Action taken on dangerous building site on Deronda Road

We have been very concerned about the state of the plot of derelict land on the corner of Deronda Road and Norwood Road. While planning permission was granted for 4 new flats (Ref: 16/05859/FUL), all that seems to have happened is a dangerous demolition job. We are unhappy that it blocks the pavement and that the rubble and dumped rubbish is open, unsafe and unsightly.

We have made regular complaints to officers in planning enforcement regarding this site, and are pleased to share that we have been successful in getting a s215 notice issued. This is a legal notice forcing the land owner to clear the waste, rubbish and debris from the site; to secure the side and rear access with proper hoarding; and to maintain the land in a tidy and safe condition.

While we are waiting for the landowner to take action following the legal notice, we have worked with the Highways department to get temporary safety barriers put up around the site.

Please continue to send any concerns to us – we will continue to raise this issue until we are satisfied that the landowner has taken all necessary steps.

We have been working to get the site on the corner of Deronda Road and Norwood Road cleared up – it is spilling into the pavement and the rubbish and rubble is dangerous and unattractive.

We have spoken with community safety and planning enforcement officers who are on the case.

A number of site inspections in relation to the current state of the land have been undertaken. Planning permission (16/05859/FUL) was approved on 5 May 2017 for the erection of a 4 storey building including a mansard roof storey plus a lower ground floor level to provide 4 self-contained flats.

The commencement of works is subject to discharge of several conditions and officers have written a strongly worded letter to developer in respect to this matter. Currently, works on site appear to have cease and officers expect the submission of further details concerning the demolition to the Council before works on site continue.

However, even if works have paused, the remedial work to clear the pavement and secure the site have not happened and it continues to be unsafe and unsightly. We have written to officers again requesting stronger action taken to bring the landowners into line.

Illegal use of Avenue Park Road development site

At the weekend we saw that the Avenue Park Road site, on the corner with Thurlow Park Road, was being used to dump rubbish and that a number of caravans had arrived.

We quickly contacted community safety and planning enforcement teams in Lambeth to ask that this be investigated as soon as possible, and that all steps necessary be taken to ensure the developer removes dumped waste, prevents the site from being illegally occupied, makes the health and safety of neighbouring residents a priority and secures the site properly to prevent this from happening again.

Pushing for stronger planning enforcement in Tulse Hill

We have been concerned by recent changes in Tulse Hill – the use of the space on the corner of Thurlow Park Road and Norwood Road, and changes in use from retail to residential of shops and cafes on Station Rise. We have been pushing planning enforcement officers to address these issues.

Officers have visited the neighbourhood and written to the used car business on the corner of Thurlow Park Road. The proposed car wash being installed has been halted as it did not have planning permission, the area which was paved without permission has been depaved and damage caused by cars on the pavement to the electrical post by the bus stop has been reported to the Highways team. We believe that further work is required to check that car sales is a legitimate use of the site, to remove paving and to require that discarded concrete is removed to make the area less unsightly. We also want to ensure no part of the property is being used without authorisation as an HMO.

On Station Rise, we are worried about the apparent trend to convert retail units into flats. The Streetworks project will hopefully create a pleasant town centre space where people can use shops and cafes – retaining active shop fronts is important for this.