E&C SPD. Map of Heritage Assets
Update – 1st November 2011.
Update – 5th May 2011
We have been notified of the Planning Inspectorate’s decision over the development proposals for Carter Place Garden. We are very disappointed to report that they have decided to grant the appeal and permit the development. The decision appears in the pdf below:
Planning Inspector Decision-04May11
The Friends Committee will be meeting shortly to discuss our response to this but we would like to thank you all so much for your support and commitment to this campaign. Although the permission has been granted, it was most certainly through the concern and pressure brought by you all which led to the reduction in size of the development and the imposition of suitable archaeological conditions to ensure anything of interest on the site is responsibly recorded. Furthermore, the active campaign which we have all been involved in has had a definite impact within our Community Council and has been the catalyst for much discussion over local policy with regards to local green spaces and local heritage. Many thanks again for your support.
Update – 26th April 2011
At the Planning Inspector’s visit on the 13th we were able to enter and take a couple of pics from on the inside!
Update – 18th March 2011
Please find the minutes of our meeting on the 16th March in this word file
Update 3rd March 2011.
Our next Friends of Carter Place Garden Meeting will be on Wednesday 16th March at 7pm at the St Paul’s Church, Lorrimore Square SE17 3QU.
Please do come along – everyone is very welcome.
Update – 16th February 2011
Update 10th February 2011
Some good news.
At last night’s meeting of the Walworth Community Council Planning Meeting, the local Councillors stood up for their local community and ignored the advice of the Southwark Council Planning Officers and decided to fight the appeal that the Carter Place Garden developer has made to the Planning Inspector.
This means that:
1. The fight to save the garden goes on and the community is more determined than ever to succeed.
2. We should get the chance to present our arguments in favour of the garden to the Inspector.
Two important dates coming up:
1. By February 24th all submissions to the Planning Inspector need to be in. We will give details of how to do this in the next day or so.
2. On 1st March at 7pm (at the Walworth Methodist Church, 56 Camberwell Rd, SE5 0EN), there will be a special meeting of the Walworth Community Council discussing Parks and Open Spaces in the Walworth area. This should be a really valuable meeting to work out how to give our green spaces more protection and to get the most out of them.
We will send more details closer to the time. Do come along if you can; it should be a really positive and useful meeting.
Many thanks for all your support; do say if you don’t want to receive info any more.
31st January 2011 – Update.
The developer has now made an appeal to the Planning Inspector on the grounds that Southwark Council has not determined the original planning application quickly enough. We are now doing all that we can to fight this appeal and will keep everyone updated as soon as we can.
Meanwhile please find the notes of last week’s committee in this file
FoCPG-Committee Meeting Minutes-27Jan11
17th January 2011 – Friends of Carter Place Garden.
We are delighted to say that we had a very successful inaugural meeting of the Friends of Carter Place Garden on 12th January. Over 25 people came along and helped to form the Friends group and to agree a constitution for the group and elect officers and a committee.
Please find below the notes of the meeting (including the Constitution).
We are keen to have as many members of the Friends as possible to demonstrate the strength of support for this campaign. There is no charge for membership. We would ask you to simply send an email to us and state your name, home address and postcode and we will include you on our membership list.
Thank you so much for all your support.
5th January 2011 – Setting Up An Official Friends Group for Carter Place Garden.
To highlight the importance of this Garden and to strengthen our voice as a local community, we are now setting up an official Friends group dedicated to saving this historic green space. This group will give us a far stronger voice with Southwark Council.
Our first meeting is on Wednesday 12th January 2011 and starts at 7pm. The meeting is being held at Penrose House Tenants & Residents Hall on the Penrose Estate SE17 3EZ (close to Carter Place Garden).
At the meeting we will discuss:
- Progress so far.
- Next steps.
- The long term future of the garden.
In addition we will appoint Officers and a Committee and adopt a constitution for the group.
We very much hope that local people will come along and, if they feel able, consider getting more involved.
LATEST NEWS – 18th November
SAY NO TO DEVELOPMENT; KEEP OUR GREEN SPACE
Carter Place Garden – the only green space on the Walworth Rd is under threat of development. On this page we provide the background to the garden and what makes it special and what people can do to help us fight the plans. Please do get involved.
