Conservation Area? Hung vote for Triangle  development  August 2008


An artist's impression of the proposed development
An artist's impression of the proposed development

On 31st July 2008, Croydon’s Planning Committee was undecided on an application for one of the largest residential development applications made for the Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace Triangle conservation area. Public objectors, jubilant that the application had been refused, were outraged when controversial further voting resulted in a ‘hung’ decision referring the application for future consideration.

Read the full story on our Planning page

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Volunteering in Penge
 August 2008


The Metropolitan Police is seeking 10 or more people to help them help the public with their enquiries in Copperfield House, Maple Rd, Penge. Have you got time Monday to Friday to be a Volunteer Front Counter Assistant for the Penge Community Police Office?

Volunteering in Penge

If this interests you, please contact Sara-Jane Flynn on 020 8284 8782 or email Sara-Jane.Flynn@met.police.uk.

You don't need to be on the beat to make your community safer. Whether you're on the phones or supporting your Safer Neighbourhood Team, every Met Volunteer makes a difference.

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Sale of Crystal Palace Parkland for private luxury  flats?  24 June 2008


CPCA chairman John Payne serves objection to the Masterplan on Bromley Council
CPCA chairman John Payne serves objection to the Masterplan on Bromley Council

For two years the London Development Agency maintained the deception that there would be no housing on Crystal Palace Park within their ‘regeneration’ proposals. Despite this, the LDA Masterplan recently submitted to Bromley contains proposals for blocks of 180 private luxury flats on the Grade II* registered, Metropolitan Open Land and Conservation Area protected Crystal Palace Park.

The CPCA formal objection to the LDA Masterplan has been served on Bromley Council and copied to the London Mayor and English Heritage.

To access the objection in full, click here (pdf 280kb).

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Spring 2008 Newsletter available online
 April 2008


CPCA newsletter Spring 2008

Our Spring 2008 newsletter is an important edition that covers the LDA Master plan application for Crystal Palace Park in great detail.

One of the leading articles 'Proposed ‘rebuild’ of the Crystal Palace' is reproduced below, and the whole newsletter is available now to read online or download as a 2MB pdf file.

Read our Spring 2008 newsletter online in Adobe Acrobat format Spring 2008 Newsletter(2MB)

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Proposed ‘rebuild’ of the Crystal Palace
 [From the CPCA Spring 2008 newsletter]


The much-hyped new construction at Crystal Palace Park is not, as claimed, a ‘rebuild’ of the Crystal Palace. It is a vast commercial complex, marketed as a fairy story, but in truth a desecration of public parkland for private profit.

This massive scheme, with its associated infrastructure, would occupy up to 20 acres of Crystal Palace Park hilltop – the area originally earmarked for the abortive multiplex. However, this parody of the Hyde Park Crystal Palace is anything but miniature. At a third the size (although currently quoted as two thirds the size) of the one million square feet Sydenham Crystal Palace, its prime use would be as a 4/5 star hotel, with conference facilities, unspecified leisure/recreation uses and other commercial activities.

Sue Nagle, a former resolute opponent of major built development on the hilltop, but now a leading proponent of the so-called ‘rebuild’, claims in the Norwood Society’s Spring 2008 Review that: “The scheme, estimated at £265 million, will be privately funded” and that: “ Not one penny from the public purse will be necessary!” Ms Nagle modestly claims that the proposed hotel, recreation and leisure complex: “is going to be the most prestigious building in the world”.

Another Crystal Palace replica – Homebase, Catford
Another Crystal Palace replica – Homebase, Catford

As a blatantly commercial venture, one would not expect it to receive benefit from the public purse, but with breathtaking arrogance Ms Nagle calls upon Bromley Council to commit valuable land, they hold in trust for their council tax-payers, to enable this commercial speculation.

Corporate investors would not believe their good fortune should such an outrageous strategy be successful. Some might consider the ‘rebuild’ an audacious attempt to railroad-through commercial development, in a pastiche of Paxton’s Crystal Palace, whilst hijacking public land worth millions of pounds.

Visitors to Ms Nagle’s Church Road exhibition were shown a redundant video that featured the 1851 Hyde Park Palace and not the 1854 Sydenham Palace, and may not have realised there is no proposal to rebuild a replica of Paxton’s original Crystal Palace and that they were being asked to support development of a five star hotel with other recreational and leisure facility. Surprisingly, despite claims that “funding is in place”, the architect is unable to provide an updated DVD due to cost restraint, and no planning application supported by Environmental and Transport Impact assessments has been submitted to Bromley.

Blanket opposition to the multiplex revolved around, not just permanent loss of parkland, but also the damaging effect on the surrounding area and roads of a large one-stop commercial development with an insatiable appetite for a procession of service vehicles and cars.

When Bromley granted planning permission for the multiplex they did so in the awareness that an investment of this scale could not be allowed to fail. Accordingly, the applicant was given carte blanche for possible change of use to ensure the continued viability of the development. The same would be true of the proposed Crystal Palace building with its multi-million pound investment.

If for whatever reason, the operation of the proposed 4/5 star hotel-recreation-leisure complex were to become unviable, conversion of the complex to expensive luxury apartments would be a likely outcome.

Worryingly, Mayor Livingstone, Cllr Stephen Carr, Leader of Bromley Council and Cllr Mike Fisher, Leader of Croydon Council, are quoted as supporting the idea despite the absence of a planning application, Environmental Impact Assessment, Traffic Impact Assessments or basic business plan. Such proposal would be contrary to the Mayor’s London Plan and Bromley’s and Croydon’s UDPs, which maintain that protection of Metropolitan Open Land is paramount.

Some might favour a small structure, commemorating Paxton’s original Palace that would provide access and protection to the Subway and the tree-lined ridge, with possible uses that were not overtly commercial. It would, of course, need to respect the Crystal Palace Acts and be ancillary to MOL uses.

Would future generations thank us for allowing yet more depletion of green open space for further commercial exploitation of a public park? What is really needed to enable ‘regeneration’ of the area is the restoration of this once beautiful park – to become again a landmark in its own right.


[Those who wish to see the whole newsletter, click here]

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They want your park
The CPCA has received this photograph and although we do not condone the defacing of notices, in this instance, whoever altered the word POD! to PARK may have a valid point!