The Planners continue to reject unacceptable applications like the revised one on 50 Bishops Park Rd, and the discharge of the condition regarding stability at 66 Pollards Hill North. The Friends of Norbury Party have submitted an action plan to the Council. PHRA has decided to disaffiliate from Love Norbury. November will see Remembrance and the beginnings of Festive activities, including the Love Norbury organised Festive lights.
General Update (Croydon & History)
Saturdays. 10-11am. Friends of Norbury Park Litter Picking
Friends of Norbury Park’s team of volunteers are continuing to pick up litter every week, meeting at the station entrance. Those who can’t make Saturdays help out during the week. The Friends thank Litter Free Norbury for organising two “deep clean” litter picking events in the park this year.
Tuesdays 10am-12noon. Coffee Morning
Wednesdays. 10.30am-12.30pm. Coffee Morning
Norbury Methodist Church, 2a Pollards Hill North SW16 4NL
Thursdays. 10am-12noon. Coffee Morning
Baptist Church, Semley Road
Thursdays. 2pm-4pm. Digital Workshops
How to use your smart phone and computer. No appointment needed.
Community Room above Norbury Library.
Fridays. 10am-4pm. Drop in Covid and Flu Jabs
Norbury Library for those eligible for free jabs – no appointment needed.
Friday 3 November. 10.30am. Knitting Norbury Together
Everyone welcome – the group shares skills and teach knitting and crochet.
Saturday 4 November. 11am-1pm. Councillors for Norbury & Pollards Hill Ward Surgery
Norbury Methodist Church
Sunday 5 November. 8am. London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally.
It will becoming through Norbury. A number of residents will meet outside Iceland to welcome them.
Saturday 11 November. 11am. Remembrance Gathering
As in previous years the Norbury Knitters will gather at the war memorial plaque on London Rd. Remembrance poppies will be put up along London Rd. The Fire Station crew will parade outside.
Saturday 11 November. 11am-3pm. Autumn Fair
Norbury Methodist Church
Saturday 18 November. Noon. Friends of Norbury Park Litter Pick
This will be with the support of the police Safe Neighbourhood Team.
St Philips Church
Sunday 10 December. 4pm. Winter Gathering in Norbury Park
Friends of Norbury Park will provide Hot drinks, singing and something for the dogs. This is a follow-up to its August community picnic for the community. The Friends latest newsletter says that this ‘was great fun, and one picnic-goer said that it “made Norbury feel like a village”!. The dog show was a crazy but delightful event – who knew that we had so many talented dogs in Norbury?’ ‘The afternoon included a guided tour of the Nature Trail, storytelling, a talk on bee keeping, face painting and sack race for adults and children. There was a stall managed by Love Norbury and a display of fascinating posters about the History of Norbury and Norbury Park. A plant sale, cakes, banana bread, Samosas and Indian Chai all proved popular and completely sold out.’
Norbury Park News
Wildflower Oasis
In May a group of Friends of Norbury Park ‘volunteers began work on a wildlife meadow project in the park, located close to the Harefield Road entrance. The ground was initially prepared by removing most of the grass, and some, but not all, of the weeds (some weeds are important to bio-diversity, and can be quite beautiful). Seeds were sown and we now have a lovely Wildflower Oasis, with a variety of plants and flowers giving pleasure to park users as they walk past. The volunteers are now preparing more ground ready to plant seeds for next year.’
Norbury Park Nature Trail
‘Friends of Norbury Park volunteers have improved and developed the nature trail which runs through the woods next to Green Lane. The volunteers carried wheelbarrows full of chippings to cover the path and created a circle at the beginning as a storytelling/reading area.’ The Friends invite you to
come and enjoy a relaxing, peaceful walk through the woods’.
Norbury Park Action Plan
The Friends have prepared and submitted an action plan to the Council outlining the issues where we require input or collaboration with Croydon Council. It sets out its goals.
Goal 1: Reduce antisocial behaviour in the park.
Goal 2: Reduce the amount of litter and rubbish in the park.
Goal 3: Provide more interest in the park, and relieve flood risk.
Goal 4: Resolve ongoing issues with entrance and exit to the park, and the location of large events
Goal 5: Ensure the grass fields can be used by visitors.
Goal 6: Provide safe and dry paths across the park.
Goal 7: Improved communication between the Council and the Friends.
The full details can be read at
I have sent Brij Kalia, the Chair of the Friends a resume of the background to the Park and the further thinking about its future written in 2019.
https://www.friendsofnorburypark.org/
Guide to Access To The Library
The full explanation of the access rules to the Library when there are no :ibrary staff can be see on Norbury Green Residents Association website.
https://www.norburygreen.co.uk/about
Action by Residents
Residents are frustrated by the apparent lack of action on a wide range of issues while they see the area become more and more adversely affected by anti-social behaviour such as continued litter and fly-tipping, poor and over speed driving, car parking conflict, noise, etc. This is a problem along London Rd and its side streets, and Norbury Crescent and Green Lane, continually highlighted by the Residents Associations . There are additional problems in the two main parks, with drinking, urinating, defecating, and other anti-social behaviour which the Friends of Norbury and Norbury Hall Parks have been making representations about.
