A brief update as of 2-March-2021, while still in lockdown three. Indeed Wandsworth Council's Planning Application Committe earned the community-activism a reprieve from the crazy-golf developers. This is from newsletter of a respected Wandsworth Councillor Tony Belton on the PAC:
Of course the dragged-in-mud reputation of "Putt-In-The-Park" enterprise does not interefere with their entrepreneurial avarice, and have subsequently appealled the decision to Wandsworth and the central planning inspectorate.
The many in the local community are pushing-back against such crazy-golf development in preferring Common land stay in Common community hands. The arguments for preservation are many. Ranging from plastic-pollution to loss-of-sporting amenity of the development proposal. Yet conservatorship of Clapham Common falling on Lambeth Council hands, offer the argument: that they cannot maintain bowling-greens sustainably due to financial-budget pressures. Not the bean-counters fault, but perennial mismanagement by Lambeth Council is my personal observation.
So we have one final re-course to figh-the-power.
The deadline for
submitting objections is March 8th quoting reference no. COM/3268390 and they go to :- commonlandcasework@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
Template:
Reference No. COM/3268390.
Putt in the Park. Bowling Greens, Clapham Common, SW4 9AN
Dear Sir/Madam...
First you should say briefly where you live, if you are local, and that you don't approve of the project.
You should give some of the arguments against it. Please feel free to use the ones we've listed below. (See Cllr. Belton planning-clarified argument above)
Finish by urging the Inspectorate to refuse the application.
Yours faithfully,
Template:
Reference No. COM/3268390.
Putt in the Park. Bowling Greens, Clapham Common, SW4 9AN
Dear Sir/Madam...
First you should say briefly where you live, if you are local, and that you don't approve of the project.
You should give some of the arguments against it. Please feel free to use the ones we've listed below. (See Cllr. Belton planning-clarified argument above)
Finish by urging the Inspectorate to refuse the application.
Yours faithfully,
Save the Green!
Sign the petition!
Write in to Consultation by 28th October 2020 - Hurry HERE! or search "Plannning application for Pavillion 2020/253
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| Clapham Common Bowling Green in in Aug'17 |
I hope residents living around the Clapham Common green space, will object strongly, or indeed otherwise, to the re-designation of the Bowling Green Pavilion: "Change of use from D2 Pavilion to A3 - Restaurants and cafes". I and a few other reidents expressed concern in April 2019 when I posted original note Clapham Common Westside Bowling Green Closure.
My objection to the whole idea of crazy-golf articulated as “Putting In The Park” is simple. I for one really do not want a part the common land belonging to generations of past and present taxpayers hived-off / leased to private enterprise to run and manage for profit, or even for non-profit impetus. It simple because its says so on the tin; its in the name of our park “Clapham Common”. “Common” land for us, the locals and residents.
From that over-arching principle – we do still have them in this fair but firm land – many arguments for and against re-designation from bowling-green facility to crazy-golf can and has been made surely. From a political perspective, Lambeth Council have conceded they do not have the financial budget to manage and operate lawn-bowling outdoors without loss of income (instead its offering one indoor carpet bowling in Brixton). Lambeth officialdom of Councillors and managers have also got rid off lawn bowling greens in nearby Brockwell Park. Yet Tory / Conservative managed council Wandsworth, through outsourced “Enable” maintain lawn-bowling facilities at two of its centres on Wandsworth Common and St Georges Park, I believe.
So the falacious argument that bowling is in poor demand by gentle Wandsworth residents is NOT the over-riding reason, but that Lambeth maintained the bowling green in poor state i.e. did not resurface the lawn but paid one groundsman “Steve” c.£30k annually for its up-keep, toiling against the odds. Therefore serious bowling-enthusiasts did not use Clapham Common bowling, only occasional young revellers with their beer-bottles in hand used facility. That the moribund state Lambeth managed the facility towards. The rationale for bowling-green re-designation should not be Lambeth management incompetency. And its adjunct implication of wasted taxpayer funds.
(Towards joined-up-thinking it should be here noted that Lambeth Council taxpayers have allocated £210,000 to re-surface a large chunk of the Northside of the Common in preparation for commercial “events”, with tougher grass (less conducieve to fauna) and better drainage – when two bowling greens couldn’t be re-surfaced and operated. Labour-controlled Lambeth Council would seem to have Tory aspirations towards capitalism too!)
That was only eloaborating on the political perspective allied to Council finances which would seem to dictate this change of use from its original intended purpose. “Conservatism” seems dead from local political-powers, that of conserving benefit for the future residents and taxpayers.
Other Principal Considerations:
1. Covid19 / pandemic has highlighted necessity of PRESERVING public open-spaces sports like bowling
2. Wandsworth residents will be SUBSIDIZING Lambeth taxpayers
3. Change to a restaurant from sports-purpose usually accomodates an ALCOHOL license
4. Idyllic corner of Clapham Common Westside will become SUPER-CHARGED in nature
5. Astro-turf crazy-golf features is insulting to GREEN-ENVIRONMENT trends
Etcetera
Posted by local resident of 40+ years, and now Clapham Common tennis-coach and activist Krishna Siva, please contact me on lineball@talktalk.net for further information.
Etcetera
Posted by local resident of 40+ years, and now Clapham Common tennis-coach and activist Krishna Siva, please contact me on lineball@talktalk.net for further information.
