The Hadley Property Group and Clarion Housing Association are about to be granted planning permission to demolish the Blenheim Centre in Penge High Street and build a super dense high-rise complex in its place. The plans have been approved by Bromley’s planning committee and the GLA, although final approval has not yet been granted, as there are various details that need to be agreed between Bromley Council and the developers.
Permission was granted despite an admission by both the GLA and Bromley’s planners that the proposal breaches multiple aspects of planning guidelines, and 1200 objections being lodged by the public.
Those wishing to prevent the development and now have 3 options, only one of which is viable:
- Appeal to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ‘call in’ (ie take over the application) instead of Bromley Council. This is very unlikely to succeed, as the circumstances in which this can take place are extremely limited. More here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00930/
- Judicial review: Limited grounds exist for a legal challenge to the decision making process. This is not likely to be a practical option as it costs a minimum of £100K and without expert legal assistance it is unlikely to succeed.
- Challenge the development on the grounds of right to light: Neighbouring buildings, including Colman House, are likely to be in perpetual darkness once the tower blocks are built. Most residents who are affected have rights under the Right to Light Act (1959) and can apply for an injunction to prevent construction. This would require a light survey which would cost around £5000, and a further £1000 in legal fees for the injunction application. This is probably the only viable course of action left.
Option 3 will require a trusted member of the community to arrange crowd funding and for one or more of the affected residents to initiate proceedings.
Appeal: If you are a resident of Colman House or any of the other properties which might be affected, or if you would be prepared to administer the crowd funding of legal proceedings, please get in touch: info@stophadley.co.uk.