PARKNEWS www.crystalpalacepark.org Edition 6 August 2007 MORE PARK - YOUR PARK! Welcome The main phase of the masterplanning design process for Crystal Palace Park is now complete. Our extensive consultation programme has gathered ideas from the local community and other stakeholders which have been fed through to the design team. Now the masterplan vision has taken shape, we have some of the first images showing what the Park might look like when it is completed. This edition’s centre page spread is an artist’s impression (based on detailed scaled drawings and designs) of how a fully implemented masterplan would look. Delivering that vision requires a substantial funding commitment. Crystal Palace Park needs and deserves proper funding if it is to be rejuvenated. The London Development Agency (LDA) is looking at how best to put together a funding package to pay for the masterplan proposals. There will be many different funding options and including housing proposals in the masterplan has been a difficult choice. But the decision is based on the need to properly fund the Park for the long term. It won’t pay for the high profile features, but instead would be part of the £40.5 million needed to enhance the Park’s landscape by introducing new features such as the sunken gardens and playgrounds. Improvements to the Park are not just set for the future. August will see the opening of the new square adjacent to the station, replacing the former 1960’s concrete turnstiles and footbridge which used to dominate the entrance way to the Park from the station. This will create more of a welcome as well as improved accessibility to the Park. And the Park is coming alive with the sound of music again this summer. After a break, the popular Sound of the Suburbs Bowl Festival, which showcases local bands, is returning over the weekend of July 28 and 29. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) will also be running an exciting series of concerts and events throughout August. The next step in the masterplan process will be the submission of a planning application in autumn this year, after which it could be up to a year until the London Borough of Bromley makes a decision on whether or not to grant planning permission for the masterplan proposals. Housing is the last resort, not the first choice Timeline for change / activity The LDA has decided to include the proposals for housing at Rockhills and the Sydenham Gate in the masterplan. Housing is only being included as an option. The decision to use this option would only be made if funding sources to enable the delivery of the basic 'improved local park' plans are not forthcoming. The key masterplan proposals will cost £67.2m to deliver in full, with the basic option of landscaping the Park, restoring the terraces and introducing limited new features such as sunken gardens and new playground facilities estimated to cost £40.5m. The proposal is to relocate the existing Caravan Club site at Rockhills, which currently occupies six acres of the Park, by returning just under five acres to publicly accessible parkland and building apartments on the remaining acre. Together with the proposals to build new apartments on Crystal Palace Park Road in Sydenham, this would mean 1% of the Park (two acres out of 200) being given over to housing. The scheme could potentially raise £12m in today’s values, which would be ring-fenced to help fund the ’improved local park’ work. However, a number of different funding sources are being examined, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery, to awards from charities, donations from the public and private sectors and corporate sponsorship for key elements such as the Energy Tower. If enough money is raised from other sources to pay for the masterplan then the housing option will not be used as part of the masterplan. AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER AUTUMN 2008 MARCH 2009 Station gateway re-opens – Friday 3 August 2007 Work on demolition of the turnstiles and footbridge at Crystal Palace Station is almost complete and access to this area will be formally restored to coincide with the grand prix event. Planning application submitted to the London Borough of Bromley – autumn 2007 The London Development Agency’s planning application will be submitted to the London Borough of Bromley. Tram decision by Transport for London – October 2007 The preferred route of the Croydon Tram Link extension to Crystal Palace will be announced by TfL in the autumn. National Sports Centre closure for work – December 2007 The refurbishment of the NSC heating and filtration system and renovation of the changing rooms is scheduled to start by the end of the year and last for up to six months. The work will allow the swimming pool facilities to remain open until 2012 and beyond. Information about this and the interim facility arrangements will be available in future editions of Park News and on the NSC website (www.gll.org) or by calling 020 8778 0131. Hidden Treasure - Capel Manor Farm re-opening –London’s leading animal husbandry and horticultural college will, subject to programming, reopen the farm in Crystal Palace Park from the beginning of October 2007 The farm will be open 300 days a year from 10.30am to 12pm on weekdays, from 3pm to 4.30pm on weekdays in summer and 2.30pm to 4pm on weekdays in winter. At weekends, the farm will be open from 12pm to 4pm (with the exception of two weeks over Christmas.) For more information please visit the website; www.capel.ac.uk, or call 08456 122 122. Masterplan exhibition at Crystal Palace Station – October 2007 A public exhibition of the masterplan proposals will take place for two weeks following submission of the planning application to the London Borough of Bromley. London Borough of Bromley decision on the LDA’s planning application – autumn 2008 LDA option to take over ownership of the Park – March 2009 Crystal Palace Park Walking Group The Crystal Palace Park The beginners' walk is Walking Group started as a accessible to wheelchair group for people recovering users. Each walk is led by a from cardiac conditions. volunteer walk leader, who Today, the group meets welcomes new walkers and every Friday morning at helps them navigate 40-60 10.45am outside the Park minute courses. Information Centre and is open to all members of the The walks are part of general public. Bromley Mytime's Walk 4 Life initiative. For more Two to three dozen walkers information please contact take part in walks that are the Bromley Mytime Active graded beginner, Lifestyles team on 020 intermediate and advanced. 