As a resident living on Honor Oak Park Road - I'm surprised I haven't had a letter through about this...

(As an Architect who can understand consultation proposals) -

What jumps out at me is that what is effectively being proposed is a new (presumably potentially busy) new public 'working' cemetery entrance onto Honor Oak Park (Road). Not only is it on Honor Oak Park, it is right next to the station - i.e. the near centre of our community...

This raises a few issues for me:

I don't want to have as a centre piece to my local townscape a working entrance to a cemetery / and cemetery carpark. Saying it will be screened by existing foliage is a classic consultation 'BS' line....trust me. It will always be perceivable as a new landmark in our community.

There is already presumably an established entrance elsewhere that doesn't face straight onto a residential area? This should be kept and not a new one created in HOP.

Is this cemetery for Lewisham 'ex-'residents or southwark ex-residents? ...if it just for southwark this would make the entrance location proposals extra bizarre.

Sorry to say this but I don't want a visible burial ground anywhere near the Honor Oak Park road / honor Oak park centre - The area is going in the right direction currently and I get angry at the thought of this kind of nonsense bringing the area down. Just because it isn't a dominos being proposed doesn't mean we can't still challenge it robustly?

I would say ditch the working entrance / public cemetery carpark onto Honor Oak Park- and at the very least make it imperceptible from the road. The cemetery workers / visitors will have to manage as they are doing now for access..
We HOPpers must be spared the views of tarmac, tomb stones and lined up hearses that would be inevitable if these plans would go ahead.

...since this part of HOP wasn't included in the honor oak park and crofton community area plan - I'm guessing the residents are in a very weak position...thanks a lot!