I have enormous sympathy for the residents of More Close Purley. It used to be a quiet cul-de-sac off Russell Hill with just 13 family homes and gardens and, dare I say it, parking for one or two cars per house. It's quite close to the Russell Hill / Russell Hill Road junction where literally hundreds more flats are also being constructed.
Since January 2019 planning permission has been granted or is under consideration for # 1 2 3 4 5 More Close ALL to be separately replaced by blocks of up to nine flats. Despite the fine words in the individual Construction Logistics Plans, there's been absolutely no coordination between the different developers and it is a routine event to find the road is blocked for long periods.
And now, to compound the misery of the long-suffering residents, a developer has put in an application to demolish #6 More Close and replace it with... yes an ugly block of nine flats with only four parking spaces but 19 cycle spaces!
Croydon's planning documentation (DM10 if you're interested) says that they "will take account of cumulative impact" of lots of developments close together, yet this rule is being flagrantly ignored all round Purley, and particularly in More Close.
Over the last 30 months, planning permission has already been granted for about 60 individual homes to be replaced by about 450 new flats, and other largescale developments in the Purley district centre are contributing another 750 flats. This totals about 1200 homes which is over 50% of the annual requirement for new homes for the WHOLE OF CROYDON. If this does not constitute cumulative impact, then what does?
I’m very concerned about the impact that such intensive development of Purley is already causing on the local health & education services, because nearly all infrastructure investment goes elsewhere in the borough. The delays for appointments in local surgeries get ever longer, and despite a 4000 signature petition, the Council has announced that the Purley Leisure Centre will never re-open. Purley residents are being seriously short-changed by this Labour administration.
If you wish to object, on grounds perhaps of over-development, being out of character and inadequate parking, please write to [email protected] quoting reference 21/05035/FUL no later than 30 November 2021.