8323 1705. Birds-eye view of the revitalised Park This artist’s impression of the Park has been produced to give a clearer idea of what the Park will look like if the masterplan is implemented. All the buildings and features in the Park are drawn to scale and can be checked against photos taken from the site. The impression will aid in assessing the visual impact of structures and new features in the Park and provide a guide to how the Park will look once the masterplan is completed. Views expressed by the local community have been fed into the masterplan. To the right are examples of how the consulatation process has helped to shape the masterplan. ‘more playground facilities’ Emma F from Sydenham The new Park will provide up to six new play spaces, including a children’s adventure playground and an adult’s exercise area. ‘paths made of materials that do not leave chalk marks on our clothes’ Steve G from Gipsy Hill All the paths will be repaved with material that does not leave chalk stains on clothes. ‘Better situated car parks for disabled users’ Hardeep K from Anerley Parking will be conveniently situated at the edges and entrances of the Park, near toilets and cafes. ‘more toilets’ Richard D from Upper Norwood The new Park will have nine toilet facilities spread out in all parts of the Park. ‘a jogging area that is marked so people can calculate distances’ Imran M from Beckenham A measured two mile path will be marked out so runners can measure their distances. ‘More parkland’ Cynthia B from Penge A key element of the proposals is to turn the central tarmac areas to turf. Around 12 acres of land that is currently tarmac, car parking, roads or areas with restricted public access, will become open green parkland. Schools Over the last few months the masterplan team carried out a dynamic schools outreach programme for collecting local children’s views about what they want for the future of their Park. Between 20 April and 8 June 2007 the CPP Consultation Bus visited ten local primary schools across the five boroughs and conducted a series of fun activities to encourage local ownership and use of the Park. During each school visit a presentation was given recalling the history of the Park. Children and staff were informed about current developments and how they could give their input. Children from nursery through to Year 6 age groups participated in a series of fun activities on the bus designed to stimulate their interest in the Park and offer them a unique setting to share their ideas for the masterplan. They were encouraged to consider the Park’s broader historical significance and how the design could be made more inclusive to meet the needs of a diverse and vibrant local community. At least 2,700 school children have visited the big, As the masterplan nears completion, the consultation team is continuing to make it a prioritygreen and white bus and taken part in the to inform as many people in the local area as possible about the proposals. The CPP consultation as a result of the programme. An Consultation Bus will tour local housing estates across the five boroughs and provideongoing process of building long-term relationships detailed information to residents about the scheme before the planning application is with the local community and school staff, pupils submitted to the London Borough of Bromley in the autumn. The bus will function as a Neighbouring park estates and their families has been established. mobile exhibition space where people can find out more about how the design has responded to the public consultation and also learn about key elements of the planning application process. The names of estates and dates of visits will be posted on our website. For further information please visit www.crystalpalacepark.org or email us on cpp@localdialogue.com SOS Bowl Festival Launched in 1999, The Bowl is the longest-running free festival of its kind in South London. The two-day music extravaganza features new and emerging music talent from south of the Thames. It's a unique live event set in stunning surroundings that will offer a variety of activities such as DJs, percussionists, a well-being area, food, craft and market stalls. The event runs from noon until 8pm on Saturday 28th and from noon until 7pm on Sunday 29th. For more information, please visit the website: www.thebowl.org.uk or call 020 8291 1664. