Lea Marshes   Basketball project   Protest about plan to change working hours    Ian Rathbone Labour Councillor London Borough of Hackney Members' Services Town Hall, Mare Street London E8 1EA 0208 356 3373 0208 356 4052 7th June 2012 Our ref: LBH86256-12 Your ref: 2012/0684 Terunesh McKoy Development Manager London Borough of Waltham Forest By email: terunesh.mckoy@walthamforest.gov.uk Dear Terunesh McKoy, I am writing to you following notification to me that a new non material planning application 2012/0684 was lodged by London 2012 on 23 May with Waltham Forest Council. This will allow work to continue at the basketball training courts until 22.00 Monday to Friday, 18.00 on Saturday and from 10.00 to 18.00 on Sunday. The original planning permission was until 18.00 Monday to Friday, 13.00 on Saturday and no working on Sunday at all. This is obviously a material change in the hours. On behalf of my residents I am objecting in the strongest possible terms to this extension of hours, particularly Sunday working. This is offensive in religious terms when Sunday is a day when people of faith worship, and many also meet their families, and means that residents do not get even one a day a week off from the nuisance of a building site a few yards away from their homes. It really is a disgrace that bit by bit London 2012 are unfairly taking advantage of the situation without the slightest consideration for local residents. Residents want to feel free for some part of the week to walk in that area without fear of being watched by people from the construction site, not to mention the noise and distraction of equipment and people moving around. The extension of working hours is also likely to result in light pollution and potential impacts upon ecology and habitat such as foraging bats, which the permission expressly sought to restrict. The original hours were given in Condition 19 precisely because the planning officers and the planning committee councillors thought it was important to minimise the impact of noise on nearby residents and users of the Marsh. By definition longer hours will increase the effect such noise has. Especially on nearby residents in Riverside Close and Lathams Yard in Leabridge Ward where I am a councillor. This application is a material change not a non-material change. Any decision on this application should only be made by the Planning Committee. A non material application deprives nearby residents and users of the land of the chance to comment on the application. Under the Town and Country Planning Act Section 73 a full application for Variation of Condition should be submitted which allows for normal consultation and publicity requirements. The applicant London 2012 has no demonstrable interest in the land.  More widely, the many minor adjustments are translating into significant cumulative impacts. This should not be allowed to continue. The cumulative impacts of these variations, including working hours, should be subject to proper planning control by the Authority. A full description of the works and operations and their impact should be required to be submitted, advertised, and made the subject of public consultation. Non-material and minor amendment procedures are inappropriate in these circumstances. No unfairness or injustice will result from refusing to accept a minor or non-material amendment application. The applicant may apply for the condition to be varied or may choose to submit a new or revised planning application, an approach which seems increasingly appropriate given the scale of the changes to the approved scheme and the consequent scale and impact of the reinstatement works.  Yours sincerely,    Ian Rathbone Councillor - Leabridge Ward Cc: Councillors Oguzkanli, Buitekant and Nicholson, London Borough of Hackney Councillors Akram, Ahmad and Davies, London Borough of Waltham Forest Meg Hillier MP; Diane Abbott MP; Stella Creasy MP Claire Weiss, 5 Lea Hall Road, E10 7AR Katy Andrews, Hornbeam Environmental Centre, 458 Hoe Street, London e17 9AH Save Leyton Marsh Group and other local residents (by e-mail) Graham Loveland; Stephen Wilkinson, LVRPA; Ian Ansell, LBWF (June 7, 2012)