Streatham’s Latest Megabowl Plans
It came as something of a surprise to me yesterday to hear Streatham’s Councillor Mark bennett tweeting from a meeting (that rhyme was unintentional by the way) with Glentoran, the owners of the Megbowl site. They were presenting their latest plans for the redevelopment, which are due to go before a Council planning meeting in April, I believe. Many of us Megabowl watchers expected Glentoran to pull out and sell up, after their last proposal (number 3) was rejected. They threatened as much prior to that decision but it turns out it was all talk. In fact it could be argued that Lambeth have played this quite well, as with each rejection, Glentoran return with a proposal that’s slightly smaller and more in keeping with it’s environment. It sounded like they came close to having permission granted last time so this could well be the one that finally gets accepted. According to Mark Bennett they were met with strong support.
All the documents for the application can be downloaded online here. They’re quite extensive and more than a little confusing. They contain more images of their previous proposals than of their current one. The significant points, as far as I could tell, are: The height has been scaled down (by how much is unclear); more of The Megabowl facade has been retained (including the side return); there are 19 fewer residential units but the same retail space (30,000 Sq ft, with the possibility of a mezzanine level and with more basement excavation to help attract larger retailers like John Lewis); there will also be a community theatre, exhibition & cafe space on the corner of Sternhold Avenue and Blairderry Road.
The proposed cafe, exhibition & theatre space.
My favorite parts of the documentation were references to Caesars, and the accompanying pictures, which attempted to show the obscene behaviour that would be stamped out if permission for the development is granted.
The proposals are not very different in appearance to the previous efforts so anyone hoping for a brand new, beautiful vision of Streatham Hill will be disappointed. However they have attempted to answer many of the criticisms they’ve encountered up until now, so it’s now down to Lambeth to decide whether they’ve done enough.
This is ridiculous….. Streatham is crying out for investment and nimbyism is hindering economic development. I cannot believe how incompetent the planning consultants are on this…. there is an easier route to ensuring that someone independent decides the basic principles of the scheme e.g. height, scale, use etc, why don’t they take it to planning appeal then the residents will have the right to request rule 6 status and state their case in front of a government representative. I am not convinced that Lambeth Council are the most forward thinking planning authority.
It all seems fairly reasonable if dull looking. The question for me is will there be anough parking to enable decent sized stores to want to come back to the area? Without parking (much as I hate cars personally) the High Road is just a rat run that can only really accomodate locals within walking distance.
They can make it look amazing, frankly, and no one’s going to be able to stop their cars to have a look. Hmmmm. It’s also, in terms of potential to stop and shop, on the wrong side of the road for people who are otherwise driving to Croydon…. to shop.
Yes it will be interesting to see if the Council are able to do anything to help people park. There is a public car park at the bottom of Leigham Court Road, which you’d never know was there if you were passing. It’s not huge but it’s a start and could possibly be enlarged. It’s also on the right side for people on their way to Croydon.
However making it look amazing would also help bring people from around Brixton, Balham, Clapham, Norbury, Tulse Hill, Norwood etc who don’t neccesarily need cars.
lol ur fat