Norbury families furious at plans to build flats on green space

There are initial proposals for nine one and two-bedroom flats to be built on a triangle of green space bordering Covington Way and Crescent Way.

It is expected that a planning application from Croydon Council-owned developer Brick by Brick will be submitted in March.

And 14-year-old Zoe Lieberman is worried about the impact it would have on the environment to lose the space.

She said: “Climate change is a huge problem but [the council] are the ones that would destroy green spaces when there are perfectly good other places to use.

“It is not just here that they are doing it.

“This is such a beautiful area and one of the reasons that people have chosen to live here is the beautiful green space.”

And others, including 13-year-old Joshua Alexis, think that losing the space would affect the community.

He said: “I don’t really think it is a good idea because people use it as a space to play and host events.

“I know there is a park across the road but it is nice to have something close and I think it would take away the community feel.”

The neighbours say that there is a legal covenant on the land restricting development, but this does not mean that a planning application cannot be submitted.

Back in July when residents found out the land was earmarked for development a petition to save the space gathered more than 500 signatures.

And now the group has started an online crowd funder which has raised £700 in case they decide to legally challenge the application.

But Laura Cooper who has lived in Crescent Way for two years with her family, said: “We really don’t want it to go to court we just want them to accept the restricted covenant.

“Even if they do scale it back, the fact remains that this will not be a community space anymore. We are losing hope and trust quickly.”

On the other side of Covington Way is Norwood Grove Recreation Ground, but Lisa Friel said that young children can’t cross the busy road to use this.

The 38-year-old said: “Brick by Brick are saying that they’ve already scaled back and are keeping a tiny area, but it is still three stories and four storeys on one side.

“And they say we’ve got green space on the other side of the road, but small children can’t cross the road there is no crossing point.

“If we used the park we wouldn’t know each other, because we’ve got this space we have got to know our neighbours. It creates a community.”

Councillor Helen Pollard also said that when the land was transferred to council ownership there was a covenant stating that no building would be built on the land.

She added: “They are flagrantly ignoring this legal agreement and will deprive local residents of a green space that is regularly used for community events.  As well breaking the legal agreement, this is a betrayal of trust.”

Brick by Brick carried out initial consultation with residents on how they would like the plans to look.

This has now closed but at the moment the company’s proposals include six two-bedroom flats and three one-bedroom flats along with five car parking spaces.

Brick by Brick is also said that it is looking at options to “enhance the green space”.

The developer was set up by Croydon Council in 2016 and this year it is looking to submit planning applications to create 600 new homes across the borough on sites including garages and car parks.

This week it published ‘mythbusting’ information about the company.

This says: “As a housing company, set up to deliver good quality and affordable housing, it is our mission to always seek ways to create new homes on sites in a considered and appropriate way.

“We understand that this may not always make everyone happy – people will have differing views around what sites are appropriate, or have personal preferences around design or the type of housing we should be developing.

“We accept that and it is up to us to work with the community, the council and other stakeholders to reach the best outcome possible.”