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| New planning application |
| (26/Mar/2012) Basketball Practice Court |
| Dear all,
A planning application was received from London 2012 in late February or the beginning of March (on list of applications received to 12th March 2012) seeking a Variation to application 2011/1560. This was the Applciation by the ODA/London 2012 for the massive basketball facilities on Metropolitan Open Land at Porter's Field Meadow, Leyton Marshes. Now they want to dig up twice as much of our marsh! there The new application has ben allocated ref number 2012/0359, and would involve digging to twice the depth they currently have permission for. They are already digging well below the depth currently permitted This is said to be (in the screening opinion presumably) a "non-material consideration"! How can it be non-material to change from an 8 inch deep skimming of topsoil to removing nearly 2 feet of rubble? The reason given for not providing (and Borough Officers not demanding) any EIA or Archaeological Survey or Contaminated Land Report with the original application was that only 8" of topsoil - ie turf and plant roots - would be removed, and would be stored on site in mounds or bunds. If that is going to change then we need to demand a full EIAS and an archaeological opinion. In fact it is clear from the debris in the heaps of rubble and from the fact that last week the diggers actualoly hit an unexploded wartime bomb that they are already digging deep into the unspecified and unrecorded wartime rubble that was dumped on the area. The application could be determined any time under delegated powers by officers, as the officers have deemed the matter to be immaterial. It is not immaterial, and we need a local Councillor to say so and to get this huge change in the project called in to the Planning Comittee.for decision. It is not a matter that should be dealt with under delegated powers. I came to Lea Bridge Library at 11am this morning to see one of the local Ward councillors, but was told that although one of the Councillors had been here, he was filling in for another one as he was unable to attend and had already left. So I have not been able to speak to any of the Ward Councillors. However, I am copying them into this email and hope that they may very urgently take this matter up with the Planning Department. I am also copying this to Jo, Cath and Dianna, as they are Lea Bridge Ward residents and a complaint from one of them may make some difference. I am also copying in two e-discussion groups which I know also have contributors who live in Lea Bridge Ward (WF). The three Lea Bridge Ward councillors Councillors you need to pester are: Elisabeth Davies, Masood Ahmad and Afzal Akram (do bear in mind they are all in the Labour party, and it was the Labour councillors on the planning committee whose votes made it possioble for this illegal scheme to be granted planning consent - maybe they could do something to make up for their colleagues' actions). Their email addresses are above. This really needs to be done before noon on Wednesday if at all possible - as of Saturday morning the decision appears not to have been made, but they could do it anytime (there is supposed to be a 21 day period between publication of the list and a decision being made, so it could theoretically be done on Thursday this week and probably will be). I am also copying this to the Hackney Leabridge Ward Councillors. I have tried to find the list of planning applications on the WF website but have wasted a quarter of an hour failing to do so. Maybe someone who knows how to find them can please do a "reply all" with the URL asap? Katy. |
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