Hampden Lodge Public Meeting

The Collier Row & Mawneys team were out in force last night at a public meeting held with local people who are un-happy about Havering Council and Bellway Homes plans for 48 flats on the former care home site.

Over 50 local people turned up at the North Romford Community Centre to have their say. Cllr Andrew Mann was present, along with Havering Park Ward colleagues, Kevin Tonks and Denis Stevens and Mawneys team members Graham and Karen Price. Also present was Romford M.P, Andrew Rosindell and the two Tory Councillors, Starns and Binion (who are part of the Administration selling the land).

Over 20 local people had the chance to speak and ask questions of the Developer, Architect and Cllr Starns who as a Cabinet member agreed the sale of the site. Both Karen Price and Denis Steven were able to ask questions and make comments.

Karen raised the issue around the four story height of the proposed flats and suggested that residents take a trip to Essex Road to see the impact of a four story block of flats next to a two story house, the block is often known as “Tebbutt Towers” after the former Councillor approved in using his casting vote.

Denis Stevens raised issues around the environmental impact of the scheme, in relation to the loss of grass land, the impact of shadows and the loss of sun on local houses and the allotments, which are behind the scheme. He also raised issues around the extra surface and foul water that would be pushed into the over stretched local network and how flooding would be prevented.

Cllr Mann who spoke at length, highlighted some of the faults with the scheme, such as the reduction of 10 flats from the original plans, from 58 to 48, however the new scheme has an increase of bedrooms from 90, up to 103. He also spoke about his anger that the Council and developers have been secretly being doing deals to turn the whole development over to social housing landlords, something that Bellway Homes were forced to admit after being pushed by a local resident.

Cllr Mann said “I have been dealing with anti-social behaviour problems on the former Gobions School site, where developers could not sell all of the homes on the open market and then dumped the remaining un-sold flats and houses onto numerous registered social landlords, thereby creating a mini housing estate, but without any proper provision for the extra young families and children”.

He went on “we will now get the same issues in Collier Row with 48 flats sold not to the open public, not available to local people, but dumped onto a social housing landlord who is then able to offer flats to people form all over East London and Essex, therefore letting local people miss out on the chance of living there.

Local residents last night confirmed that they are not against the development of the site, they are grown up enough to expect some sort of building on the land, however 100% said they would only accept low level two story housing at the most, that do not overlook back gardens and that are available to local people.

It is still not to late to object to the plans, you can do so by writing to Patrick Keyes, Head of Regulatory Services, Mercury House, Mercury Gardens, Romford, RM1 3SL or e-mail planning@havering.gov.uk