EMAIL NOW – Or this will be approved next week:

Bromley council’s planning officers have recommended that our Development and control committee should approve a 12-storey high rise to be built over the former Maplin’s shop on the corner of Ethelbert Road.  This means that it’s almost certain to go ahead.

Bearing in mind the council elections are in May, please email as many of the following as you can?

• Councillor Yvonne Bear  (Vice-Chairman)  Yvonne.Bear@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Alexa Michael  (Chairman) Alexa.Michael@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Melanie Stevens   Melanie.Stevens@bromley.gov.uk (independent Biggin Hill)
• Councillor Katy Boughey  Katy.Boughey@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Mark Brock  Mark.Brock@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Kevin Brooks  Kevin.Brooks@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Peter Dean  Peter.Dean@bromley.gov.uk 
• Councillor Simon Fawthrop   Simon.Fawthrop@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Christine Harris   christine.harris@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor William Huntington-Thresher   william@ocat.co.uk
• Councillor Charles Joel    Charles.Joel@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Russell Mellor  Russell.Mellor@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Tony Owen  Tony.Owen@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Angela Page   Angela.Page@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Richard Scoates   Richard.Scoates@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Michael Turner  Michael.Turner@bromley.gov.uk
• Councillor Vanessa Allen  Vanessa.Allen@bromley.gov.uk  (Labour, clock house)

If you have a printer and can afford some stamps, these people like stacks of paper! print your email out and send it to:

Stockwell Close,

Bromley, BR1 3UH.

Despite over 300 objections including advice Historic England and the Council’s own Advisory Panel for Conservation Areas council officers are recommending approval of this 12 storey block of flats in the High Street to be decided by the Development Control Committee at next week’s meeting 25th March. Proposed to be built over the former Maplin’s shop on the corner of Ethelbert Road

it will overshadow the High Street and conservation area will dominate the sky line from the Ravensbourne Valley contrary to Council policy 42 on views into and out of a Conservation Area.

The report agrees that the development will be harmful to the setting and character of the Town Centre Conservation Area is contrary to all policy but argues that the housing need overrides everything. If this were the case then no conservation area is safe. Approval will open the floodgates as precedent allowing the Council’s own adjacent 14 storey Churchill Quarter to tower over Library Gardens currently in planning limbo and the adjacent Ringer Road 20 storey development waiting in the wings for this decision. It will also pre-empt the unfulfilled requirement for a master plan for the whole area and the latest edict from government and the new London Plan that Councils must produce design guidance documents for Town Centre locations including, for example, height restrictions to prevent just this kind of piecemeal destruction of character.

Please email the committee members your views.