Below are our updates on the 2022 proposals for the development at Wimbledon Chase Station, including:

• Summary of and link to the plans (17 July)
• Feedback from the public meetings (4 August)
• Response from the developer on sewerage capacity, housing mix, parking and station entrance/step-free design (11 August)

We’ll add details to this page as they come through and you can sign up to our monthly local news emails here.

17 Jul 2022 update

Cllr Anthony Fairclough recently met with the developer behind an amended proposal for an 8/9 storey development at Wimbledon Chase Station.

It’s the same developer who brought forward the proposals back in January 2020.

The new application

His argument is that they’ve listened to feedback from the last proposal:

• They’ve gone away and worked out exactly how step-free might be done – he’s very proud of the plans, and they’ve had them signed off by Network Rail and Govia Thameslink, and Govia have put in the bid to the DfT ‘Access for all’ fund for the £8m it would apparently cost to build in. Probably rightly, he points out that being one of only 2 Govia stations with a fully costed plan gives them a real chance of winning the money that they probably never would given the footfall at the stations. There would be access to the lift also from Chase Side Ave as well as the station entrance.
• They’ve cut the heights and stepping down at the back of the site on Rothesay Avenue .
• They’ve softened the ‘shaping’ of the edges of the building and amended the new station entrance.

However:

• It’s still 8/9 storeys in height, way higher than anything else nearby – double the height of nearby buildings.
• There’s still no affordable housing element.
• It will likely take a couple of years to build (although the design also takes into account the ability to keep the station open during the build and during the step-free installation).

On heights and affordable housing the developer argues ‘viability’ – which is the costs against the profit he will make – and that residents also get the new station. They argue it will increase local house prices.

The plans

You can see the plans and how to have your say here.

Next steps

The developer is open to public meetings, including on site and by Zoom – so we will be organising these. Local Lib Dem councillors are also delivering letters advising people about the application and how to have their say.

4 August 2022 update

Thank you to all those who’ve written to us with your comments on this planning application so far, and also to the circa 50-60 people who attended either of our public meetings today.

You spoke well and made good points, and it’s been really useful for councillors to hear your views. Thank you for attending.

In brief summary, people raised concerns about:

• The delivery of ‘step-free access’ – because it relies on the Department for Transport to agree to give the money;
• Impact of bringing a large number of new residents into the area, particularly
  • on parking at evenings and weekends, and use of road-space; and
  • and sewers (given nearby problems already on eg Bakers End);
• The significant height, and the design, of the building;
• The positioning of the loading bay; and
• Lack of ‘affordable housing’ in the building, despite Merton’s planning rules on this.

Please do continue to send your views into the Council, and to copy them to us/your ward councillors.

We’ll be submitting our own comments on the application too.

If you have further questions for the developer – they’ve said they’re happy to answer them and I am happy to put you in touch/make sure you get an answer.

11 August update

The developer has shared a number responses in the last week to some of the issued raised by residents. He has asked us to share these with residents, which we do below, without endorsement.

Sewerage capacity

“Please find attached confirmation of the Pre Development Query in respect of Sewage Capacity at Wimbledon Chase that our sewage consultants are undertaking with Thames Water.

As the architect explained on the public consultation zoom call this is normally a task that would be undertaken pre construction but we understand the genuine concerns of local residents so we are doing the query with Thames Water now.

Please can any residents who have experienced issues with sewage in their property or locally let us have the information to assist us with Thames Water“.

You may also be interested in Thames Water’s planning representation on this application.

Parking

“We would like to reiterate to local residents that the residents in the proposed scheme will not be allowed to have car permits. Any residents in the scheme that had a car before cannot park that car anywhere in the very large CPZ area between the hours of 08.30 to 18.30. The prohibition on parking permits is not only enforced by the Council but will also be enforced legally in the individual leases of the apartments where there will be a specific clause which states ‘ The Lessee shall not be permitted to apply for or hold a Car Parking Permit’ so an owner will be in breach of their leases if they attempt to obtain a car parking permit by any means. We will agree to this clause being a requirement in the leases of the apartments as a condition of the planning permission should it be granted …

In relation to the CPZ the consultant thinks low parking enforcement levels are an issue, as did a number of local residents at the consultations, and perhaps increased levels of parking enforcement in the CPZ is something Councillors can take up with the Council direct. We will certainly raise increased levels of parking enforcement in the CPZ with the Council highways officer when we engage with them.

The consultant has suggested extending the hours of the CPZ from 18.30 to to 20.30 to assist with the school parking issue which seemed to be the main pre existing car parking issue mentioned at the public consultations. Please could you discuss with local residents and see if there is a consensus as to whether this is something they might be interested in us exploring with the Council?”

Housing mix and standards

“The proposed apartments, all of which meet the minimum Council size thresholds, are all studios, 1 and 2 bedrooms suitable for younger local people. The housing stock review we commissioned revealed that Wimbledon Chase has a severe shortage of housing for local young people, a demographic that has very low levels of car ownership. The scheme is adjacent to Wimbledon Chase Train Station with a three minute train journey to Wimbledon Station twice an hour which has London Underground, Tram, and mainline services to London. There is a bus stop directly in front of the proposed scheme and 142 cycle spaces inside the proposed scheme. We anticipate after all of these factors are taken unto account the residents in the proposed scheme will have minimal or zero car ownership levels.”

Step-free and station entrance

“We wanted to reiterate to residents why it is so critical to have a new station entrance parallel to the viaduct and tracks as the step free access tunnel would be built underneath them, subject to funding. I attach an extract from the planning application that shows how the step free access has been designed.”

Costings for the various design options to make Wimbledon Chase Station ‘step-free’.