As your local Conservative councillors and Action Team we want to update you that Merton Council has received an amended application from Galliard Homes to develop Wimbledon Stadium.
We understand that many people are passionate about AFC Wimbledon returning to their home. However, we remain concerned about the scale of the application proposed by Galliard and that what is being proposed will not benefit the existing community. Ultimately, unless the application is improved the development will be unworkable for the Club, its supporters and for local residents.
Firstly, we want to acknowledge that the proposal has improved, there are some community facilities in the East Stand (a café and a crèche), improved pedestrian access, more cycle parking and storage and a car park for the squash club.
However, we remain unconvinced about the proposed density of the application, still at 600 housing units on a relatively small site. The lack of parking for this development is a concern in itself as are the two 10 story towers proposed on the site, when almost every building in the immediate area is lower than four stories.
Furthermore, the stadium and the new housing need a fully thought through transport strategy. Thanks to our local campaigns backed by thousands of local residents, we have improved Earlsfield Station. We have also secured some longer ten carriage trains and continue to press for more of them ahead of the operators planned 2017 delivery date. However, even with the extra capacity we know these services are already extremely busy and will merely keep pace the increasing demand, particularly at peak times. Additionally, local roads in the area are also extremely busy.
In addition to our transport concerns, we are also concerned about the wider risk of flooding caused by this development. There have been two recent flood alerts on the River Wandle Catchment area (February 2014, August 2015). If the current development goes ahead, it would have a significant impact on local flooding should it occur and increase the risk to local residents.
We are grateful to our Conservative colleagues in Merton who have secured an extended consultation period for this application, rather than the usual 21 days. As such, the deadline to respond to the consultation is the 8th October 2015.
If you feel strongly about the application, whether for or against it, please do send an email to [email protected] copying us in on our emails below. We are working both with colleagues in Merton and Wandsworth to review this and we want to make sure that whatever is decided for the sites future, that it works and supports local residents’ views.
In terms of what happens next, after the consultation closes, the Planning Committee in Merton will review the application, probably in November. To stay up to date with the progress of this application please do subscribe to our eBulletin by emailing [email protected] and ask to be added to our Earlsfield residents’ mailing list.
Ultimately, we remain convinced that this decision is one that needs to be ‘called-in’ by the Mayor of London, given that the bulk of the benefit from this development is in Merton, while the bulk of the pain caused will be on Wandsworth residents. We remain concerned that Merton’s Labour Council are politically motivated to approve the application without considering the huge impact it will have on local residents, particularly those in Wandsworth.
If you want to see the detail of the application please visit: http://tinyurl.com/WimbledonStadium
Please do respond to the consultation before the 8th October 2015 to make sure your voice is heard.
Cllr Angela Graham Cllr Charles Lescott Dan Watkins David Dean
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Your Earlsfield Ward Conservative Councillors, Tooting Parliamentary Spokesman & London Assembly Candidate