I read in the local paper that Green Party Supporters/Activists, the De Zoysa family have been nominated for the prestigious Green Champion Awards. If you've ever met them, you'll never forget them! There house is as eco-friendly as you can get for a residential part of Norbury. However, it's their love of cycling that captures everyones attention, because when the De Zoysa family go out on their bikes you just can't miss them. It's the most fantastic convoy you will see in Croydon!
http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/greenguardian/greenawards/
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Tags croydon, greenparty
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Beulah Hill Demo
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A great turnout with 25 local residents attending!--------------------------------------------------
Tags croydon, greenparty
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Carshalton Environmental Fair
Please come and support our Green Party stall at this year's Environmental Fair, on Monday 28 August in Carshalton Park, Ruskin Road, Carshalton.
We need people to help man our stall throughout the day – just an hour if you can? Please bring any small items suitable for sale (books, films, music, whatever) and ideally some home-made cake for our Fair Trade tea & coffee stall.
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Tags Carshalton, greenparty
We need people to help man our stall throughout the day – just an hour if you can? Please bring any small items suitable for sale (books, films, music, whatever) and ideally some home-made cake for our Fair Trade tea & coffee stall.
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Tags Carshalton, greenparty
Monday, August 21, 2006
Beulah Hill Demo planned
COUNCIL PLANNERS ARE LETTING US DOWN! PIECEMEAL AND
SPECULATIVE DEVELOPMENT, OVER-DEVELOPMENT AND POOR POLICING OF PLANNING REGULATIONS ARE BLIGHTING THE BEULAH HILL AREA.
The time has come to say ‘enough is enough’!
As the Council considers a third development application for 66-70 Beulah Hill, help us show them how strongly local residents feel about the blighting of Beulah Hill. Join a public protest called by Croydon Greens on:
DATE: Thursday 24th August
PLACE: Outside 66-70 Beulah Hill
TIME: 3pm
We’re aiming for major coverage in the local media so bring your banners and make your voice heard!
WHY WE NEED ACTION TO PROTECT BEULAH HILL
HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
Planning permission has already been granted for three housing developments and Barnfield Homes are pushing hard to build a fourth (of 15 houses and nine flats) on the site of 66-70 Beulah Hill.
If this is approved it will lead to a variety of problems:
· Residents in the immediate vicinity will lose their outlook and their privacy due to the number, size and proximity of new houses as well as the loss trees and shrubs on the boundary.
· In the wider area, traffic will increase leading to more air and noise pollution as well as more traffic accidents. Beulah Hill is already a major black spot for traffic accidents: the new developments will only exacerbate this situation. Air quality in Croydon is already at dangerously high levels; increased traffic will trigger an even greater incidence of respiratory disease amongst young and old alike.
· The Barnfield Homes proposal requires the felling of 21 mature trees – adding to the loss of 30 trees and various shrubs in the Ellery Road and Founders Gardens areas last year. This will represent yet another deterioration of the streetscape and will further reduce wildlife habitat.
· The overall character of the area will be undermined even further as existing housing stock is being demolished or neglected in the rush to build speculative developments. For example, as well as the proposal to demolish the houses at 68–70 Beulah Hill, another development already approved by Council involves the purchase and demolition of two bungalows, a house and the Norfolk Court Hotel. Meanwhile, potentially usable empty properties such as Ormsby Court are left vacant. This sets a dangerous precedent for speculative developers.
WHAT ARE WE CALLING FOR?
1) A FULL, INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS
Despite the fact that many of these developments conflict with Croydon Council’s current Unitary Development Plan and the Second Deposit Draft Replacement Unitary Development Plan, Council officers continue to take a piecemeal approach.
For example, they currently adhere to the view that individual developments falling below the ‘guideline’ of 32 units require no traffic impact assessment. So, despite the fact that four separate proposed developments would result in an additional 50 units of housing being built within a space of less than 500 metres, no impact assessment will be made.
2) BETTER USE OF EXISTING HOUSING STOCK
On Beulah Hill, Ormsby Court currently lies empty and neglected. Across London, more than 100,000 homes lie empty. Before approving speculative developments that merely destroy the character and amenity of an area, the Council should first seek to ensure that existing housing stock is better used.
