Raynes Park and West Barnes Residents' Association
Serving the community since 1928

Local issues and campaigns

• Development of sports grounds:
  • LESSA
  • Prince George's Playing Fields
  • Sir Joseph Hood Memorial playing fields
  • Royal and Sun Alliance sports ground
  • Sports grounds in general
• Flooding
• Graffiti
• Raynes Park library re-development
• Other issues
• General information about planning

Development of sports grounds

LESSA

• Letter sent to local residents by Councillor Gilli Lewis-Lavender, January 2001
• Update - January 2001
• Letter to Director of Environmental Services
• Circular regarding revised planning application, October 2001
• LESSA planning application defeated (17th October 2002)
• The story continues (Barratts appeal against the planning decision)
• Public inquiry hearing, 3rd-6th June 2003 - report and result
• Owners: London Electricity (part of EDF Energy)
• Developers: Barratt Homes Ltd.
• Consultants: Green Issues Communications
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Battle against plans for flats" (21st November 2001)
  • "Revised plans for sports site" (13th June 2002)
  • "No joy for developers" (23rd October 2002)
  • "Developers to appeal as flat plans rejected" (3rd January 2003)
  • "Flat battle continues" (9th January 2003)
  • "Flood risk at park site" (14th March 2003)
  • "Residents refuse to play ball over park homes bid" (22nd April 2004)
  • "New homes plan angers residents" (13th May 2004)
• The Mayor of London's planning decision (10th July 2002)
• Reports (in Adobe Acrobat format) presented at meetings of Merton's Planning Applications and Licensing Committee:
  • 22nd August 2002
  • 17th October 2002 (with references to the Open Spaces Study)
  • 19th December 2002 - reasons for refusing the application, together with a pre-inquiry statement for the appeal
• Aerial photographs from MultiMap and UK StreetMap

Prince George's Playing Fields

• Article from "The Guide", March 2000
• Update no. 1 (May 2000)
• Update no. 2 (May 2000)
• Response to planning framework document
• Freeholders: London Playing Fields Society
• Current leaseholders: Wimbledon Football Club
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Future plans for playing fields still cause concern" (8th August 2001)
  • "Sports field to be kept" (19th October 2001)
  • "Academy plans as Dons depart" (5th September 2002)
• GLA planning reports on the building of a temporary "Academy" on the tennis courts at the David Lloyd Club (October 2001)
• Aerial photographs of the playing field: west side, east side
• Photograph of the playing fields (40Kb)

Sir Joseph Hood Memorial playing fields

• Friends of Sir Joseph Hood Memorial playing fields
• Letter to local residents from Councillor William Brierly, September 2002
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Anger after sports club fire attack" (3rd March 2003)
  • "Club pulls out of park revamp" (30th June 2003)
• Aerial photograph

Royal and Sun Alliance sports ground

• Reasons for refusal of the planning application
• Previous owners: Royal and Sun Alliance
• Current owners: Bryant Homes Ltd.
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Schools look set to gain playing fields" (20th May 2005)
  • "'Help us get a playing field'" (13th October 2005)
• Aerial photographs: west side, east side (to the left of the picture)

Sports grounds in general

• Good news after sportsfield walkabout (July 2001)
• Merton Council Open Spaces Study - including copies of the report (in Adobe Acrobat format) and a questionnaire so you can tell the council your views on it
• Consultants: W.S. Atkins
• The government's Planning Policy Guidance Note no. 17 - "Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation"
• A possible source of grants for the improvement of open spaces: Living Spaces
• National Playing Fields Association
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Preservation of park could end" (Raynes Park playing fields - 3rd March 2003)
  • "'Dangerous' park trees face chop to protect gas pipeline" (Old Wimbledonians sports ground - 11th August 2005)

Flooding

• Development on floodplain
• History of flooding in this area, from the book by the late E.M. Jowett
• Planning application report on the St. John Fisher school extension (19th September 2001 - in Adobe Acrobat format)
• The Government's Planning Policy Guidance Note no. 25 – "Development and Flood Risk"
• Photographs of flooding
  • in autumn 2000
  • in the 1960s and 1980s
• Flood guidance and maps from the Environment Agency
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Residents who live in fear of heavy rain" (transcript of front-page story from the Merton Boro' News, December 1968)
  • "Flooding hits Raynes Park" (from the Wandsworth Guardian, date unknown)
  • "Residents given flooding advice" (5th January 2001)
  • "Flooding concern about sports ground proposal" (17th January 2001)
  • "Schools chance floodplain plan" (28th September 2001 ?)
  • "It's plain to see where homes will be flooded" (14th October 2004)
  • "Flood risk survey on the cards" (9th February 2006)
• Flood warnings:
  • Beverley Brook (Worcester Park to New Malden)
  • Pyl Brook (Sutton to New Malden)
  • East Pyl Brook (Sutton to Raynes Park)
• An EU project about the wise use of floodplains

