OLD BERMONDSEY NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUM

OBNF
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Ms Juliemma McLaughlin
Chief Planner, Development, Enterprise and Environment
City Hall
The Queen's Walk
London
SE1 2AA
Friday 17th August 2018

Dear Ms McLaughlin,

Re: New Southwark Plan Proposed Submitted Version

Your comments on the New Southwark Plan (Letter 9th March 2018 to
Southwark’s Director of Planning, Simon Bevan) make no reference to NSP
Policy 14 Tall Buildings which is clearly inconsistent with the corresponding policy
in the London Plan (7.7 of 2016 and D8 of 2018). Neither is any comment given
on key ‘Site Allocations’ 52 and 53 where (very) tall buildings are being planned.

I’m sure you are aware for example of Greystar’s proposal for the redevelopment
of Capital House 18/AP/0900 which was submitted very shortly after their receipt
of pre-application advice from Southwark Council – which was itself given just
one day before your comments on the NSP. The submission of the application on
20th March was closely followed by the 'Greystar and Terrapin dinner' on the
26th at which it appears you were in attendance. Obviously you would not have
expected their hospitality to be unrelated to their planning application for a site
with a history of making its owners very large offshore capital gains from
anomalous planning consents.

Since the NSP’s progress has been significantly delayed (with submission to an
inspector not expected for at least 8-12 months) please will you confirm that
you will now be commenting on NSP Policy 14 given that it is so clearly out of
line with both the current 2016 consolidation Plan Policy 7.7 and the New Draft
London Plan 2017 Policy D8 in the terms described in our attached comments on
the NSP (submitted to Southwark in February 2018). Similarly (and also referring
to the attached) please can you confirm if you will now give consideration to
NSP Site Allocations Policies 52 and 53 which are questionable both in terms
of soundness and legality.

Also of note in relation to the Capital House application is the GLA’s apparent
abandonment of the London View Management Framework. The OBNF
requested (under FOIA) details of advice given to the developers on this
application and to date it has been denied that any official advice was actually
given. The attached internal communications and associated view however
suggest that the effect of tall buildings upon views of St Paul’s (for example) are
no longer being regarded as relevant. In light of this can can we please ask for
clarity on the status of LVMF policy in terms of your department’s current
practice? It seems inconceivable that something as significant as the
disapplication of the LVMF would not have come up in interactions between
yourself and Greystar. What have they been told with regard to the necessity for
their proposal for Capital House not to intrude on the backdrop to St Pauls – as
their current proposal does considerably?

Given the aforementioned hospitality from Greystar (and Terrapin) in which you
have been engaged this year, will you now be prepared to attend a local
community meeting in the London Bridge area to allow the other side of the
argument to be heard? Obviously it would not be right for GLA officers to accept
hospitality from developers proposing anti-community developments whilst
refusing to hear from the community itself.

We look forward to hearing from you on these important matters.

Yours Sincerely,

Toby O’Connor

cc. Simon Bevan - Southwark Council Director of Planning

Peter John OBE - Leader of Southwark Council
Sadiq Khan - Mayor of London