RE: threat to Metropolitan Open Land in Southwark Plan

[Borderlands]

Just taken a quick look through the papers about the proposed new Southwark Plan having read a short piece in this week's South London Press. This mention the possibility of building on MOL that's included in it and the consultation papers. In one paper there is a proposal to alter DM57 which presumably protects MOL to allow school expansion. Even supposing that precious MOL (which has this designation because of regional and local importance) can be shaved off in this way because, say, local parents are keen for expansion, the larger document isn't so clear cut. There is no reference to such a restriction and importantly no listing of any of the particular MOL designations so this can be checked.

This is just like in the 1980s with some Southwark councillors and most officers scared of opposing building in the face of a Tory-developer led government. Then too they were scared of financial punishment. There was a ton of greenwash in the Southwark plan of that time, when community and civic societies (from the riverside to Sydenham) combined with the London Wildlife Trust and the GLC to protect Sydenham Hill Woods and other green spaces in the borough. This took years of campaigning.

Does anyone have any further information about what is proposed? An MOL designation is extremely important in terms of planning - it's our long thin borough's townscape/landscape at stake here. The designation protects our historic woods (captive countryside), the cemeteries, the parks, and the greens and playing fields. Once a way is found to circumvent this protection it will become a precedent even if no-one wants it to : a little bit taken away here or there eventually means it becomes less and less viable especially as habitat.

BTW, whatever happened to imaginative refurbishment, tracking the number of empty properties and so on rather that demolition and building on green space? This kind of LB Southwark supported development in the north of the borough particularly (around London Bridge) goes to show how little they are really interested or passionate about our borough's specific character.

[uncleglen]

It's getting ridiculous in the UK now. Having been to Leeds recently where there are massive abandoned solid buildings dotted around just left there to rot,(and I daresay other major cities have the same scenarios),and in London we are threatened with having precious green space concreted over.

[intexasatthe moment]

Borderlands - was there something in Friday's SLP ? I looked but couldn't see anything ?

What papers do you mean ?

( don't mean to sound abrupt ,sorry )