Children send more than 300 letters to Croydon council against plans to build flats on green spaces they play on

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Children in New Addington sent a stack of more than 300 letters to Croydon council last week objecting to plans for flats on green spaces they use to play on.

Fairchildes Primary School pupils wrote the letters to complain against developments around their school.

While council-owned developer Brick by Brick has removed plans for flats on a patch of green space opposite the school, there are still proposals for two other blocks in Fairchildes Avenue.

Headteacher Jo Hussey said children use a patch of land on the border with King Henry’s Drive to play on after school. It is earmarked for a six-storey block of 23 flats.

Another four-storey block of 15 flats is proposed for a small green space next to Corbett Close. Planning applications for the two sites are yet to be submitted.

One of the letters said: “We use the green space to play with our friends and sometimes have picnics with our families too.

“There are already limited areas where we can do this in New Addington and if you build on the green space near our school that will mean one less place for us to be outdoors.”

People in New Addington have been up in arms about proposed developments in the town, with a new residents’ group set up last month with a focus on fighting the plans.

One of the teachers, Miss Hussey, said this year children across the school were learning about environmental issues.

She said: “With this right on our doorstep we wanted the children to see that they have a voice.

“A lot of our children have come in and spoken about it because their parents were talking about it at home.

“There is a little grassy area that the children play on at the end of the day and they are a bit upset about that.

“I think people are pleased that the children know about it and think they should have a say. The motto we’ve got this year is, ‘our environment, our choice, our future’.”

Year 2 pupils wrote a joint letter while all older pupils wrote individual letters. Overall a box of 320 letters were sent to the council’s planning department.

Ms Hussey is from Biggin Hill but has been at the school for the past 30 years.

She added: “I don’t think the proposals are appropriate. New Addington is quite populated already and one of the great things it has going for it is our green spaces.”

In response to the letters, a Brick by Brick spokesman said that the company was set up to create “well-designed, affordable homes”.

He said: “In investigating sites which may have the potential for development, we undertake a very detailed technical assessment to determine whether they are appropriate for new housing, as well as detailed engagement with the local community to gather their views and feedback to help inform our plans.

“With regard to the site in Fairchildes Avenue adjacent to Fairchildes Primary School, we have concluded that due to specific planning-related challenges, the site is not appropriate for new housing development at this time, and we won’t be progressing plans for this particular site.

“There remains an urgent need for high quality affordable homes in Croydon and we continue to assess all our pipeline sites for their potential to deliver against this priority.”

Pictured top: The children from Fairchildes Primary School