Graffiti

• The writing on the wall
• Graffiti removal squad
• Merton Council information about graffiti removal
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Spray of hope in town's graffiti wars" (26th April 2002)
  • "Street names to go up in the world in a bid to beat tagger vandalism" (3rd March 2003)
  • "Graffiti cleanup" (22nd July 2003)
  • "Children consulted over graffiti plague" (6th October 2003)
  • "New graffiti law to be piloted across borough" (28th November 2003)
  • "Graffiti removal booked" (28th November 2003)
  • "New graffiti removal powers to be tested" (25th March 2004)
  • "New powers to clean up graffiti" (15th April 2004)

Raynes Park library re-development

• Introduction (September 2000)
• Update (March 2003)
• Developers:
  • Michael Shanly Group (withdrawn)
  • Exel Group (rejected)
  • McCarthy and Stone (new owners of site)
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Library is back on the cards" (26th April 2002)
  • "Another chapter begins for 'bigger' library plan" (1st May 2002)
  • "Help out at your library" (12th March 2003)
  • "Readers' fury at library plans" (31st December 2003)
  • "Library's last orders" (23rd January 2004)
  • "Library users unite to fight for facilities" (6th February 2004)
  • "Campaign's new chapter" (13th February 2004)
  • "Merton books place at bottom of library league" (6th May 2004)
  • "Library now calling at..." (4th November 2004)
  • "Memories encapsulate Merton" (27th January 2005)
  • "Questionnaire is novel way to take library into future" (10th February 2005)
  • "Out of the pub, into the library" (16th September 2005)
• New Raynes Park library open - details from the Merton council site
• Merton's Libraries and Heritage Service
• Planning application reports from Merton Council (in Adobe Acrobat format):
  • 19th September 2001
  • 8th May 2003
• Merton Council press release: "Sale of former library site" (21st January 2004)
• Pressure groups:
  • The Library Campaign
  • Libraries for Life for Londoners

Other issues

• Phone mast at Motspur Park - an instant win!
• Wimbledon Union of Residents' Associations 2000
• B&Q, Burlington Road:
  • Mayor of London's report on the proposed re-development of the site (26th September 2002 in Adobe Acrobat format)
  • Local newspaper article: "B&Q development in store" (8th July 2004)
• Raising standards of maintenance at Motspur Park Railway Station
• Controlled parking zone proposals for Raynes Park (June 2004)
• Thames Water and car park site in Coombe Lane:
  • Planning brief adopted by Merton Council in July 2005 (in Adobe Acrobat format)
  • Update (September 2005)
• Charlwood House - the new development on the site of the old Co-Op in Coombe Lane
• Local newspaper articles:
  • "Fight sparks fears over number of pubs in Raynes Park" (8th February 2002)
  • Seaforth Avenue post office:
    • "Battle begins to save threatened post office" (7th February 2003)
    • "Elderly to be hit by post office closure" (14th March 2003)
  • St. Catherine's school: "Flats will ruin green space, say protestors" (31st January 2003)
  • West Barnes Lane railway bridge:
    • "Network Rail to assess pigeon problem" (10th February 2003)
    • "Dirty work is delayed" (15th September 2003)
    • "Feathered friends prove to be a mucky menace" (8th July 2004)
  • Traffic calming in Grand Drive: "Blackspot may go" (5th September 2003)
  • Cannon Hill Lane: "Fears raised over protected trees" (5th September 2003)
  • Cannon Hill Common:
    • "Fishing line 'is killing birds' " (13th February 2004)
    • "No drug dealing found by joint investigation" (10th February 2005)
    • "What a waste: Common's abandoned pavilion falls prey to the vandals" (26th May 2005)
    • "New life for old pavilion" (23rd June 2005)
    • Suspected arson at pavilion: "End of an era" (24th February 2006)
  • Raynes Park station:
    • "Station gets 'secure' " (31st October 2003)
    • "Station project under fire" (12th December 2003)
    • "£750k to give travellers first-class train stations" (27th January 2005)
  • Bodnant Gardens: "Anger as phone mast erected near school" (28th April 2004)
  • Coombe Lane launderette:
    • "Controversy over arcade plan" (29th April 2004)
    • "Debate bubbles over" (29th July 2004)
    • "Laundrette supporters get hung out to dry" (2nd December 2005)
  • "'Eyesore' fears for Raynes Park town centre" (10th February 2005)
  • Grand Drive/Cannon Hill Lane: "Shopkeepers' anger over traffic calming" (26th August 2004)
  • Controlled Parking Zones:
    • "Parking battle may go to court" (4th November 2004)
    • "'Park at your peril'" (27th January 2005)
    • Motspur Park: "Parking plans on hold" (10th February 2006)
  • Public transport:
    • "Police to patrol no. 57 bus route: Dedicated team to tackle rise in antisocial behaviour" (11th November 2004)
    • "Bus 152 third on shame list" (13th October 2005)

  General information about planning

  • Merton Council planning department index
  • Merton's Unitary Development Plan
  • Reports on strategic planning decisions in Merton considered by the Mayor of London
  • planningNet - the resource for local people and communities who want an effective say in building and development in their areas
  • Network of Residents' Associations

  See also our archive of Monthly Notes.

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