Community hard won victory for Old Tidemill Community

A hard won victory was gained by the Community yesterday evening when Councillors sitting on the Strategic Planning Committee UNANIMOUSLY supported the Community objectors (Chris for Princess Louise Building, Andy for Frankham House, Pauline from Reginald House & myself representing the Friends of Old Tidemill Garden and DNA (Deptford Neighbourhood Action – the Local Neighbourhood Forum together with James a garden volunteer) request to defer the Planning Application to re-develop the Old Tidemill School, buildings grounds and wildlife garden.

This has granted the Local residents and the Friends of Old Tidemill much needed breathing space to re-invigorate their efforts for a community collaboration on the Development Plans going forward.

The plans have been deferred on many issues; the dislike of a gated garden area proposed in the middle of the new development which also included a wall separating off one group of residents from the other; the plans to demolish Reginald House – 13 social housing homes currently owned by Lewisham Council – whose tenants would have very insecure futures in the proposed plans as would the three leaseholders; restrictions of sunlight combined with the intolerable proximity of the proposed new buildings for the residents of both Frankham House and the Princess Louise Building; and lastly the combination of effects which would result from the obliteration of the Community’s wildlife Garden: a little peace of heaven in Deptford which (with and all its the plant and wildlife) has been hanging on by a thread while it continues to provide a beautiful peaceful and healthy space for community events, access to nature and mindfulness for all ages – the benefits of which are well documented and provide the reasoning behind the Environmental and sustainability policies, both London wide and Local Council wide which are there to protect green spaces.

Placards declaring “Deptford aint having it”, and Tidemill – A Good Deal For All, revealed the heart and soul of people from the community who stood vigil outside the Civic Suite both pre and during the battle last night. People of all ages from kids upwards were determined not to see their community “done to” (as one councillor put it in summing up) yet again.

All of the objectors stated that they were not against Development per se but wanted to see a community collaborative development which meets all the differing needs of the community, and most crucially, both provides for more social housing and private housing for local people on low to middle incomes, as well as retaining the wildlife garden (using S.106 monies to enable it to be open to the community every day of the week in the future). Part of the information pack produced by the Community objectors contained alternative plans setting out a future vision of this space showing that it is possible to both provide the amount of housing needed and build it sensitively in relation to the other buildings on the perimeter of the site, whilst retaining the whole wildlife garden.

The Councillors avoided being pushed into a corner by the Planning Officers and held out in support of the community for a more collaborative approach to find an agreed way forward.

One of the suggestions put forward by the Developers was that the community could create a new nature garden on the scrappy piece of grass land on the corner of Reginald road and Deptford Church Street – this being about one sixth of the size of the Wildlife garden and having no trees and wildlife on it, as it is situated on one of the busiest and most polluted junctions in Deptford. No way could that compensate for the loss of the wildlife garden and all that it is to the Community – that idea was given a short shrift – as the Community says “Deptford aint having it.”

http://www.timeout.com/london/attractions/old-tidemill-wildlife-garden#tab_panel_3