Mabel2001

Photo 4 As you can see - just awful!

Photo 3

Further photos in seperate following posts as files are too big. Photo 2.

Thanks for your message. The council inspected the property after the work has been done, but say that as the works were classified as Improvement Works, they or the council tenant were not required to apply for planning permission, or notify my landlady or immediate neighbours. I've contacted the Council Planning office, and also put in a formal complaint. As they were not required to provide Planning Permission as it is classified as Improvement Works, they just referred it back to the person dealing with Coplestone Rd. As I planted flowers on the council land (the bed outside my door), these would be the property of the council so there is no recourse there. We have no contact with our landlady - our house is a managed property by Pedders, are we are bound not to be in personal contact by the terms of our lease. Pedders talked to the landlady, but she lives in the country and has no relationship to the house - she says she doesn't want to cause any trouble. We have tried to explain that this work will devalue her house without question (who would want a concrete box outside their front door?). What amazes me is that the council did not seek to protect two big flowerbeds, but instead accepted this request for work to be done - which will stay there now forever as part of this council property as no-one will be allowed to dig it up. I also can't understand how an elderly woman on benefits living in a council house is prepared to spend several hundred pounds, probably more, getting this done. We are a young couple on decent wages and would not spend money to have this done, even if we wanted to! Attached are the after photos (showing my ripped up flowers in a bag!). I couldn't take any before ones, as I just woke up one morning to find it half-concreted over with no way of stopping the work : (

Thanks for all your replies. Since October, I have had one reply from Mary Nettey who takes care of Copleston Rd for Southwark Council. She only responded as I copied in Annie Shepard when I followed up. She said that concreting over the front garden was considered 'Improvement Works', for which the Council did not need to provide written notification. They gave permission to the council tenant to carry out the work using her own private contractors. Mary Nettey said I would receive a letter from the Council confirming that this was the case, but it has not happened. I approached emailed all my local councillors Mark Glover and Nick Dolzeal in November but received no reply, not even an acknowledgement. Needless to say, this is a horrible experience of indifference by the Council. It difficult to accept seeing a yellow concrete box, like a coffin, every time I open the door, along with a 5 x 5 slab of yellow concrete. We contacted our landlady, who does not want to cause any aggravation to the elderly council resident who took out the work without informing her... ! We are actually thinking of not renewing our lease as the front garden is now so ugly and desolate.

Thank you all so much for your sympathetic comments and advice. Since posting on this forum, we have new information that our immediate neighbours on the other side were also not notified of the work, as neither were we. As advised by Planning Aid, the legal charity for planning advice, Southwark Council must grant immediate neighbours a consultation right on all planning permissions and have 21 days to respond. This is a legal requirement under the General Development Procedure Order, which Southwark Council did not fulfil in these case.? As the entire front of the property has been concreted over, it will significantly decrease the value of the two adjoining houses.?Therefore we are appealing to Southwark Council will seek to overturn the decision and remove the work. However, the person taking care of Coplestone Road for the Council has been less than helpful, saying she doesn't know anything about the planning permission, and was rude and impatient on the phone. The permission is also not listed on Southwark Council's website. ? We have found the council employee dealing with Rd to be unresponsive, impatient and downright rude. She said she knew nothing about the case and would have to consult colleagues. As you can imagine, it's difficult to accept something so wrongheaded. Nature is precious, and East Dulwich should be kept as green as possible! As suggested, we will contact the councillors listed. Thanks once again to everyone, will let you know the outcome.

I am a tenant on Coplestone Rd. We share an open communal garden with the flat next to us, which is a council property. Yesterday, private workmen came round and concreted over the entire front of the property without notice. We were not notified, and our landlady was not notified, either by the tenant or the council. The front garden was a beautiful big space of 2 beds, one of which was 5m x 5m. This is now covered with a concrete slabs. We had planted flowers and roses in the bed on our side of the house. These were ripped up and 2ft high concrete box has been installed outside our front door. The reason given was that the council tenant (name removed - Admin) did not want to pull out weeds. Surely Southwark Council should be encouraging their tenants to maintain the property, and should furthermore be dedicated to preserving green space in London? The tenant is not going to be there forever, and a young couple like ourselves could have made so much of the space. The entire front of the property is now concreted over. Nothing can be grown there. We loved our garden and this is really sad and depressing to us. We would like to understand the situation behind Southwark Council granting planning permission for this work to be done, but the process there is long-winded. Has anyone else had a similar experience?