Elephant Amenity Network

Joint campaign asks mayor of London to bin the Elephant scheme

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From Elephant Amenity Network

Dear friend,

You will know by now that the shopping centre planning application has been approved, by a very narrow margin.  However there is still some distance to go before the development goes forward and the Mayor of London still has to give his endorsement to Southwark’s decision.

We are campaigning now to get the Mayor to refuse to do this, as he has the power to do. We have now sent a joint open letter to the Mayor asking him to call the application in and improve the offer or direct a refusal.
Our letter to Mayor Sadiq Khan is here (pdf)

Green Party AM Sian Berry has also written to the Mayor:
https://www.southwarkgreenparty.org.uk/call_in_the_elephant_decision_says_sian

Please  SIGN THE PETITION

Sadiq: Say NO to the displacement of BAME communities from Elephant & Castle

Eight Labour Councillors, including the local ward councillors and the deputy leader, have made their dissatisfaction with the decision clear and have also  asked London mayor Sadiq Khan to make improvements.   London Assembly member Florence Eshalomi and a local Labour ward has added their voices to the call.

Many local Labour branches have passed a motion opposing the decision to approve the application and asking Sadiq to intervene. This has caused a spat inside Labour, with the local MP Neil Coyle bizarrely accusing one of these branches of “bullying”. This article in Southwark News has more details:
 https://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/neil-coyle-goes-to-war-with-his-own-party-after-blasting-labour-bullies-and-trolls/ 

Campaign groups, including the 35% Campaign, Latin Elephant and Up the Elephant have also vowed to continue the fight.

See http://35percent.org/2018-07-09-delancey/

Shopping centre redevelopment – opposition grows

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From Elephant Amenity Network

Dear Friend

Despite being approved by the planning committee there is growing opposition to the Elephant and Castle shopping centre scheme.

The scheme must be approved by Mayor Sadiq Khan and a NEW petition organised by Latin Elephant is calling on him to either direct refusal of the application or take it over himself.

Southwark Defend Council Housing had a stall at the SGTO summer fest in Camberwell yesterday and got a good response to the campaign to stop the scheme.   Labour Party branches and Camberwell and Peckham Constituency Labour Party have also demanded that Mayor Sadiq Khan calls this application in. You can see the motion they passed here.   Green AM Sian Berry has also written to the Mayor, as have ward Councillors.

PLEASE sign the online petition here.

You can also send objections and comments to here – mayor@london.gov.uk – quoting Southwark Council planning ref 16/AP/4458

Regards

Jerry

Protect Council Estates From Demolition

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From Elephant Amenity Network

Dear Friend

Consultation on the Mayor’s Guide for Estate Regeneration is due to close on March 14 and a cross London campaign has begun to defend estates facing regeneration – Demolition Watch ; this is the website .

At the moment  there is one major demand being put to the Mayor – that there must  be a ballot of estate residents, to approve any  regeneration proposals. 

 A ballot is an elementary protection of estate resident’s interests and the very least that should be required before any regeneration goes ahead. You can help secure estate ballots by doing two things;

1/by signing this petition;

https://www.change.org/p/sadiq-khan-votes-for-residents-on-estates-facing-regeneration-e38816c6-4a5f-4405-b9b4-bedd946eb9f6

2/by submitting a question to our GLA representative, Florence Eshalomi, to be put to the Mayor at his public question time.  There is a model question below and it can be sent to Florence.Eshalomi@london.gov.uk, asking her to submit it for his question time.

There is little doubt that more and more estates are being lined up for regeneration and we must get effective protection of estate residents in place, so please help.

Regards

Jerry

1) Resident Support

The Mayor has said regeneration should “only take place where there is resident support”. Official Guidance on Estate Regeneration (published December 2016) says that, where the proposals include demolition of tenants and leaseholders’ homes, a vote can be ‘appropriate’ to demonstrate the required ‘majority resident support’.

Does the Mayor agree that;

  • There should be a ballot where it is proposed that residents homes be demolished and,
  • GLA funding and planning approval support would not be made available for any schemes involving demolition without such a ballot?