3) PROPER POLICING OF EXISTING PLANNING POLICIES
Well over a year after the destruction of more than 30 mature trees along Beulah Hill, the Council has still failed to take action to have the area restored or the perpetrators prosecuted. Once again, this failure to act is symptomatic of the piecemeal and short-term thinking that currently seems to hold sway with Council planners. The area cannot afford to lose more trees and more green spaces - they must be given proper protection.
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Tags croydon, greenparty
SPECULATIVE DEVELOPMENT, OVER-DEVELOPMENT AND POOR POLICING OF PLANNING REGULATIONS ARE BLIGHTING THE BEULAH HILL AREA.
The time has come to say ‘enough is enough’!
As the Council considers a third development application for 66-70 Beulah Hill, help us show them how strongly local residents feel about the blighting of Beulah Hill. Join a public protest called by Croydon Greens on:
DATE: Thursday 24th August
PLACE: Outside 66-70 Beulah Hill
TIME: 3pm
We’re aiming for major coverage in the local media so bring your banners and make your voice heard!
WHY WE NEED ACTION TO PROTECT BEULAH HILL
HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
Planning permission has already been granted for three housing developments and Barnfield Homes are pushing hard to build a fourth (of 15 houses and nine flats) on the site of 66-70 Beulah Hill.
If this is approved it will lead to a variety of problems:
· Residents in the immediate vicinity will lose their outlook and their privacy due to the number, size and proximity of new houses as well as the loss trees and shrubs on the boundary.
· In the wider area, traffic will increase leading to more air and noise pollution as well as more traffic accidents. Beulah Hill is already a major black spot for traffic accidents: the new developments will only exacerbate this situation. Air quality in Croydon is already at dangerously high levels; increased traffic will trigger an even greater incidence of respiratory disease amongst young and old alike.
· The Barnfield Homes proposal requires the felling of 21 mature trees – adding to the loss of 30 trees and various shrubs in the Ellery Road and Founders Gardens areas last year. This will represent yet another deterioration of the streetscape and will further reduce wildlife habitat.
· The overall character of the area will be undermined even further as existing housing stock is being demolished or neglected in the rush to build speculative developments. For example, as well as the proposal to demolish the houses at 68–70 Beulah Hill, another development already approved by Council involves the purchase and demolition of two bungalows, a house and the Norfolk Court Hotel. Meanwhile, potentially usable empty properties such as Ormsby Court are left vacant. This sets a dangerous precedent for speculative developers.
WHAT ARE WE CALLING FOR?
1) A FULL, INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS
Despite the fact that many of these developments conflict with Croydon Council’s current Unitary Development Plan and the Second Deposit Draft Replacement Unitary Development Plan, Council officers continue to take a piecemeal approach.
For example, they currently adhere to the view that individual developments falling below the ‘guideline’ of 32 units require no traffic impact assessment. So, despite the fact that four separate proposed developments would result in an additional 50 units of housing being built within a space of less than 500 metres, no impact assessment will be made.
2) BETTER USE OF EXISTING HOUSING STOCK
On Beulah Hill, Ormsby Court currently lies empty and neglected. Across London, more than 100,000 homes lie empty. Before approving speculative developments that merely destroy the character and amenity of an area, the Council should first seek to ensure that existing housing stock is better used.
3) PROPER POLICING OF EXISTING PLANNING POLICIES
Well over a year after the destruction of more than 30 mature trees along Beulah Hill, the Council has still failed to take action to have the area restored or the perpetrators prosecuted. Once again, this failure to act is symptomatic of the piecemeal and short-term thinking that currently seems to hold sway with Council planners. The area cannot afford to lose more trees and more green spaces - they must be given proper protection.
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Tags croydon, greenparty
Thursday, August 17, 2006
New housing developments
17.08.06
Dear Editor
Across the borough of Croydon, local residents are seeing new housing developments being built. Each one increasing the density of the number of homes in a locality.
One such development is 66-70 Beulah Hill Upper Norwood. In this case, perfectly acceptable housing stock is being demolished and replaced with higher density housing. This is nonsensical when nearby Ormesby Court lies empty and neglected. Across London 100,000 homes remain empty.
