Dundonald Liberal Democrats

Merton Council have submitted a planning application to expand Dundonald Primary. As well as refurbishing the existing school building, the pavilion will be demolished, and a new two storey extension to the school will be built “partly sited on Dundonald Recreation Ground”. There is a legal protection against building on the Rec that Merton Council is currently challenging in a specialist Court – the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). The Council can only go ahead if they have this legal protection removed. The process is complicated and the Council also has to make a formal planning application.

What next? To see the planning application and all the relevant documents, search for Application number 12/P1058 on the Merton’s Planning Explorer Website.

Make sure you have your say: The deadline for comments is 24 May. Write to Sabah Halli, Planning Department, London Borough of Merton, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX, quoting the application number above and including your name, address and the planning application description given on the website. Or email your thoughts on the plans to planning.representations@merton.gov.uk

Read the rest of this entry »

News reaches us that the planning application for the Glass Factory on Dorien Road, rejected in January, has been appealed to the planning inspector.

If you wrote to the Council at the time of the original application, your letter will be copied to the planning inspector and the developer.

Dundonald Lib Dems objected to the original proposal for a three storey building comprising 3 one bedroom and 6 two bedroom flats on grounds that: the application would cause problems with on-street parking; the (small) size of the new flats; and the lack of garden and other outdoor space in the development.

In April the Liberal Democrats delivered another £630 increase in the personal allowance – the amount of money you can earn that you don’t pay any tax on – benefiting 25 million working people now. And it will lift an extra 250,000 people out of income tax altogether.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are elections for the Mayor and the London Assembly on Thursday 3 May. The Mayor and the London Assembly make decisions that affect our everyday lives in London, including on transport, policing, housing and the environment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick update on the latest about the plans to develop the Rainbow Industrial Estate next to Raynes Park Station:

We understand that the site’s developers, Workspace, are working to consult soon on draft proposals for a “planning brief” for the site – this is the outline plan for how the site will be used.

At a recent Council “Community Forum” meeting, it was mentioned that the developers currently plan to use some of the site for housing along with some business/industrial use. We understand that council officers have said that they are not convinced that the ideas are entirely acceptable. The main discussion is around an access point on the ‘south’ side of the station; this is what scuppered the previous plans for a waste processing plant on the site - the road access is pretty bad, especially given that it is shared with a drop-off point at Raynes Park station.

We have set up a meeting with the developers in May – let us know if there is anything in particular you’d like us to ask them or issues to raise? As well as questions about access to the site, traffic and parking, we would also like to know how much housing they would like on the site and how much of that would be affordable housing.

Merton’s education spokesman, Cllr Peter Walker, was sacked on Thursday after being filmed ripping down a teenager’s fundraising poster from the railings around Dundonald Rec.

15 year old Ben Baulkwill, who lives on Graham Road, had put up posters on railings around the Rec before Easter, but these had been torn down. Ben had wanted to help local children with their bikes by organising a one-off sponsored bike repair and maintenance event, with the money raised going to Protect Dundonald Rec, the residents’ group campaigning against the expansion of Dundonald Primary onto the Rec.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Wimbledon Chase Residents Association wrote to residents yesterday about the planning application to develop the Emma Hamilton site:

The latest update with planning application is that the Planning Officers have told the developers that the scheme is unlikely to be approved in its current guise. There are a few points on which the developers fall down – height and massing being key. As a result the developers have gone away to ‘rethink the scheme’. I believe they now have until the end of April to come back with some changes.

Whether or not this results in substantive alterations to the plans, or further ‘tweaks’ in an attempt to make it look like they have made changes, remains to be seen. Still it is the best we could have hoped for at this stage. We can take heart from this. Our campaign, coupled with the developers arrogance / refusal to listen to advice from the council, has resulted in this outcome. However, we must not be complacent.  This is merely a small victory in a longer battle.

The lack of park keepers is causing problems with access to the facilities on Dundonald Rec according to voluntary and community groups that regularly use them.

Merton Hall Road resident Anthony Fairclough notes that the Council’s response to complaints about the shortage of staff is simply to talk about their controversial plans to remove the legal protection against building on the Rec and to expand Dundonald Primary.

As Anthony says:

“Is [the Council] saying that the facilities will only be properly staffed and maintained if [the] plans to expand Dundonald school onto the Rec go ahead (in the face of massive public opposition)?”

Controlled parking zones (CPZs) have recently been extended to some Apostles Roads (as well as other nearby roads).

Following some correspondence with council officers, we have been offered the following explanation to how residents’ comments are taken into account when a controlled parking zone is being considered.

The Council will introduce parking controls in roads where the majority are in favour. The petition and many requests for controls came from [a number of roads in the Apostles and some in the Wimbledon Chase area]. If a statutory consultation were to be carried out in just these roads to allow them opportunity to be included in controlled parking it would seem these roads would’ve opted for the controls and therefore they would’ve been implemented as such.

As the Council know this would create parking displacement in adjacent roads it allows us the opportunity to consult all roads between the existing CPZ’s to notify residents of possible displacement and to opt for inclusion. A wider area cannot stop parking controls being introduced into road/s that are in favour.

Read the rest of this entry »

WE WANTED to let you know a bit more about the plans to redevelop the Nelson Hospital and car park site. The plans would see a new “local care centre”, car park (with 68 car parking spaces to the rear – 26 for patients) and an assisted living care home (with 21 car parking spaces). You can see more about our views from where the plans were first mooted here.

The Local Care Centre will retain the existing Pavilions, but the assisted care facility will involve demolition of all other existing buildings on the site.  Other alterations include new landscaping to Merton Rush, Blakesley Walk and Kingston Road.

Have your say on this planning application

We are keen that as many residents as possible have their say on this issue so that the planning process reflects what people want. The formal planning application and all the related documents can be seen on the Council’s “planning explorer” here.

Read the rest of this entry »