Some of the buildings which would be included in the Area of Special Local Character.
Chloe Ducroizet-Boitaud, the Council’s Design & Conservation Officer told the Society its response was very detailed and helpful. Many of the suggestions made by the Society will be incorporated into the proposal which goes before the Mayor and Cabinet for approval on February 25th.
If it’s approved the Council says it should “inform planning applications within the ASLC”. This would affect any plans to develop the car yard at the end of Lee High Road and buildings backing onto it on Lee Road.
Ms Ducroizet-Boitaud adds “I also want to reiterate that getting Lee Green designated as a Conservation Area remains one of our top priorities, which we will be working on once we have finished our current programme of government-funded work on existing conservation area appraisals.” Lewisham is working with Greenwich Council on this as a joint project.
Three mature London plane trees on Eltham Road have been taken down by tree surgeons to make way for the new Leegate development.
Caroline Bray posted on Facebook: “The trees have gone. Three huge London Planes that had tree preservations orders that meant nothing in the face of developer’s money. I felt sick all afternoon.”
Michael Haste, the Lee Manor Society planning expert explains: ” A Tree Protection Order is overridden by a Planning Approval Notice where it is clear that a tree or trees are required to be felled to implement an approved scheme. London Square (and Galliard) made clear that certain trees were to be felled in their applications.”
Lewisham planners agreed London Square could cut down the trees at a meeting earlier this month.
The site today without trees. Pictures: M Haste
The original planning permission applied a condition which said “No development shall commence until a Tree Protection Plan (TPP) in respect of the existing trees to be retained has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Council. The TPP shall follow the recommendations set out in BS 5837:2012 (Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – Recommendations). The TPP shall also clearly indicate on a dimensioned plan superimposed on the building layout plan and in a written schedule details of the location and form of protective barriers to form a construction exclusion zone, the extent and type of ground protection measures, and any additional measures needed to protect vulnerable sections of trees and their root protection areas where construction activity cannot be fully or permanently excluded.”
Planning officers said the Council Tree Officer had confirmed London Square had submitted sufficient information to discharge the condition. However they added that London Square had “agreed to retain an existing tree on Leyland Road following officer concerns with regard to the original intention to fell.”
Aidan Pritchard, the project Director told the Public Meeting last week that several trees had protection policies already put in place on them and they had been “hoarded off “and protected. But the others would be removed by tree surgeons after the plans had been approved.
Michael Haste adds: ” A Tree Protection Plan is not a Protection Order and only applies to those trees that are to be retained. London Square have either protected by hoarding those that sit inside the construction site or have left them exposed where they sit outside of the hoarding as they are not at risk. “
Aidan Pritchard, Project Director at London Square, alongside Simon Bucks of the Lee Manor Society
London Square’s project director of the Leegate development told a packed public meeting at Lochaber Hall on Wednesday that the demolition phase is expected to be completed by the summer. He also confirmed to the Lee Manor Society that all asbestos on the site has now been removed.
Mr Pritchard explained that once the demolition is complete, London Square will need to pass “Gateway 2”. The three-stage Gateway system was brought in under Building Safety Act 2022 following the Grenfell fire. London Square will need approval for its management of safety critical fire and structural risks on the site, before it can start the construction phase.
Mr Pritchard told the meeting, attended by around 80 people, that Gateway 2 approval can take anything from 12 to 30 weeks.
“The work will commence, once we get that approval. So I can’t give you a start date because that approval is very much out of my hands,” Mr Pritchard explained.
“We have to just give the information. They will review it. They’ll come back with comments, structural, fire, everything like that, and hopefully they will be happy.”
“At the moment, we’re doing a lot of ground investigation. Unexploded ordnance (wartime bombs) is a massive part of that.” It’s understood that so far none have been found.
As far as asbestos removal is concerned, Mr Pritchard explained it was carried out by certified experts. “They create an area only they can work in, which won’t impact anyone else . They also have dedicated routes around the site, so they can’t just come through to another area and spread it. They have to stay within the own area and clean themselves off before they leave.”
Leegate is now under wraps to contain any dust created during demolition.
Once Gateway 2 approval is achieved the construction team will be able to start “piling” – a process of driving or drilling vertical steel or concrete columns into the ground. These piles transfer he weight of the new buildings to deeper, more stable soil or rock layers below. London Square will tell residents when this is starting.
Mr Pritchard also explained that much of the material from the old buildings, once demolished, would be used for “crush” or hardcore as part of the foundations of the new development. All the debris from the demolition is sorted into different coloured bins. London Square has targets for the amount of material which is recycled.
Mr Pritchard told the meeting there was a full traffic management plan for the project. There are dedicated routes and timings for vehicles entering and leaving the site.
Several people asked about car-ownership and parking for residents in the development. Jim Mallory, Chair of the Lee Green Consortium, who co-chaired the meeting, said “The scheme has a no-car ownership policy, except for a number of disabled people. Now, you and I know that it will be impossible. I can’t believe that every single resident will not have a car.”
Mr Pritchard confirmed that eventually there would be no parking on the site for workers, expected to number up to 300. He thought most would use public transport to get to Lee but if any used their cars he couldn’t say where they would park. He thought the majority would have their tools delivered to the site and leave them there overnight. Residents in nearby streets where there is unrestricted parking will doubtless be alert to any extra vehicles being left there.
Lee Green Councillor James Rathbone said there had been a consultation on controlled parking zones last year, and on some roads residents wanted them and on others they didn’t . But he added ” Obviously, with the development being built and a large number of people in it, that may change people’s opinions, and closer to the time it would be sensible to have another consultation of the streets immediately adjacent to it.”
Aidan Pritchard agreed to follow up on several points raised by the audience:
A loud humming noise coming from the site at night.
The periphery hoarding which had reduced the size of a walkway on the edge of the site.
“Snow-like” particles blowing about Eltham Road. Pritchard said he was confident that there had been no leakage of asbestos during the removal process.
Will there by a lay-by for the bus stop on Burnt Ash Road?
Investigate complaints about a security dog which has been barking at night. Pritchard said they would be talking to the security contractor.
Provide site contact numbers on the hoarding and ensure there is always a phone contact for residents to report any issues.
Mr Pritchard agreed to explore a suggestion from Caroline Mayow to put up a bulletin board on the corner of Burnt Ash and Eltham Roads, to provide up-to-date information about the development. This will also be published on the Lee Manor Society website along with photos and videos of the work as it progresses.
Residents thought it would be a good idea to hold a follow up meeting when the next stage of the development is underway, Relevant Council officers and Councillors would also be invited to speak.
