Monkhams LibDems Challenge Redbridge Council on Land Sales

11.30.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Sep 2007

Charteris Road Car Park on a typical weekday afternoon - at capacity

At a packed Area 2 Committee meeting held at the Hawkey Hall on 11th September Monkhams Focus editors, Geoff Seeff and Anne Crook, presented a petition containing over 900 validated signatures from local residents and users of facilities on the Broadway that called for a halt to the process for the sale of the Charteris Road car park and the Woodford Library sites.

Geoff and Anne discussing the impact of redevelopment with Monkhams resident, Rita Girling

The essence of the issue is this. The Cabinet has committed itself to developing an Olympic sized swimming pool in Seven Kings. It does not have the support of Central Government for this highly questionable project and now needs to raise over £40 million to fund the capital costs. This it is proposing to do by selling off community property including car parks and allotments. It claims that sale of the Woodford sites will only be permitted if a prospective purchaser accepts the constraints of development brief formulated in 2005 in (a limited) consultation with some local residents, which stipulated, amongst other things, that no construction should exceed four storeys. Apart from a substantial consideration for the site, developers will be asked to replace the car parking spaces, provide a new modern library and will probably have to set aside a proportion of the site for affordable housing, so we cannot see how low rise development will be commercially viable.

These sites are potentially the most valuable pieces of real estate in Redbridge, particularly if the constraints of the development brief are removed. Given the imperative to realise the maximum sales price, we do not believe that the Cabinet intends to respect the development brief and we do not trust it to look after the interests of residents of this part of the Borough. High rise and dense development on these sites, which would be the inevitable consequence of a sale without effective planning restrictions, will turn the area into an urban jungle and will irrevocably destroy the character of the Broadway area.

To read the full correspondence between Councillor Mrs Linda Huggett and Geoff Seeff see the attachments.

Related Links:

Correspondence.

Correspondence GMS Letter 11th September.

Correspondence Cllr Huggett letter 24th August 1.

Correspondence Cllr Huggett letter 24th August 2.