Residents often find it difficult to report things to the Council because of the problems with its switchboard and IT systems. Not all residents are comfortable using the various Council IT systems.
Residents usually act as individuals. They may have more effect if they act collectively. It is therefore important:
- that all residents join their local Residents Association.
- copy their messages to the Council and the police to help their Residents Association Committee have full picture of what is going on.
- keep a diary of all incidents that concern them, including the minor ones, and let their Residents Association Committee have the details on a regular basis.
- contact their Residents Association Committee when more serious incidents take place.
Planning
Applications
2 Beatrice Ave. Alterations, conversion of single dwelling to form 1x 3-bedroom and 1x 1-bedroom flats, erection of single-storey rear extension and outbuilding in rear garden. This is a difficult application because extending existing ground floor ‘will allow easy disabled access to owner who is elderly and on dialysis and is seeking to make better use of his home and make life easier by re modeling to suit his condition and facilitate storage of full-time dialysis equipment and allow better access to room overlooking garden with easy access to garden buildings with his disability’ The conversion upstairs then convert upstairs is create an independent flat to allow better use of the property and create independent accommodation for a future carer as this will be needed sooner rather than later due to owners condition but until this is needed a opportunity to create an income to allow funding for client future caring needs rather than burden the state to facilitate this we will also install a side entrance door to access the stairs to the 1st floor Flat.’ This then looks like an imaginative application which will enable an elderly disabled resident to remain living in their home and neighbourhood, displaying the kind of creative and flexible solution for elderly residents argued for by Croydon Unite Retired Members Branch’s submission to the Local Plan Review, which I was involved in drawing up.
44 Bigginwood Road. Rear single storey extension (following demolition of existing).
4 Dunbar Avenue. Use of one room as a private office space for private and taxi hire booking services.
46 Georgia Road. Single storey front extension and erection of two storey side extension.
76 Ingram Road. Change of use from a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) to a large HMO for up to 8 occupiers, with associated alterations. It is a pity that this area does not have a Residents Association which could consider opposing yet another larger HMO.
36 Norbury Hill. First floor side extension and alterations of fenestrations and facade.
78 Stanford Road. Dormer roof extension with Juliet balcony to rear roof slope and installation of three roof lights to front roof slope.
Approvals
66 and 294 Green Lane. Single storey rear extensions.
131 Norbury Crescent. Conversion of loft to habitable space, erection of rear dormer, erection of hip to gable and installation of two roof lights to the front roof slope.
63 Pollards Hill South. Erection of a hip to gable and rear roof extensions.
34 Virginia Road. Erection of an outbuilding to the rear of the garden.
Withdrawn
27 Hawthorn Avenue. Single/two storey side/rear extension, rear roof extension, conversion to create 2 x one bedroom and 1 x three bedroom flats.
55 Pollards Hill South. Single storey detached 3-bedroom.
1106 London Road. Change of use from motorcycle showroom to motorcycle MOT centre.
Refusal – 50 Bishops Park Ave
Demolition of side projection and erection of 3 x terraced dwellings. Reasons:
‘1 The proposed site layout and massing of the footprint would result in an overdevelopment the site and the design and architectural expression has not been informed by a contextual character analysis. The proposal would result in an out of keeping, prominent and dominant development which would be detrimental to the prevailing character and appearance of the built form in the surrounding area…..
2 The proposed development would provide poor quality residential units by virtue of a lack of natural daylight and sunlight, the mutual overlooking that would result between the proposed dwellings and the existing properties and the resulting noise and disturbance from the adjacent railway line…..
3 The proposal by reason of its siting, layout, massing and design would result in an overbearing and overpowering development resulting in visual intrusion and loss of outlook, noise and disturbance, undue overlooking and loss of privacy to the surrounding properties which would be detrimental to the residential amenity of the occupants….
4 The proposal, given the loss of trees and the lack of suitable space for new tree planting to be become established and maintained, would fail to take account of the existing on site trees or provide suitable soft landscaping mitigation to compensate for the increase in built form on site…..
5 It has not been suitably demonstrated that the proposal would not result in the loss and/or disturbance to habitats used by protected species, and no surveys or mitigation measures have been submitted to justify this development in this location…..
6 In the absence of a legal agreement, the application does not prevent future occupiers from applying for parking permits which would result in additional parking stress nor does the proposal offer a contribution towards sustainable transport improvements to alleviate traffic generation created by the development…..
7 The proposal, by reason of its siting, layout and the existing built form, would result in insufficient pedestrian access to the detriment of highway, in particular pedestrian, safety. In addition, the proposed cycle storage would fail to conform to the required standards…..
8 The proposal would provide insufficient refuse and recycling storage with unsuitable accessibility arrangements and no 10sqm bulky goods area would be provided…..
9 It has not been demonstrated that the development would meet the required fire safety standards’.
Other Refusals
131 Norbury Crescent. Single storey outbuilding.
102 Norbury Hill. Continued use of side extension as self-contained house.
65 Pollards Hill North. Demolition of existing garage and erection of double storey side extension. Removal of 1x tree.
Former Site Of 66 Pollards Hill. Discharge of Condition on stability.
127 Pollards Hill South. Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of three-storey six-bedroom detached dwelling with outbuilding in rear garden.
Norbury Watch 