1. Sign The Petition.
Please sign our petition at: http://www.gopetition.com/petition/40056.html
2. Fight The Planning Application.
If you can find an extra few moments then you can really make a difference to this campaign by emailing the Council at planning.applications@southwark.gov.uk and telling them you would like to see the garden preserved and not developed. Don’t forget to quote the planning application number 10-AP-2796 in your email.
Points you might like to make when emailing the Council could include:
- This was a garden that has always been enjoyed by the community and it should be protected and never built on. The Walworth Road is much improved in recent years and shoppers and local residents would benefit tremendously from keeping its only green space.
- All over the country high-streets are all starting to look the same. It is more important than ever that we keep a sense of our local identity and what makes our community special. This garden and the view of the historic Victorian station is an important part of our local character.
- A detailed study is needed of the site itself. As it has never been built on, a full archaeological dig will reveal lots of interesting knowledge about our area. Also, as the developer has neglected the site for so long a detailed survey is needed of the rare plants and animals that may now be living there.
- No thought has been given as to how the site will be serviced. Building the site alone will cause chaos right next by the Walworth Rd’s busiest bus-stop; there is no space for large lorries in Carter Place. How can the developers possibly service the shops and flats once the development is completed?
- The building planned is utterly inappropriate to the site. It is a massive overdevelopment of a sensitive and valuable location which is surrounded by historic Victorian buildings. This site should be protected in a conservation area.
To find out more about these plans you can simply follow the steps below:
1. Go to this website: http://planningonline.southwarksites.com/planningonline2/
2. Type in the number 10-AP-2796 into ‘Application Quick Search’ to see the details of the planning application.
Background.
The space in front of Carter Place Police Station on the Walworth Road has been a garden ever since the land was enclosed. It is unique in being the only green space along the Walworth Rd that has never been developed.
The garden won many prizes, was a source of local pride and was even visited by HM the Queen Mother.
When the local police moved from the site, the garden was bought by a developer and they have been trying to build on it ever since. Local people and Councillors have successfully fought this so far, but we are now coming to the showdown to try to stop our garden being obliterated under a massive and completely inappropriate development of shops and flats.
We have an alternative. Help us to get the site protected so that it remains as a garden for the people of Walworth and Southwark to enjoy once again.
Any questions please email Jeremy Leach at
jeremydhleach@compuserve.com
or phone on 020-7252-5331
Many thanks for your support.
Below are some images that illustrate how far we have come…
Views of the site inside the hoarding - October 2010
Views of the site inside the hoarding - October 2010
The Current Boarded Up Site
Carter Street Station Garden 1978
Carter Street Station 1920s
Carter Street Station Garden - Early 20th C
Carter Street Station Garden 1916
Walworth House on Carter Place - pre-1910
November 12, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I support this campaign, completely.
I have written to the planning committee.
Issues are:-
a green site ,within all living memory.
it is the last geen site.
It is an endownment for Walworth people in perpetuity.
It was mentionned publically at Walworth Community Council in presentaations about the most recent upgrade of Walworth Road, officers and Councillors promised to protect> (They also promised a large “Beacon” to mark the famous crossing.) Could this be the place?
December 17, 2010 at 11:38 pm
I served for 10 years at Carter Street Police Station. It is a very built up area and the front garden provided a very welcome oasis of green in a very brick and concrete jungle.
January 7, 2011 at 1:49 pm
I, too, served at Carter Street Police Station from 1974 to 1987. The gardens were an oasis of green in what was then a dirty, ugly urban jungle [kudos for the improvements you've made!] . A good friend is [or, it seems, was] memorialised in these gardens – he wouldn’t be best pleased to see the state of them now.
Whilst I no longer benefit personally from said oasis, I feel for the residents who did and still could. Once gone, it isn’t ever likely to be restored. People really need these havens of beauty, however small.
Please think long & hard before deciding on this planning application – the people who voted you in deserve to be listened to…
January 7, 2011 at 6:58 pm
I support this campaign completely. I was a serving Police officer at this station in the 60s and 70s and the garden was always kept immaculate and it won many prizes, including the Queen Mothers cup for the best kept garden. It is the only empty and green space on the Walworth Road and should remain so.
January 8, 2011 at 9:49 pm
I support this campaign. Leave this site green and friendly as it has been for many years. It has always given a great deal of pleasure to the local people.