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Petition Tag - forest hill
1. Save the Forest in Forest Hill 
The land between Tyson Road, Honor Oak Road, Fairlie Gardens and Dunoon Road in Forest Hill London should not be developed into flats. We believe that this green open space is a precious pocket of natural beauty and is worth preserving.
This arcadian landscape is extensively wooded and has many old trees under tree preservation orders. This area is also one of the oldest and most established green sites in Forest Hill as it was once a Georgian garden. Before that it was part of the Great North Wood. To retain the character and identity of Forest Hill, we are strongly opposed to the proposed development of the site into flats which, as a green open space, currently improves the quality of life of everyone who lives, works and visits the area. It also sustains local biodiversity and wildlife.
We have seen the proposed plans and in our opinion, the development is unnecessarily large, too dense and entirely out of character with the surrounding environment.
There are a number of good planning arguments that can be used to protect this site from the proposed development and we would urge Lewisham Borough Council to reject the application on those grounds.
Please sign the petition and object to the Council by sending an email to planning@lewisham.gov.uk quoting reference DC/09/71953/X in the subject line, and include your name and address.
More information on the planning application can be found here:
http://acolnet.lewisham.gov.uk/LEWIS-XSLPagesDC/acolnetcgi.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=57224
Photos of the site and of some of the very special wildlife that it supports can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tysonroad/
2. Keep Swimming in Forest Hill
Lewisham Council is proposing to move the swimming pools from Dartmouth Road to Willow Way in Sydenham.
We believe that the new swimming pools for Forest Hill should be a high quality design, retaining the frontage block, on the Dartmouth Road site and built in the near future.
The Council is proposing two options to replace Forest Hill Pools. The first is an attractive modern design which places new pools behind the existing frontage block on Dartmouth Road. This design is favoured by local people, but the Mayor claims that it is not affordable and cannot be built before 2015 and maybe not at all. The other option is to move the pools to the industrial estate in Willow Way in Sydenham SE26. This is unpopular with local people, but it is claimed by the Mayor that it could be built soon and more affordably.
What is so good about Dartmouth Road? This site is at the civic heart of Forest Hill and has been the home of swimming for 120 years. It has good transport links and new pools here would give the town centre a lift and help the businesses along Dartmouth Road to thrive again. This plan will reuse the pools frontage block, a familiar local landmark. We believe that this plan can be made affordable if the Council will look at alternative approaches which we can present.
What is wrong with Willow Way? The site is unsuitable and is situated in a narrow side street. Moving the pools away to this site would threaten businesses on Dartmouth Road and tear the heart out of the town centre. The old pools building would be left derelict for the foreseeable future.
3. Keep the Forest in Forest Hill!
The area of land at between Tyson Road and Honor Oak Rd in Forest Hill should not be developed into flats. We think that this wild area is a valuable area of natural beauty and important for Forest Hill in retaining it’s biodiversity.
This open green space is extensively wooded and has many old trees under preservation orders. This area is one of the oldest and most established green sites in Honor Oak as it was once a Georgian garden. To retain the character and identity of Forest Hill, we are strongly opposed to the devastation of this area, which as an open space enhances the standard of living of residents in the area, not to mention the many schools and resident families surrounding the site.
We have seen the proposed plans and architect’s model of the flats and in my opinion, the development is unnecessarily large, over-dense and ambitious for the size of the site. This can only lead to a feeling of over-cramped living conditions in the local area. The existence of a 77 space car park will generate traffic problems in an already busy area, not to mention an increase of cars in a dangerous road with two schools.
The scale of the development is completely inappropriate for the area: the height of the buildings will completely compromise residents’ privacy and disrupt many currently beautiful views of Victorian and Georgian buildings and trees. The nature of the development is such that we feel it will cause total disruption in the area, not only to residents, but more importantly to the abundant nature in this spot.
Please object to the Council by sending an email to planning@lewisham.gov.uk quoting reference 08/70207 in the subject line, and include your name and address.
More info on the application is here
4. Help Save Forest Hill Conservation Area
No 1 Manor Mount wishes to demolish the back and side of a Victorian dwelling and build a two story extension to the back and a two storey extension to the side to turn a family home into a large block of flats.
This will lie directly beside No 1 1/2 Manor Mount a small Victorian Coach House and cause considerable impact, not only to this house but to the surrounding properties.
5. Protect Forest Hill Conservation Area
No 1 Manor Mount wishes to demolish the back and side of a Victorian dwelling and build a four story extension to the back and a three storey extension to the side to turn a family home into a large block of flats.
This will lie directly beside No 1 1/2 Manor Mount a small Victorian Coach House and cause considerable impact, not only to this house but to the surrounding properties.
The Sainsbury's Local on Stanstead Road, Forest Hill is advertised as being open 24 hours. The store is well noted locally for closing between 10:30 and 11pm without any display or warning. The store also has a habit of restocking at peak hours making it difficult to get to the shelves.
Also, the staff have an infuriating habit of ignoring the customer at the front of the queue to call forward anyone paying for only petrol. This is made even more annoying as there is often only 2 tills open (one of these being almost exclusively for petrol).
When the new East London Line arrives in 2010, it will mean severe and unacceptable cuts to our existing train services to and from London Bridge. We are asking for your help to fight these cuts by signing our petition.
- Direct trains to and from London Bridge are likely to be cut to four trains per hour.
- This is a reduction from the current service of six trains off peak and more at peak times.
- There will be an extra eight trains per hour on the East London Line stopping at Sydenham and Forest Hill but these will only be four carriages long, with limited seating available.
- Cuts are proposed to the Clapham Junction and Victoria service from our stations, possibly removing this service entirely.
- With these proposed cuts it is likely that London Bridge services will become even more congested than at present.
It is vital that we keep our existing level of services to and from London Bridge
We are not opposed to the new East London line - we warmly welcome it - but this should not be introduced at the cost of existing services.
This petition has been produced by the Forest Hill Society and is supported by the Sydenham Society.
