Dear Damian Egan, Vicky Foxcroft, Len Duvall and All Lewisham Councillors.
There should be no place for 'poor doors' and segregated children’s play areas in Lewisham
We the undersigned wish to express our shock and dismay at the council’s planning committee meeting decision this week (planning application DC/18/106708 ) that gave consent for the developers of 1 Creekside Development to introduce the highly controversial and distasteful poor doors to this Deptford development. A 'poor door' is a separate entrance in a multi-unit housing development for those living in less expensive housing.
Poor doors discriminate against people on economic grounds and it is the first time they would be introduced to Deptford, an area that already has a back drop of gentrification concerns and activism. Yet the developer will be given land owned by Lewisham council and in part the tax payers of Lewisham borough and will also receive substantial publicly funded financial incentives. This financial input should include the councils say in insuring that 'poor doors' should in no way be funded in any way by tax payers funds as they are NOT a legal requirement and have no place in the fight to create harmonious communities, tackling discrimination and addressing the very real housing crisis.
Lewisham has a proud record of radical housing solutions from the 1960s being the pioneer of social council house building. Communal self build and co-operative housing schemes such as Sandford Housing Co-op whose success has inspired other housing projects across the UK and is still a huge success,whilst the borough’s history of fighting discrimination in ALL its forms has won International support and respect, which is very much in line with the foundation stones of the Labour Party.
In 2019 we believe there is no place for housing discrimination and call on Lewisham council to publicly state and insure Planning officers are clear that poor doors and segregation of children’s play areas that positively discriminate have NO place in Lewisham and the present consent given to the Developer for 1 Creekside which allows poor doors to be overturned, and Lewisham Council will pass a motion and state publicly that OUR borough will not have poor doors or segregated children’s play areas.
Please Sign the online Change .org Petition or if you are a group or organisation please DM to be included in the Letter going to ALL elected Lewisham politicians next week and the Press.
