Back in October last year I noticed on a poster at my local railway station – Hackbridge – that Sutton Council had published a Planning Document on “Hackbridge – towards a Sustainable Suburb?” – an Issues Paper – and invited local residents to submit their views on the issues and draft proposals covered in the document.
Hackbridge is in the north of Sutton borough – with the River Wandle running along its western edge, the railway line along the east, Mitcham Common to the north and
Having provided detailed feedback on the issues document, I was invited to a one-day workshop held at BedZED on 19 April – jointly hosted by:
- the Council Planning Department
- the BioRegional Development Group and
- the Future Hackbridge Group.
Sutton Council is embarking on a new way of planning for the future of communities. The traditional land use planning system is changing with a new style of local development plans which will go beyond traditional land use planning and embrace the requirements for Community Plans. The overall strategic requirements will be set by the London Plan and other planning documents prepared by the Mayor of London and individual Boroughs’ strategies will be set by the wider Community Strategy and the core development plan provisions of the Local Development Framework.
I know, this sounds, like an awful lot of words (!) – but the upshot is that this new style of planning gives considerable scope at the local level – and local residents and other stakeholders can really influence how their local community develops and ensure that it does so in as sustainable a way as possibl
Hackbridge has been identified as the first area in the Borough under the new style planning framework.
BioRegional (www.bioregional.com) is an independent environmental organisation which develops practical solutions for sustainable living. Key within that is their concept of “One Planet Living”, designed jointly with the World Wildlife Fund and which provides a model for measuring ecological footprints – showing how our lifestyles impact not only on the planet, but also on other peopl
The Future Hackbridge Group comprises keen and skilled residents and business people and includes Bill Dunster – Hackbridge-based architect of BedZED. The Group have drawn up a paper with a view to Hackbridge becoming the
The concept of a sustainable suburb covers a number of themes, eg:
- reinforcing the role of retail and leisure within local centres
- protecting and promoting local environment
- promoting sustainable development patterns (with appropriate mix of housing types and employment)
- reducing car dependency
- improving the existing housing stock
- improving environmental sustainability (to include a number of "green community initiatives")
- improving the quality of design.
In total around 80 people attended the workshop and attendees included representatives from:
- the 3 host organisations
- Transport for
- London Development Agency
- Local schools (and also pupils)
- Developer
- BedZED
- EcoLocal.
Local Councillors and the local MP (Tom Brake) were also present.
The day included presentations from, amongst others, the 3 host organisations, group work, involving site visits around the area and discussions / feedback presentations when we could offer our own ideas.
I believe this was a terrific example of true consultation, with real commitment shown from everyone involved and a shared enthusiasm to take this whole thing forward. The next step is for the hosts to put firm up on an integrated strategy and action plans – and to share these with local residents and ensure that everyone in the local community is asked for their ideas and kept fully awar
I was there as a local resident – not representing the Green Party – and spoke at the end with the Chair of the Future Hackbridge Group (Simon Courage – a BedZED resident), explaining that I would like to be involved in all this in some way. I’ll keep you all informed of developments.
One final thought - I guess that Croydon Council may have similar plans for a particular area and, if so, it may be a good opportunity for a Green Party member to get involved.
If you would like any more information on what happened at the Hackbridge workshop, do please let me know.
George
George Dow
020 8773 4100
