kate h

Yep, lovely coffee and cake and lots of space for kids!

ps have heard from a neighbour that the developers might be resubmitting new drawings so might not be the end of the road on this one - although the main problem the council seem to have is the access issue and not sure how they'll get around that one...hmm.....

Yes, thanks to Renata for all her help. And to everyone else for their advice. If anyone finds themselves in a similar situation (ie developers 'garden grabbing'), feel free to give me a PM. I now have quite a lot of info that can pass on. Thanks again. K

ps and thanks to Renata for taking an interest in this and following up with planning.

Just catching up with latest developments on thread.... Interested in reading your thoughts DulwichRob. Good to get both sides of the argument. But wouldn't it be a little unsual to WANT to put a new outbuilding / swimming pool right in front of a neighbouring property? I would have thought if you ended up owning a property like the one on Hindmans Rd, you'd want to put your swimming pool (! - although not many of those in ED - people seem pretty happy with the public ones locally....) or your office etc at the bottom of the garden. Would you want a garden essentially divided into two by a new building / pool? Would you choose for your new building / pool to be overlooked by neighbours? And mightn't you be sensitive to neighbours' wishes? Maybe I'm being naive! Am no expert on the ins and outs of planning laws and permitted developments, but I think I do feel quite strongly about one basic point - which is that green spaces are important to people's well-being in lots and lots of ways... Just a few thoughts. Thanks. K

Thank you in texas....just writing to Southwark now - really helfpul...

Does anyone happen to know the history of the Acre Mews houses on Crystal Palace Rd? Developers saying they're an example of building on garden land in ED. Are they right? Many thanks!

Yes, to re-iterate what Johnjohn said: there are two developments on Hindmans at the mo, and this thread is about 21 Hindmans (Johnjohn quotes the Southwark Council planning ref. above). It's very easy to have a look at the proposed plans. Go to the Southwark website and then go to 'planning' and you can get there quickly via the ref (14 / AP / 2629). The developers are also arguing that the garden at 21 is very unkempt and therefore ripe for building on (according to the developers' 'design and access' statement a lot of the gardens on Hindmans are..."as is characteristic of these long gardens, the very end of the garden had become overgrown and unused. As such it was felt that an alternative use could be proposed in the area"...) The garden at 21 Hindmans is unkempt because it was previously owned by an elderly lady who had to move into a care home and is now owned by the developers who aren't there very much......... The 'design and access statement' is full of similar slightly disingenuous arguments. Thanks again to everyone who's PMd me and for all your comments. The deadline for the consultation is 25th September.

It's down the Tyrrell Rd end, on the left hand side of the road (if you're facing towards Upland, away from the rye.)

And John - would the flood risk affect a two-storey build? Quite a few people have mentioned drainage issues...

Nxjen - re. the pathway: the developers own the house on Hindmans, so would own the pathway I'd imagine. They're turning the pathway into a covered, well lit 'canopy', so presumably not great for fire engines, but they did say something in their plans about putting a fire hydrant in. They're also developing another house on Hindmans on the other side of the street at the mo. EDMummy - thanks for tip about West London councils and garden building. I'll definitely look into that. And thanks to everyone who's PMd me. Really helpful advice. I totally get the urgent need for more housing, but surely it's about going about it in a sensitive, thoughtful way....?

Thanks EDMummy - that's really helpful.

Think I'm thinking about the Grand Designs Landells Rd houses built a couple of years ago...just had a look online and they were built on an old joinery business and the guy who built them ended up living in one of them for a while...were those the ones you were thinking about Mustard?

Looks like it will be quite big. They're proposing separating the front bit of the Hindmans Rd. house into two sections, and the path for the new development will go off to the left and be lit up. Know the one you mean on Landells Road. The developers for the Hindmans rd. one talk about it in terms of another 'precedent.' Need to look into it but I have a feeling the Landells Rd one was built on an old garage site and there was already good access...(rather than on a garden without pre-existing access!!)

A path down the side of the existing house on Hindmans Rd....

Kidkruger - that 'development by stealth' story is pretty shocking. Was it in East Dulwich or somewhere else? I know what you mean about other people not getting much of a say. In terms of the Hindmans Rd. development, immediate neighbours etc have had letters, but it seems a bit hit and miss as to who's had them (ie some people who will be very affected haven't received one....). Our neighbours on Tyrrell Rd and Hindmans Rd are pretty hacked off about the whole thing - as are we...As one of our neighbours pointed out - it's a bad precedent. If Southwark grant permission for a newbuild on a garden this time round, then what's to stop others doing the same? (Particularly given house prices etc, and potential profit margins...) The developers who are trying to get the proposal through (think they're pretty canny - they've got quite a few other ED projects on the go at the moment, including the house on Hindmans rd itself which they're turning into a three bedroom flat...) are arguing that there have been lots of precedents which justify building in a garden. They're citing the police station project on Crystal Palace Rd, and also the newbuild behind William Hill, but it's all quite clever / disingenuous because neither of those spaces were actual gardens....although from the way it's presented in the document you'd think they were... We moved to ED from Brixton / Stockwell borders about six years ago and one of the main appeals (apart from the fact that back then it was cheaper...) was the green spaces, and slightly quieter, calmer feel of the place.... Thanks for the responses. If anyone wants any more info, let me know.

Just wondering what people's thoughts are about this... We've just had a letter through the door from Southwark about a proposal for a two-storey new-build at the bottom of a garden on Hindmans Rd. There's obviously a need for new housing, but how do people feel about the idea of gardens themselves being developed / built on? Would be great to know thoughts. Thanks.

I think there might have been similar posts recently, so sorry to be posting again about this, but our very nice Spanish au pair has just arrived from Barcelona and she's keen to meet some other local au pairs. If you're a family with an au pair, or an au pair yourself, and you'd like to set something up, send me a PM! Many thanks.

Does anyone have a kid there? We're thinking of sending our two and a half year old. Thought Parveen was great but would welcome any thoughts! Thanks.

Another recommendation for Steve - v nice guy and reasonably priced. Did a lovely job painting our wooden floors.