On Tuesday evening the Mayor of London 'called in' the Galliard Homes / AFC Wimbledon application to develop the Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium.
This is something that myself and local residents in Earlsfield and Tooting have campaigned for since last year. The proposed development is on the borough boundary and we feel that Merton Council has ignored the very legitimate concerns that Wandsworth residents have about it, such as the negative impact on local transport, parking and school places. By calling in the application, the Mayor of London will have the final say on how this project should proceed.
In making his decision this week, the Mayor identifies many issues with the current application, including the below point which was at the core of our argument:
'It also is noted that the application would have a significant effect on one or more boroughs and raises strategic matters relating to transport and impact on services.'
You can read the Mayor's letter in full here.
I anticipate that the hearing will take place soon after the election of a new London Mayor and I sincerely hope that we will see improvements specified to the application that meet local residents' concerns.
Working hard with me on this campaign were local councillors Charles Lescott and Angela Graham and London Assembly candidate David Dean. All of us would like to thank the many residents who wrote in to highlight their concerns and made this campaign success possible.
I will email you in due course with further updates on this and other campaigns, but for more regular news please follow me on Twitter or Facebook