Proposed gym behind houses of Talbot Road and Abbotswood Road

[benmorg]

local estate agent Wrote:

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> Yeah, the trees are coming down....

do you know where the gym driveway will be on that picture? My guess is that it would in the large gap between the houses in Talbot Road, where the white rectangle is currently parked.

[TheePope]

Ratty according to the planning appeal (which looks like it has been given)

"It is clear from this that existing trees on the appeal site are mostly not ideal specimens and that some are in a poor state of health. Only a few trees are in reasonable condition. I am informed that the Council had decided not to confirm a Tree Preservation Order on the sit."

See p2 of the doc in the link

http://planningonline.southwarksites.com/planningonline2/DocsOnline/Documents/24873_1.pdf

[benmorg]

interesting. The report notes that 'no habitat or ecological study has been provided by the council'.

There are definitely bats living in the greenery around abbotswood road - I've seen them flying through my garden. I don't know if the species if protected, but if it is and there are nesting sites in the trees, then this planning application should not have been approved.

I can provide contact details for a biologist with experience in such matters should anyone wish to PM me. She has dealt with a very similar issue in North London, where a developer wanted to build on a site occupied by a protected bat species.

[AcedOut]

Good point. They would have to have had a bat report to get planning permission. Do bats live in trees though? I thought that urban bats normally nest in peoples roofs!

[benmorg]

they do nest in trees (especially in old trees of "poor condition", which are full of holes and hollows). However, it might be too late now, according to the website below:

"Once planning permission has been granted it is unlikely that the presence of bats will stop a development in progress. However if there are good reasons to believe bats are being affected by a development then English Nature should be notified, as there may be grounds for delaying or modifying the project, as the necessary licences and permissions will still have to be obtained. In extreme cases where roost destruction is imminent and if there is tangible evidence that bats are being harmed, the police should be called. Theoretically, even if a council and developer have gone through the above procedures, it may be possible to launch a judicial review to determine whether or not a DEFRA licence has met all three of the necessary conditions. Similarly if councils have failed to take sufficient account of protected species in determining applications there may be grounds for an appeal or complaint to the local government ombudsman."

http://www.surreybats.org.uk/planning.htm

[TheePope]

http://planningonline.southwarksites.com/planningonline2/DocsOnline/Documents/17507_1.pdf

According the Habitat and Environment study (commissioned I think on behalf of the devloper) - there aint no bats!

See page 11 in the linked document above

"The trees on site appeared to offer no opporunities for roosting bats"

All the docs for the application can be viewed here:

http://planningonline.southwarksites.com/planningonline2/AcolNetCGI.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeDocs&TheSystemkey=9525284

[local estate agent]

the driveway sweeps through talbot road and then bends around the last house on the right hand side, where a 4.1m wide road will take you to the gym direcctly behind the houses on the right...

[benmorg]

the surveyor saw no evidence of bat roosts, but I've definitely seen them flying at dusk. It would be easy enough for residents to commission a bat survey from english nature or some other independent body if they wanted to throw a spanner in the works.

[AcedOut]

This actually seems like a strange place for a gym, since it's a little off the beaten track. Most gyms are on main roads, so they don't have to worry too much about advertising, but I suppose word of mouth (forum) is a powerful medium...

[benmorg]

east dulwich has got enough gyms already. What we need is a cinema. And a decent bookshop please

[local estate agent]

I wouldnt be surprised if a Gym never opens....its all probably some sort plan for them to build something else, that no one would ever want there....

[AcedOut]

It's easy to convert gyms into night clubs....