse Lane which sets out how developers will be expected to contribute to the cost of schools, parks, public transport and street improvements through ‘Section 106’ payments“.

Fully understood..? Don’t worry its much less clear than it at first appears!

Essentially building lots of housing is guaranteed (it’s where the money is (or at least was). Everything else like access to green space, improving the night time economy (the council had promised to reprovide The Standard Music Venue), community spaces, etc etc is up for argument over who provides what and who pays.

The Council will charge a set Section 106 contribution for each new residential unit and per new square metre of commercial floor space. BAG questions whether the payment of a tariff will effectively mean that developers will not have to provide ANY infrastructure provision, including community facilities, themselves?

Visit the council site here to submit your views
There’s more, click here to read more…

A couple of hundred people, tv crews from BBC & ITV News, and lots of feedback from locals concerned about the glut of tower blocks planned for Walthamstow. Sunday’s demo (June 1st), organised by Fight The Height was a resounding success.

With leaflets winging their way around the area, the first part of BAG’s campaign against the 23 storey (230ft high) tower block at Blackhorse Road is also well under way and we have to say a big thank you to all the appalled and mostly unaware residents who have submitted comments. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING (see a selection below the form)!

TO STOP A 23 STOREY TOWER BLOCK BEING BUILT AT BLACKHORSE ROAD WE NEED LOCAL PEOPLE TO SUBMIT THEIR VIEWS, ALONG WITH THEIR NAME AND EITHER AN EMAIL OR HOUSE ADDRESS. WE CAN THEN PROVE TO COUNCIL PLANNERS THAT THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WANTS MORE THAN JUST HUGE TOWER BLOCKS.
WE WILL NOT CLOG UP YOUR EMAIL OR DOOR MAT WITH JUNK! ALTERNATIVELY BECOME A MEMBER OF BAG HERE.

Here’s a taster of the comments you’ve been sending us (we’ve shortened some to fit. Please let us know if we’ve altered the meaning in any way!):

“I know housing is short,but this is the most stupid thing I have heard for a while…its hideous.”

“I’m especially concerned that there seems to be nothing socially useful to the wider community being planned. we need facilities for the young people, shops, green spaces. somewhere to eat would be nice!”

“It seems to answer a brief that called for the design of a sink estate. It needs to be stopped in its present form and redesigned to reflect the nature of the surrounding houses and neighbourhood.”

“Will be out of keeping with the areas renowned Warner style of two-storey terraced dwellings“

“I will do all that I can to help stop these ludicrous plans.”

“Offers nothing to the existing community. It will put further strain on transport to have thousands more people living in the tower blocks”.

“We simply don’t want to see these monstrosities… huge ugly buildings that will look out of place in this community. We are worried about the additional traffic, both foot and mechanised that will be part of this”

“This is not an acceptable development for the area. Tower blocks are an awful addition… but also have been the cause of much social living discontent, that is why most of them have been knocked down. No logic to this.“

“If this is really what is planned… then this is appalling, and will cause serious problems for the area. How can the plans have gotten this far without addressing the issues of capacity, services etc?”

“I agree with developing the area but only with low rise accommodation (4 stories max)“

“Too many blocks built in a small area and will add to overcrowded transport.”

Please keep them coming! Here’s the Fight the Height Demo on BBC News, for more pics visit our flickr site.

OTHER POSTS ON THIS SUBJECT (CLICK BELOW)