City Hall refuses to listen, approves Motspur Park plans

We are deeply disappointed by the Deputy Mayor of London’s decision on Tuesday to agree to the Motspur Park Gasholders development.

We had hoped he would have listened to the views of countless local residents and businesses, and recognised the very valid objections to the development as it had been submitted.

The local residents could not have done more. Their representatives at the hearing made outstanding speeches full of genuine concerns and legitimate reasons why the development should not go ahead.

The most serious impact on Sutton residents will be an overload of traffic on Central Road where congestion is already unacceptable, and also on Green Lane, the only road access route into the development. Further issues over displaced parking demand on nearby roads simply added to the long list of reasons to object.

Before the hearing we met regularly with Councillors involved from both Kingston and Merton. 

The broader objections to the development, and the reasons for the original refusal by Kingston Council were clear; it is too tall, overdeveloped and is situated in a wider area of Metropolitan Open Land.

We agree that building more homes is desperately needed, particularly for countless local young people struggling to get on the property ladder, but this should not be achieved by compounding existing problems in Worcester Park.

We were pleased to be joined in our opposition to the development as proposed by Luke Taylor MP and Sutton Council - both of whom lodged formal objections during the initial phase of the proposals.

As the development is not situated within the London Borough of Sutton we did not have an official voice at the hearing - but our colleague Councillor Callum Morrissey from Kingston Council spoke on the day and we thank him for all he did to make the right case.

But this is just the beginning - and we will continue to use our voices to support local residents. We will engage with Berkeley throughout the removal of the existing structure and the building process, carefully monitoring the effects on traffic on Green Lane as well as monitoring the handling of any contaminated material being moved from the site to make sure it conforms to the highest standards.

At the same time we will be doing everything we can to remind them how vital their responsibility is to minimise disruption and are especially careful not to cause chaos at school arrival/pick-up times. We will also push at all opportunities for a proper, long-term solution to the congestion on Central Road and Green Lane, a proper parking solution, and an increase in public transport capacity for the Worcester Park area.

This was not the outcome the community wanted or deserved - and so we take seriously our role in reminding Berkeley of that by holding them to account and making sure Worcester Park's voice is still heard. It’s hugely important that they take these issues seriously and tread lightly on our community - considering their project was not welcomed by us in the first place.

Going forward, it’s important to remember that we do still have a voice over how Worcester Park evolves through the Sutton Local Plan, the latest edition of which is currently open for public consultation - but only for another week! Remember to have your say on your priorities as soon as possible, don’t miss out!