I've just submitted an objection to yet another planning application in Northwood Avenue, Purley. This time it's for a five flat block to replace a single family home, with only two parking spaces. Anyone who knows the area will be aware that parking spaces are in very short supply in this road during the daytime because lots of train commuters park their cars there.. and why shouldn't they if the alternative is to drive all the way to work? The application also talks enthusiastically about cycling options, conveniently failing to notice that the Foxley Hill Road route into Purley includes a steep hill which defeats most cyclists. The 69 page transport plan is full of stats about three boroughs in the North of London, which seems to no relevance to this application! Unusually, it includes a proposal for a Zipcar space, whose use is to be confined to the residents of the block. This seems odd, as I would have thought that Zipcars should be made available to all residents nearby.
I'm concerned that there's no lift and there's only one 3 bed flat provided, right at the top of the building. The largest flat is the one most likely to have small children, and they'll have to negotiate prams up and down two narrow flights of stairs.
More generally, this is yet another development which increases the strain on Purley as a whole, which is still providing roughly half of ALL new homes in Croydon, without any compensating increase in infrastructure. Where are the doctor's surgeries to cope with this massive new influx?
