All England / Raynes Park Playing Fields (AELTC) site
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) sports ground is between Grand Drive, Southway, Elm Walk and Cannon Hill Lane. Development is proposed which would be accessed via Cannon Hill Lane, and a planning application has been lodged for consideration.
LATEST NEWS – OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION REFUSED - 15 MARCH 2012
At the recent meeting of the Merton Planning Committee held on 15 March 2012, this outline planning application (10/P3119) was refused. This was despite the council’s planning officer’s report recommending approval. A huge turnout by local residents and the presence of all our local Councillors filled the council chamber. Amongst the representations made by objectors, David Freeman spoke on behalf of the Residents’ Association and our Ward Councillors Gilli Lewis-Lavender and Iain Dysart, both spoke to recommend refusal. Several other councillors and residents also spoke in support of refusal. At the meeting, only the planning officer and the Applicant seemed to be in favour.
PREVIOUSLY:
All correspondence should be addressed to Mr Tony Ryan, Environment and Regeneration Department, London Borough of Merton, Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX, and must be clearly marked with your name, address and the application number (10/P3119). Alternatively you can email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
You can find the full set of documents about the application online here (search for the application number or "all england"). Note that a unique letter carries more weight than a single document with numerous signatures (or multiple copies of the same document).
A very well attended public meeting was held on 11th January 2011 at St John Fisher School. Council officers, the AELTC and a representative of the developer were in attendance. Chaired by Cllr Gilli Lewis-Lavender, dozens of questions were asked, many of which will require further work to inform the Council's assessment of the development proposal. The Residents' Association has produced notes of the meeting - please get in touch if you would like a copy.
You may wish to review the list of potential reasons for objection listed below. If you write to the Council with your comments, feel free to select a few from the list below and add any additional points of your own. Note that you should personalise your letter, rather than just copying and pasting the entire content.
RAYNES PARK PLAYING FIELDS – PLANNING APPLICATION 10/P3119
MAIN POINTS TO BE MADE IN MAKING OBJECTIONS TO THE COUNCIL
Aide –Memoire for Objections
NOTE: “application site” is the areas of land intended for housing. “The Field” is the whole area of the playing fields.
As you are no doubt aware, PCLPlanning Limited has now submitted an outline planning application for the Raynes Park Playing Fields site. Although this is an outline planning application, we should treat this as if was a full planning application. The Residents’ Association strongly objects to these proposals on a number of grounds and has submitted a formal letter of objection to this outline planning application. WE STRONGLY URGE ALL RESIDENTS WHO SHARE OUR CONCERNS TO SUBMIT INDIVIDUAL OBJECTIONS TO THE COUNCIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Some of the main issues on which you may wish to base your own objection are outlined below:
1. One playing pitch would be lost to the housing. Playing Fields need to be preserved. There is strong growth in the number of mini and junior football Clubs in Merton. Better these youngsters burn up their energy on the field, rather than at home.
2. The consultation process by the Council is faulty. There were an inadequate number of Site notices erected, considering four different roads surround the Field.
3. The description of the Application is flawed. The actual application is for the principle of building 72 dwellings NOT just the means of access to the application site.
4. The Consultants W.S. Atkins were asked by the Council to update the survey of Playing Pitches originally completed in the Merton Open Space Study ( MOSS) 2002-2005. Atkins reported that the application site “could be considered surplus to requirements in the Raynes Park Sub Area”. They did NOT say the site was surplus to the needs of the Borough which is the test required by planning guidance.
5. The Consultant’s, Atkins, findings are flawed. The strategic requirement is to estimate the playing pitch needs of the Borough for the next 15 years. They found strong evidence of a growing need for pitches not a decreasing one.
6. Merton Council is well ahead of target for the number of houses and flats being built in the Raynes Park Sub Area (the Wards of Raynes Park, West Barnes and Cannon Hill). There is no need for additional housing at present.
7. The residential scheme would provide 122 parking spaces for 72 dwellings. Raynes Park generally and Grand Drive in particular are frequently congested. This would add to the problem.
8. The applicant, The All England Lawn Tennis Club, is a rich Club. They could afford to gift the Fields to the local community. There is no proven NEED to build houses on the Fields just because they no longer have a need for them.
9. The application site, the amount of land to be used for housing is far too great. If a housing scheme is necessary it should be on a smaller area and with fewer dwellings.
10. The applicant has not made their own assessment that the application site is surplus to requirements for sports use. The Atkins Report is inconclusive at best.
11. The applicant, AELTC, has failed to undertake adequate consultation of the local community. Most of the consultation and the responses to it, relate to an earlier proposal, which was NOT a planning application, in March 2009 for a different scheme.
12. Raynes Park and West Barnes, much of which is in the floodplain, is being overdeveloped. There are four large housing schemes under construction at present. Local residents are being refused insurance cover for their houses. Merton Council needs to take this more seriously and refuse this application.
13. An additional 72 dwellings, mostly for families, will result in the need for significant extra school places. Merton is currently short of primary school provision. This scheme would intensify the problem.
14. An all-weather pitch on the Field would be let out to adult football teams who mostly play at the weekends when traffic density in Grand Drive is most acute. This would result in lots of local street parking with increasing risks to pedestrians and motorists.
15. All the evidence points to the local community being strongly opposed to the proposals. Why is the Council supporting this application?
16. The additional housing would add to flooding risks for people living in lower areas in particular West Barnes.
17. The proposed vehicle entrance for the new housing could be dangerous with a children’s’ playground so close.
18. Floodlighting the all-weather pitch would harm the amenity for existing residents in Grand Drive and Southway.
D.J. Freeman
Raynes Park & West Barnes Residents’ Association
15th January 2010