Resident pitted against worshippers as Lambeth Council abandons its own planning policy

Cars parked on the pavement, music and dancing until way past midnight, and illegal use of former industrial spaces. Not a rave, but the churches that have taken over the print works on Southwell Road. Residents are understandably angry with worshippers but the real problem is that Lambeth Council is not enforcing its own planning policy.

The precedence for the establishment of ‘Places of Worship’ in former industrial spaces in Loughbourough Junction was established a long time ago when Lambeth council effectively abandoned it’s own planning policies by allowing or turning a blind eye to places of worship (mainly churches and mosques) on the industrial estate and parade of shops at the heart of our neighbourhood.

The employment and training centre in the former Green Man pub is a good achievement but what is the point if another part of the council is allowing local jobs to hemorrhage as former workplaces get converted into places of worship just over the road from the centre?

All boroughs have a Unitary Development Plan (UDP) that defines areas for residential, employment, development, etc. On a very simple level its what would prevent a nightclub being built in the middle of a residential street.

Here are some excerpts from Lambeth Council’s UDP;

“The area around Loughborough Junction is one of the most neglected and deprived corners of Brixton, with derelict shops, sites and buildings and problems of crime……. A coordinated approach is needed towards the re use of derelict sites, buildings, and enforcement against problem uses.”

“Brixton is …. part of a ‘Cultural Corridor’ that is emerging of cultural industries all the way from Stockwell through Brixton and Loughborough Junction, Camberwell, Peckham and Deptford. As the heart of the borough there is also pressure, and a shortage of space, for voluntary and community groups.”

“As a Transport Development Area, the Council will encourage generally higher density mixed-use development provided that this secures contributions to public transport and other transport objectives. Arts and crafts uses should be retained or relocated. The creative use of arches for employment or other uses compatible with residential uses is encouraged.”

The Places of Worship, by taking spaces put aside for employment uses, are removing local employment opportunities. As Lambeth’s UDP points out, these spaces could help to put Loughborough Junction on a ‘cultural corridor’ by providing artists studios and rehearsal spaces. They could also be incubator spaces for start up businesses, food co-ops, space for voluntary organisations or community facilities.

Lambeth Council, by allowing or not enforcing planning policies on Places of Worship, is ignoring it’s own advice, pitting residents against religion and making it more difficult for future improvements to take place. If they mean what they say in the UDP and want to see any sort of regeneration o community cohesion in Loughborough Junction they must enforce their policies.

We’ve just had local elections so here’s a message to the new intake of councilors. Please make your first priority tackling this issue or you will be presiding over the further degeneration of our neighbourhood.

Loughborough Junction – centre of the universe

Because Loughborough Junction is on the edge of many constituencies and administrative boundaries it is often overlooked. We have developed the attached map to put the area at the centre of a Europe-wide transport network to make the point about how we are often overlooked when it comes to investment in transport and the public realm.

From the recent lack of a replacement bus while Coldharbour Lane is closed to the omission of a Loughborough Junction station on Phase 2 of the East London Line Extension and the withdrawal of direct services to Victoria from Denmark Hill; it is plain that we are being over looked when it comes to our transport needs. Add to this the lack of investment by the council and the fact that it does not enforce its own planning regulations and you have a spiral of decline that we want to see stopped.

When we tell people we live in Loughborough Junction we don’t want the response to be ‘Where?”, we want it to be “wow, lucky you”. This map has been produced to put Loughborough Junction on the map in a good way and remind politicians that we exist – especially when they are asking for our votes in the forthcoming national and local elections.

If you agree, show your support by;
1. forwarding this e-mail to as many people as you can who live, work or travel through Loughborough Junction
2. Print out the attached map an displaying it prominently

We’ve sent this to our politicians and their officers. We’ll let you know who replies and what they have to say.

Thanks

Paul Adlam
Chris Patterson

CC
Boris Johnson, Mayor
Valerie Shawcross, GLA member Southwark & Lambeth
Caroline Pidgeon, Chair of GLA Transport Committee
Jenny Jones, GLA Transport Committee
Peter Hendy, Commissioner, Transport for London

Kate Hoey MP (Vauxhall)
Tessa Jowell MP (Dulwich)
Harriet Harman (Camberwell & Peckham)

Steve Reid, Leader Lambeth Council
Jim Dickson, Ward Councillor
Kirsty McHugh, Ward Councillor
Rebecca Thackrey, Ward Councillor

green group’s tree planting success!

Hi all! I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has been involved in and supported the green group thus far. We have had a successful tree campaign with 15 trees being planted in the loughborough junction area over the last couple of months! Which is great news!

Our next green group meeting is this thursday 25th feb at 8pm. We are aiming to launch the ‘loughborough junction in bloom’ competition within the next couple of weeks! We hope to encourage locals to garden in their front yards and plant up window boxes for all to see!
If you would like to join us and help out then please email Carolynn52@hotmail. com if you are available for the meeting or over the next couple of months.

Thanks, Carolynn

Misleading religious advertising bought to book

When shops and small business units in Loughborough junction are vacated they have often been occupied by religious groups. Whether you think this is a good use of space that could be used for small business and local jobs depends on your viewpoint, however these groups have a big impact on Loughborough junction including how it
looks.

The churches bring large numbers of people to the area, particularly on a Sunday. Where there are large numbers of people advertisers see “target audiences” with the result that that advertising hoardings around the station and under the bridges often carry posters for events and groups aimed at the faithful.

Recently two such advertisements caught my eye as I thought the messages they contained were misleading. One showed a woman and her daughter with the line “my daughter was blind and now she can see” the other showed an image of a man springing out of his wheelchair. Soap powder manufacturers are not allowed make exaggerated claims in adverts and the same rules apply to religious groups.

I took photographs of the two posters and logged onto the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) website to see how to make a complaint. It was a surprisingly easy process that allowed me to fill in an on-line form and upload the images of the posters. I’ve had letters back from the ASA about both advertisements that shows they are being investigated. One included a written assurance from the advertisers that they would not use that advert again and a written assurance that in future they will follow the ASA guidelines on religion and spiritual healing which is that religious organisations may make claims about healing only if it is clear that they are referring to spiritual, not physical healing.

Whether you see the influx of places of worship as a smorgasboard of religious diversity or a descent into a supermarket of superstition, there is a larger debate to be had about the use of former shops and light industrial units as places of worship and what they can contribute to the regeneration of the area. Meanwhile, if you see a misleading advert, please report it to the ASA.