Events Calendar

Took place on Monday February 25 2008

Planning & Design of New Build

Presentations

After lunch the seats were set up to allow a group of over 70 to discuss different aspects in seven workshops. The main points in the presentations are summarised below and further information, but full presentations can be accessed by clicking the links after each summary.

Darren Richards, Head of Planning at Sutton Council, explained how the Local Development Framework process had identified Hackbridge for a special initiative aimed at increasing the population and improving the quality of life in the process by redeveloping a number of brownfield sites. Landowners were already starting to discuss proposals for key sites, such as Felnex. The Council are going to issue guidelines as a Supporting Document drawing on the results of consultations, which so far support the idea of major change.

Sir Richard MacCormac, former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who has been leading research into Sustainable Suburbia, introduced the idea that higher densities could produce a number of benefits properly handled. A density of as high as 50 homes to the hectare could produce individual family homes with their own front doors if parking was at the edge. This is the density that supports good quality bus routes and local shops and services. However much better results come from giving over at least a fifth of the land to blocks of apartments. These allow for a network of green spaces, further adding to bio-diversity and a sense of locality. Click here to see the full presentation.

Dr Nicholas Falk of URBED, who has been supporting the Sutton's initiative to develop more sustainable suburbs, highlighted a number of issues that needed to be addressed, and drew on models from elsewhere to provide inspiration. Hackbridge, with its history as a working community based on the River Wandle is in a good position to innovate, with large areas of land coming up for development. The success of Merton Abbey Mills in improving the environment along the Wandle led to higher quality housing schemes coming forward. The New England Quarter by Brighton Station shows how it is possible to secure high density mixed use development on sites that enjoy high accessibility by public transport, as Hackbridge does. Schemes in the Netherlands and Germany have gone further in reducing car use through integrating public transport services, and providing better space for walking and cycling. They also make more use of communal schemes for local energy generation and waste separation. The key is going to be adopting the right mechanisms, which include negotiating community benefits through Section 106 agreements and setting up Development or Community Land Trusts to secure a stake in major schemes.
Click here to see the full presentation.

Feedback

With over 70 people turning up, the group divided into seven workshops, considering the different themes of Connectivity, Climate, Character and Community, though of course discussions over-lapped. Each group recorded their thoughts on the maps of Hackbridge provided, and one person from each group reported back.

Connectivity

Hackbridge is very fragmented at present, and so the priority is to make it easier for people to get to shops and services, and to reduce the separation created by traffic on the London Road. ‘Early wins' include proper cycle-parking at Hackbridge Station, joining up the bus stops, and investigating the scope for diverting traffic on the London Road, and the scope for a night bus. Longer term projects are to provide more pedestrian and cycle crossing, better cycle routes across the projected Regional Park, and measures to reduce traffic on Beddington Lane.
Click here to see the Connectivity map

Climate

At present the people of Hackbridge need at least three planets to meet their needs. The vision is to make every home zero-carbon to save energy and make Hackbridge self-sufficient in renewable energy. Early wins include insulating every house properly, which could be the job of an ESCO (Energy Services Company), and capturing rain water and to grow more locally, which means stopping the concreting over of front gardens. In the longer-term Hackbridge should be using waste, and growing biomass crops, to generate energy.
Click here to see the Climate map

Character

Hackbridge currently has no obvious identity, yet it has a rich history and natural legacy of waterways and open space. The priority is to celebrate bio-diversity, which will make Hackbridge ‘a lung for London'. An early win is to enhance the station as a community hub by reallocating space. There is also scope for better interpretation of the past, such as local industries. In the longer term, there needs to be mixed use development on the Felnex site, and this could include space for ‘eco industries'. Much better links to the surrounding amenities, like the River Wandle, are a priority. This includes making us of water run-off to grow a new landscape. Experiments with cooperative forms of housing could enable new residents to'put their own stamp on the area'.
Click here to see the Character map

Community

Hackbridge has been built in many different periods and styles, and as a result its communities are very disparate. Roughly a quarter of the population is under 16, and the numbers will grow if the population expands by half, as is quite likely. Isolation is aggravated by the barriers of the London Road, and the river. The area is suffering from economic change, and the priority is therefore to reconcile the past and the future. The vision is of a community that is really well-connected in all senses. Early wins include making better use of existing resources such as the school buildings, and above all enhancing links across the railway through to Beddington Park. This should also include engaging with different groups, especially young people, around their interests. (This might be a means of bringing the different communities together, making full use of IT in making connections. In the longer term projects like a health centre near the station, the development of a ‘green chain' of linked spaces along the Wandle, and the regional park, should provide a good means of bringing people together, and breaking down the divisions between ‘them and us'. Projects to provide more leisure and youth facilities needed the resources of a community trust that could tap some of the value created by development, and ensure they were well maintained and used.
Click here to see the Community maps 1 or 2

Conclusions

In thanking everyone who had turned up and made the event possible, Councillor Lynn Gleeson, who leads on planning and regeneration, stressed the importance of ‘melding the old and new communities so they are closely knit.' The Hackbridge Initiative process of working with both landowners and members of the community on the development framework could be a model for other parts of London, and is a priority for Sutton Council.

To see the final video of the event please contact Philip James, London Borough of Sutton.

Contact: jessica@oneplanetsutton.org

Type of event: One Planet Living

Related principles: Culture and Heritage Equity and Fair Trade Health and Happiness Local and Sustainable Food Local and Sustainable Materials Natural Habitats and Wildlife Sustainable Transport Sustainable Water Zero Carbon Zero Waste

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