Croydon Council needs to look at planning applications as a whole and how they affect the wider area, not on a piecemeal basis. This includes factoring in the impact from increased traffic, pressure on public services and air quality to determine the optimum size of wards within the borough.
Finally, all new housing needs to be designed with low energy consumption in mind.
Yours sincerely
Shasha Khan
Croydon Green Party
Windmill Road
Croydon
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Tags croydon, greenparty, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, housing, development
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
More Peace March pictures
Croydon Greens pictured at the peace march.
Darren Johnson addressed the peace march in London today 5th Aug 2006
"Let us make our voices heard today in favour of peace and justice"
London Assembly Member Darren Johnson today addressed a substantial crowd protesting against Israel's sustained attack against the people of Lebanon. As a representative for the Greens, he reiterated the Party's call for and immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
"We in the Green Party join the demands for an absolute unconditional ceasefire now. And we demand that the British Government makes that their official policy with immediate effect. We say it is shameful that Britain is standing with the US - isolated from the international community - in allowing Israel's attacks on the innocent people of Lebanon.
"As a party of peace we condemn terrorism. But you don't fight terrorism with indiscriminate war. And you don't punish innocent civilians for the actions of terrorists. Collective punishment is a war crime. If we want a more secure world we need a more just world.
"Is it any surprise that when we sell rockets, missiles and tanks to aggressive regimes they start to use them? Last year the UK licensed arms sales worth £22.5 million to Israel. Let's rip up those contracts and supply no more.
"We also say to Tony Blair and the British Government it's time to end your special relationship with President Bush. We say its time to start a new special relationship with the innocent victims of war, oppression and injustice. We say it's time to start a special relationship with the innocent civilians of Lebanon. Those are the people who need Britain's support today - not President Bush. Let us make our voices heard today in favour of peace and justice.
"And let's demand an immediate ceasefire. An unconditional ceasefire."
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Tags croydon, greenparty
Monday, August 07, 2006
August Meeting
Next meeting will be in Croydon.
Upstairs at the Green Dragon Pub.
Thursday 17th August at 7.30pm.
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Tags croydon, greenparty
Upstairs at the Green Dragon Pub.
Thursday 17th August at 7.30pm.
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Tags croydon, greenparty
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Stop Global Warring
Several local Greens where amongst the turnout at Saturday's march calling for a ceasefire, including Martyn, pictured above.
I also managed to make contact with the Croydon Stop the War banner, and it's custodian, Nigel Green of Croydon STWC and Croydon CND.
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Tags war, greenparty
Friday, August 04, 2006
Rhinocycle in the local press
"Bridget meets the Humber Bridge head on as ‘rhinocycle’ doesn’t let a few mishaps stop her"
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Tags rhino, greenparty
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Tags rhino, greenparty
Thursday, August 03, 2006
NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
On Saturday 5 August there will be a national emergency demonstration in London calling for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, the end of Israel's attacks and the end of Tony Blair's support for George Bush's wars. Dozens of coaches have already been booked to bring protestors to London. Everyone who is outraged by the barbarism we are witnessing in Lebanon and Gaza should support this demonstration.
NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
END ISRAEL'S WAR ON LEBANON AND GAZA
SATURDAY 5 AUGUST: ASSEMBLE 12 NOON
SPEAKERS CORNER, HYDE PARK
(Nearest tube Marble Arch)
MARCH TO PALIAMENT SQUARE FOR RALLY
Darren Johnson will be the Green Party speaker on the platform.
The Green Party meeting point details are as follows.
Meet from 11.30 inside Hyde Park, Park Lane side, roughly where it says
'Brook Gate' on this map:
further info
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Tags war, greenparty
NATIONAL EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION
END ISRAEL'S WAR ON LEBANON AND GAZA
SATURDAY 5 AUGUST: ASSEMBLE 12 NOON
SPEAKERS CORNER, HYDE PARK
(Nearest tube Marble Arch)
MARCH TO PALIAMENT SQUARE FOR RALLY
Darren Johnson will be the Green Party speaker on the platform.
The Green Party meeting point details are as follows.
Meet from 11.30 inside Hyde Park, Park Lane side, roughly where it says
'Brook Gate' on this map:
further info
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Tags war, greenparty
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