BROMLEY COUNCIL LEADER SLAMS GLA PLANS FOR SPORTS CENTRE
OPTIONS presented for public consultation about the future use of the athletics stadium in Crystal Palace are “not the ambitious and interesting scheme expected” says Bromley council leader Cllr Stephen Carr.
Consultation on the plans – which would include a primary school and Capel Manor college on either side – or one side – of the stadium have currently been extended.
Cllr Carr says the plans are a unique opportunity to develop and enhance the sporting facilities at the park by setting up a new South London flagship sports Academy, reinvigorating Crystal Palace as a place of sporting and education excellence.
“Initially the GLA indicated they would be producing ambitious and varied options for the future of the NSC for public consultation.
“But the options which have been presented would seem to be variations of one option, and this option does not immediately appear to be the ambitious and interesting scheme expected.
“The council would like to see the design iterations leading up to these concept designs to understand how the options provided in the consultation were arrived at, and what other options were considered, including their timescale and funding implications.
In a two-page letter to a GLA officer Cllr Carr also says:
- The council has concerns over the consultation process that has been undertaken.
- The concept designs impact on the Crystal Palace Improvement Scheme.
- The design options appear potentially to override three of the nine capital projects from the Crystal Palace Park Improvement Scheme: returning parking sites in the central area to parkland; removing parking from central axis; and removing turnstiles from central axis.
- The council does not want to spend public money on works which will be undone in the near future.
- The detail provided in the consultation document does not allow (the council’s planning officers to take a view on whether planning permission could be granted for the proposed scheme.
- It is unclear what the impact of these works would be on the listed building, (the National Sports Centre is a Grade II* listed structure) whether the consultation carried out will be considered adequate, and if there is sufficient re-provision as stated in the consultation document for any lost sports facilities.
Cllr Carr adds: “Additionally it is unclear how the footprint of the proposals fits with the Masterplan, which has outline planning permission already in place.
“The next steps for the proposal should include:- submission to the emerging draft Bromley Local Plan and a formal Pre-Planning Application process.
“These proposals should be coordinated with the ZRG scheme, and any other proposals for Crystal Palace Park and the Strategic Outer London Development Centre.”
The letter – dated November 5th – from Cllr Carr to Malcolm Beadle Senior Manager – Land, Estates & Property Housing & Land Directorate at the GLA reads as follows:
Dear Malcolm
Response to Crystal Palace National Sports Centre development concepts
Following your presentation on Tuesday, on the development options for the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre (NSC), please find below London Borough of Bromley’s formal response to the proposed future of the site.
The Council is supportive of the proposal to partially restore the Central Paxton Axis and considers this important to the legibility of the park and its historic landscape.
However, it is important that any displaced facilities, which are a result of this restoration, are given careful consideration and new sites found for them if appropriate. The sports facilities are important to the local community and every effort should be made to retain them.
To this end it is important that all sports clubs, both national and local, are directly contacted to ascertain true demand, and provide them with the opportunity to express their interest in the site and consider how they can contribute to the viability of the sporting offer.
Every effort should be made to retain the athletics track, however the Council accepts that a significant reduction in stadium seating may be imperative to the sustainability of the site.
The introduction of an academic institution to the park may be a positive addition to the area and provide financial sustainability, however the Council strongly favours options other than the Primary School option being further explored.
This is an unique opportunity to develop and enhance the sporting facilities at the park by setting up a new South London flagship sports Academy, reinvigorating Crystal Palace as a place of sporting and education excellence.
This approach would protect the sporting heritage of the park and ensure the local community continued to have access to a range of high quality sporting facilities. It is important that this opportunity is rigorously pursued and properly considered through actively approaching both the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and potential service providers.
The positioning of any new academic facility needs careful consideration, and sites on the periphery of the park should also be considered due to wider implications such as traffic control and parking.
The proposed roadways in the park need further consideration due to their impact on the park environment and park users. Please also note that the building of a new primary school may be in conflict with the surrounding borough’s strategies for the provision of primary school places.
New purpose built facilities for Capel Manor are considered important to the future of the park, however the position and size of the building needs careful consideration to ensure that the college can function to best effect, and support horticultural management of the park.
It appears, from the details provided in the consultation documentation, and from your presentation, that the concept designs impact on the Crystal Palace Improvement Scheme.
This capital scheme is being funded by both Bromley Council and the Greater London Authority (GLA). Primarily the design options appear potentially to override three of the nine capital projects from the Crystal Palace Park Improvement Scheme: returning parking sites in
the central area to parkland; removing parking from central axis; and removing turnstiles from central axis.
The estimated value of delivering these three projects is £425k. The Council does not want to spend public money on works which will be undone in the near future, therefore it is imperative that as the plans for the future of the NSC site develop, there is constant dialogue with the Improvement Scheme project team to ensure that the decisions made at the end of the feasibility works are made with the NSC development in mind.
The feasibility stage for the Improvement Scheme is scheduled to be completed by March 2015. There are opportunities for the NSC scheme to work with the Improvement Scheme, for example on the positioning of the skate park, which should be taken into consideration.
The Council has concerns over the consultation process that has been undertaken. Initially the GLA indicated they would be producing ambitious and varied options for the future of the NSC for public consultation.
However, the options which have been presented would seem to be variations of one option, and this option does not immediately appear to be the ambitious and interesting scheme expected.
The Council would like to see the design iterations leading up to these concept designs to understand how the options provided in the consultation were arrived at, and what other options were considered, including their timescale and funding implications.
There is also concern over the format for collecting consultation feedback online, and how the data from this will be analysed effectively.
The Council is pleased that the consultation period has been extended to the 16th November, however, given that the exclusivity agreement with ZhongRong Group (ZRG) runs until February, the Council would prefer consultation to remain open until this time.
Extending the consultation period would ensure that decisions made on the future of the NSC do not have a negative impact on the potential top site development, and are made with a thorough understanding of park development, environmental impact and the preservation of green space in mind.
Once the consultation feedback is considered and a revised scheme for the NSC site produced, there should in our view, be further public consultation on this revised scheme.
The detail provided in the consultation document does not allow Planning to take a view on whether planning permission could be granted for the proposed scheme.
It is unclear what the impact of these works would be on the listed building, whether the consultation carried out will be considered adequate, and if there is sufficient re-provision as stated in the consultation document for any lost sports facilities.
Additionally it is unclear how the footprint of the proposals fits with the Masterplan, which has outline planning permission already in place.
The next steps for the proposal should include:- submission to the emerging draft Bromley Local Plan and a formal Pre-Planning Application process.
These proposals should be coordinated with the ZRG scheme, and any other proposals for Crystal Palace Park and the Strategic Outer London Development Centre.
Bromley Council is available to provide further clarification on all the points raised, and will continue to encourage local people and groups to feedback on the proposals themselves during the consultation period.
Yours sincerely,