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Will the plans lead to large areas of the Park being built on for housing? The masterplan for the 200-acre Park specifies two potential sites for housing – the Rockhills and Sydenham Gate sites. Neither of the sites will be on land that is currently accessible to the public. The Rockhills site would use approximately 1.1 acres of the six acres currently used by the Caravan Club site. As a result, an extra five acres of land (2.5% overall) would be returned to publicly accessible open parkland. The Sydenham Gate location for housing could take up approximately 0.9 acres and would be built on the sites of the existing ambulance station, One o’clock Club buildings and the Park Rangers’ yard. In total 176 flats could be built on 2.02 acres. This represents 2% of the total Park. Does the inclusion of housing in the masterplan mean it will definitely be built on the Park? No. The LDA will explore all funding options once it has planning permission for the masterplan. The housing elements of the masterplan will only be considered as a last resort if other funds cannot be obtained to complete the landscaping and other basic elements of the masterplan. All funding streams, including applications to the Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery, Sport England, charitable grants and corporate sponsorship, will be actively examined. The sale of the land for housing is anticipated to generate £12 million (in today’s values) and will potentially attract considerably more money on the basis that funding would be matched from other sources. All proceeds from housing would be reserved for improvements to the Park. Why will the masterplan take such a long time to complete? The vast majority of the masterplan is envisaged to take 15 to 20 years to complete. Some minor elements of the masterplan, such as the enclosed area around the base of the BBC transmitter may take longer to complete depending on technological changes as well as land ownership and usage. What is to stop only housing being built on the Park and no other parts of the masterplan being completed? The LDA will seek to enter into a binding agreement with the London Borough of Bromley that all proceeds from the sale of housing would be reserved for spending on Crystal Palace Park. This form of agreement is common when a council grants planning consent. In light of the £67.2 million cost of the plans, shouldn’t the plans be scaled back? Previous consultations, as well as the present one undertaken to draw up the masterplan, indicate that there is a consensus to recreate a high quality and sustainable Park that reflects its former iconic status. The LDA has broken down the costs of the masterplan into three sections – ‘an improved local park’, ‘a regional destination’ and a ‘national and international destination’. The ‘improved local park’ largely includes improvements to the Park landscape and facilities such as toilets, playgrounds and paths. This would cost approximately £40.5 million. An ‘enhanced regional park’ would include two new greenhouses, a cricket pavilion, a restored maze and an adventure playground. This option would cost approximately £17.3 million. A ‘national and international destination’ would provide a major new attraction such as a treetop walkway and Paxton spring. This option would cost approximately £9.4 million. The costs of the museum and the energy towers have not been included in the costs of the masterplan as their funding sources are different from those above. Why is Crystal Palace Football Club looking at building a stadium on the site of the former Palace site? There are no plans to include a football stadium in the masterplan proposals for the future of the Park. Why doesn’t the LDA support the rebuilding of the Crystal Palace or a large building on the former Palace site? The masterplanners have carried out a widespread consultation on the masterplan for the Park. The ideas raised during this consultation have acted as a catalyst for the elements of the masterplan. By directly responding to the public’s ideas, the masterplanning team sought to build maximum consensus around the plans. There is a sharp division in the local community concerning the former palace site. Some sections of the community want to see the site utilised in a manner that echoes the former glory of the Crystal Palace. Others would prefer to see it remain as a haven for wildlife. The masterplanning team has sought to bridge the divide in the local community by suggesting an open space that has a grid of trees which commemorates the past grandeur of the Palace in a way appropriate to the community. A central outdoor space will provide a focus for the community and would allow use for events such as farmer’s markets, arts and crafts bazaars and community events. The proposals seek to provide a public space that is both useful and accessible. Wildlife corridors would also be provided to ensure that the area remains a haven for the Park’s many animals. Dates for your diary 2nd August Ballers Evening (Basketball) 3rd August Norwich Union Athletics Grand Prix 4th August RPO Concert Series begins* 5th August RPO Concert* 10th August Midnight Madness (Basketball Tournament) Finals 11th August RPO Concert* 12th August RPO Concert* 12th August Radio Controlled Car National Race Meet 12th August NFL Europe London Warriors American Football 18th August RPO Concert* 19th August RPO Concert* 19th August NFL Europe London Warriors American Football 23rd August RPO Concert* 24th August RPO Concert* 25th August RPO Concert* 25th August UK Athletics Challenge Final and BMC Grand Prix 26th August RPO Concert: Last Night of the Proms* Every Friday Crystal Palace Park Walking Group Time – 9.45am Meeting Point – Outside Crystal Palace Park Information Centre** *For more information on the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s concerts in the Crystal Palace Park concert bowl please visit www.popsinthepark.co.uk or to book tickets please call 020 8688 9291. **For more information on Crystal Palace Park Walking Group, please contact Bromley Mytime on 020 8290 4000. The CPP Walking Group is part of Bromley Mytime’s Active Lifestyles campaign. Contact us For further information please call the CPP Consultation Team on 020 7357 6894 or email us at cpp@localdialogue.com Visit our website www.crystalpalacepark.org This newsletter is also available in text form. Translation services are available upon request in the following languages: • Polski • Somali • Türkçe • Please contact us on 020 7357 6894.