Bungalow could be flattened for block of nine flats in Upper Norwood

Fears a street of bungalows will be wiped out have intensified as a new planning application for a block of flats has been lodged with Croydon Council.

Residents of Downsview Road in Upper Norwood are trying to raise thousands of pounds to fight a developer which is building nine flats on the site of a bungalow in the road.

The same developer, Hambridge Homes, has now submitted a planning application to demolish one more bungalow in the road to make way for another block of nine flats.

Locals say this development goes against a 94-year-old clause in property deeds of the 40 homes in the road.

Known as a restrictive covenant it states that only detached homes should be be built on the land.

A campaign against the current development has already raised £8,500 which is enough for the first stage of legal proceedings.

But if the locals were to fight the developers through the courts it could set them back £120,000.

Campaigner Caroline Fenech said: “We were surprised to see another application from Hambridge Homes seeing as we’ve spoken about court procedures, I would have thought they would have held back.”

Mrs Fenech said that she knows there is currently a pre-application in for a third house in the road and worries this could signal the start of all the 40 bungalows being replaced by flats.

“We have to protect this covenant otherwise this road will end up just being blocks of flats,” she said.

“It should be the burden of a few residents to go to court, this covenant should be protected.

“I think it is very arrogant of [Hambridge Homes] to put plans in without approaching our legal team, it shows the residents they will just plough through.”

The latest application was submitted this week and has gathered 11 public objections.

Nobody from Hambridge Homes was available to comment but the planning statement said: “The proposals accord with the development plan which supports the densification of existing residential streets through providing an intensification of residential uses on underutilised, brownfield sites to help increase the delivery of housing.”

Consultation on the plans closes on October 30 and a decision is expected by December 1.

The Downsview Road fundraising page can be found here:
 https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-downsview-road-se19

Pictured top: Ian Fleming and Caroline Fenech with a copy of the restrictive covenant they hope will make it possible to fight a development in their road (credit: Caroline Fenech)