Mike has raised some interesting issues.

Starting with Tyson Road. Why is it that it has suffered from anti-social behaviour in recent years? Is it because there is an area outside the shop which encourages groups to congregate or is it because it gained a local reputation as a place to hang out?

I haven't seen anything in the latest planning application to suggest that the Developer is going to do something to improve the current situation. Having said that is it really their responsibility? Shouldn't it be down to Lewisham and the Police to deal with these issues?

Arguably, Tyson Road would benefit from the development going ahead in two ways. Firstly, 15 to 17A Tyson Road, which are currently unoccupied and derelict, would be brought back into use albeit as modern blocks of flats. Secondly, the shop in Tyson Road would get more business.

However, it is worth asking why 15 to 17A are currently derelict. These buildings are owned, and have been owned for many years, by the Developer. Indeed, the Developer used to rent them out. They are derelict because they have not been maintained. So, if you think that the development should go ahead because these buildings are derelict then in some ways you are rewarding the Developer for neglecting the buildings and keeping them out of the housing market.

If you look at the other Victorian buildings in Tyson Road they have been maintained and, as a result, are perfectly habitable. Indeed, it is quite easy to see that if these houses were in East Dulwich or some other fashionable location they would be considered highly attractive and desirable period properties.

Looking at the parking issue I think that the proposed number of parking spaces will be too few and will resulti in the residents of the new development parking in Tyson Road and the surrounding streets. Why do I think this? For a start when I read the transport statement for the previous planning application it suggested that because of the location of the development a ratio of 1 car parking space to 1 flat would be appropriate. The location hasn't changed since then nor has the housing mix.

The development is for one, two and three bedroom flats. The proposed element of social housing is fairly low and so I would expect that the target market will be young professionals working in Canary Wharf or the City. If they can afford one of these flats I expect they will be able to afford a car and why shouldn't they? If you shop in the FH Sainsbury's and then walk back with your shopping to Tyson road you will be well on your way to doing to recommended daily exercise. Forest Hill is, hilly and for the residents of the blocks in the farthest corners of the site a 15 minute walk from FH town centre. In other words the location of the site isn't central enough to encourage a car free culture.

As for the layout and style of the Development it has been presented in the best possible light by the application documents. However, if you scratch the surface and look at the floor plans, layout and elevations things aren't quite so rosy. The rooms look cramped and I would imagine the flats could be quite dark. The number of windows has been limited to restrict the problem of overlooking and quite a few of the windows will be shaded by the trees on the site. Look at Block 7 for an obvious good example.

There is also the inconvenient truth that under the latest plans there is no vehicular access to Block 7. If you think that putting your wheelie bin out is a chore imagine having to take your rubbish down two flights of stairs and then carrying it over 100 feet to the nearest bin store. And that is just the rubbish. Shopping, furniture and visitors will have to make the same journey on foot. There is no parking outside the building and no lift.

In some ways this one example sums up the latest planning application - it is pretty much the same as before, the changes that have been made are largely superficial and the underlying problem of overdevelopment remains.

It is probably obvious that I don't think that the garden and woodland part of the site should be developed but if it is to be developed then we should insist that the planners make sure that we get a good development which will provide a safe and happy environment for its residents.

Finally, after an over long post, the Developer owns the whole site and there is no public access. There are some photos of the site here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tysonroad/

and if you attend an event at the Christian Fellowship Centre you can get a good view from there.