For Council to receive a Public Petition and / or a Member Petition.
One Public Petition has been received. The petition has been verified and is worded as follows:
The South Norwood
Country Park visitor centre has been closed since it was damaged by
a fire in Spring of 2020. Despite persistent engagement by the
local community, Croydon Council have not begun work to restore the
centre, set out a plan for doing so, or explained why nothing has
happened in three years since the fire.
South Norwood Country Park is an important designated local nature
reserve and provides easy access to a variety of natural habitats
that would otherwise be largely inaccessible for many residents in
the area. The visitor centre provided a vital venue for school
children to learn about and experience wildlife up close, an office
for a park warden and was a base for volunteers. The visitor centre
provided the only toilets in the park which means the park is now
inaccessible for many people and is unsuitable for large groups of
volunteers.
Since the visitor centre closed, other facilities in the park have
begun to decline - the environment garden behind the centre is
overgrown and its pond is empty, paths throughout the park have
deteriorated, and the viewing platforms at the lake have become
increasingly dangerous to use. The longer the centre remains
closed, the more damage will be done and the more it will cost to
repair.
The visitor centre is the first of many areas of South Norwood
Country Park and its management that require commitment and
leadership from the Council. An area the size of South Norwood
Country Park requires a full-time warden with experience in
conservation and a fully operational visitor centre. Reopening the
visitor centre is an important first step that would not only
restore the facilities it provides but act as a focal point for
future work in the park and a clear sign of the Council's
commitment to the people of South Norwood.
We call on the Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, to commit to
reopening the visitor centre, to set out a timeline for doing so,
and to consulting the local community about the centre's
future.
One Member Petition has been received. The Petition has been verified and is worded as follows:
Petition - Introduce a weight restriction on Heavy Goods Vehicles on Plough Lane, Purley
“We the undersigned call on the Mayor and his Administration to introduce a weight restriction on Heavy Good Vehicles (HGVs) which use Plough Lane as a short cut. This should address the volume and speed of these vehicles, road damage, increased noise, and pollution levels.
"Plough Lane has a width of 5.25 metres kerb to kerb yet is designated as a B-road which is required to meet a width of 7 metres. Plough Lane is therefore unsuitable for HGVs due to its width. However, it is used regularly as a cut through for these vehicles. Given the width of the road and the frequent usage of these large vehicles, recurrent and severe damage is being caused. Kerb stones are regularly dislodged and damaged requiring continuous repairs and in recent months there have been two major gas leaks.
"In addition, pedestrians are endangered when HGVs regularly drive onto the very narrow pavements to avoid similar vehicles moving in the opposite direction or even cars and vans. For pedestrians this is terrifying.
"Residents on Plough Lane that come under Sutton Borough are also calling for the same restrictions and are working with their local Councillors and Council officers – demonstrating the overwhelming consensus for this issue to be resolved.”
Minutes:
Mr Will Hoyle, the lead petitioner, attended Council and made a case for how important the visitors’ centre was to the community before its closure. He advised that a restored visitors’ centre would present renewed education opportunities, be a base for arts activities, allow the Friends group to expand its conservation work and bring the environment garden to its full potential.
He further advised reopening the
refreshment kiosk as an income stream for the park would give
residents the sense their park was valued and halt the decline in
recent years. He asked the Council to commit to a timeline for
reopening of the visitors’ centre in the park and actively
lead the process of exploring funding options to finance the
reopening of the centre.
The Executive Mayor thanked Mr Hoyle for bringing the petition, the
Friends Group of Southern Country Park for their great work and the
local residents who signed the petition.
He advised that the visitor centre had been severely damaged by
arson in 2020 and should have been dealt with swiftly as an
insurance claim and rebuilt by the previous administration. He
stated that the present administration was building a record of
investing in Croydon’s parks by accessing several funding
options and wished more resources was available to the Council to
help resolve the issues facing many parks in the borough.
Councillor Amy Foster, the Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and
Young People, responded by highlighting the work of the grassroots
organisations and community champions and commended their efforts
with Stanley Hall and South Norwood Library. She advised the issue
was about trust and not money, as backing the petition was a
committed group with a wealth of expertise that had raised over
£10,000 to run a pop-up visitors’ centre right next to
the building. She advised the Council should use this opportunity
to revitalize the space as this would empower local communities and
protect the Borough’s assets.
Councillor Scott Roche, the Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, clarified the works being carried out by the Council at the site, such as viewing platforms repair with £30,000 compensation from Thames Water, major ground works to improve the biodiversity of the site, and encourage more diverse bird population and, depending on finances, there were further plans to commence the maintenance programme and recruitment of Park Wardens. He stated the Council was committed to doing everything under very restricted circumstances to improve the park.
Councillor Christopher Herman, Shadow Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment, advised that since the fire, there had been no commitment to reopen the visitors’ centre or a time frame for when residents could expect anything to be done. He stated that there were legitimate concerns that without the visitors’ centre the park would continue to decline and the Council needed to be transparent and provide a time frame for the reopening of the visitors’ centre.
Mr Will Hoyle, the lead petitioner, stated the fact that residents understood the Council’s financial problems but that this did not mean the park was not falling into disrepair. What would be welcomed was the council exploring funding opportunities and the Executive Mayor committing to meeting with residents until funding was in place.
In closing, the Executive Mayor stated that despite the financial situation, the Council had shown a commitment to the improvement of parks in the borough and empowerment of local communities. He committed to meet with local residents and the Friends Group to discuss and explore sources of external funding and future improvements in the park within the financial context of the Council.
Member Petition
Councillor Holly Ramsey introduced a Petition for the introduction of a weight restriction on Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on Plough Lane, Purley.
Residents believed this measure would address issues such as the volume and speed of vehicles, safety concerns, road damage, and increased noise and pollution. She advised that although Plough Lane was unsuitable for HGVs due to its width and road setting; however, it was regularly being used as a cut-through for those vehicles, and this usage had increased substantially over the years due to continuous developments and since the opening of the incinerator in Sutton.
She stated that in recent months there had been two major gas leaks requiring continuous repairs and works with obvious financial implications for the council and other bodies. In addition, residents felt endangered when HGVs had to constantly drive onto the very narrow pavements to avoid similar vehicles moving in the opposite direction, and this was a danger to pedestrians, cyclists, those using the GP surgery and the pharmacy, and the large number of John Fisher School pupils who used Plough Lane for after school sports at the playing fields. The fact that residents on the Sutton side were calling for the same restrictions demonstrated an overwhelming consensus for this issue to be resolved, so hopefully the administrationand officers, working with Sutton Council, would find the best solution to this issue.
In response, Councillor Scott Roche,
Cabinet Member for Streets and Environment clarified that a request
was received from Sutton Council at the end of September, seeking
the Council’s views on the proposals to introduce a 7.5 tonne
restriction on Sandy Lane, Forest Drive and Plough Lane corridor
between Wallington and Perley. He explained that the length of the
corridors was in Sutton, but summer Plough Lane was within Croydon.
It was
explained the proposals were part of Sutton Council’s
wider initiative to provide healthy streets and safe conditions for
cyclists and pedestrians.
Councillor Scott Roche stated that whilst the objections were welcomed, an assessment on whether the proposals had the potential to displace issues to neighbouring parts of Croydon was needed so officers were asked to assess the proposals and report back.