[b]Bowling Green Pavilion - Planning Re-Designation by Wandsworth Council [/b]
Write in to Consultation by 28th October 2020 - Hurry! Search "[b]Plannning application for Pavillion 2020/2536"[/b]
I hope residents living around the Clapham Common green space, will object strongly, or indeed otherwise, to the re-designation of the Bowling Green Pavilion: [b]"Change of use from D2 Pavilion to A3 - Restaurants and cafes"[/b]. I and a few other residents expressed concern in April 2019 when I posted original note [url=
viewtopic.php?f=197&t=102634]Clapham Common Westside Bowling Green Closure[/url].
My objection to the whole idea of crazy-golf articulated as “Putting In The Park” is simple. I for one really [b]do not want a part the common land belonging to generations of past and present taxpayers hived-off / leased to private enterprise to run and manage for profit, or even for non-profit impetus. [/b]It simple because its says so on the tin; its in the name of our park “Clapham Common”. “Common” land for us, the locals and residents.
From that over-arching principle – we do still have them in this fair but firm land – many arguments for and against re-designation from bowling-green facility to crazy-golf can and has been made surely. From a political perspective, [b]Lambeth Council have conceded they do not have the financial budget to manage and operate lawn-bowling outdoors without loss of income [/b](instead its offering one indoor carpet bowling in Brixton). Lambeth officialdom of Councillors and managers have also got rid off lawn bowling greens in nearby Brockwell Park. Yet Tory / Conservative managed council Wandsworth, through outsourced “Enable” maintain lawn-bowling facilities at two of its centres on Wandsworth Common and St Georges Park, I believe.
So the falacious argument that bowling is in poor demand by gentle Wandsworth residents is NOT the over-riding reason, but that Lambeth maintained the bowling green in poor state i.e. did not resurface the lawn but paid one groundsman “Steve” c.£30k annually for its up-keep, toiling against the odds. Therefore [b]serious bowling-enthusiasts did not use Clapham Common bowling, [/b]only occasional young revellers with their beer-bottles in hand used facility. That the moribund state Lambeth managed the facility towards. The rationale for bowling-green re-designation should not be Lambeth management incompetency. And its adjunct implication of wasted taxpayer funds.
[Towards joined-up-thinking it should be here noted that Lambeth Council taxpayers have allocated £210,000 to re-surface a large chunk of the Northside of the Common in preparation for commercial “events”, with tougher grass (less conducive to fauna) and better drainage – when two bowling greens couldn’t be re-surfaced and operated. Who would have thought it! [b]Labour-controlled Lambeth Council seems to have Tory aspirations towards capitalism too![/b]]
The above was only eloaborating on the political perspective allied to Council finances which would seem to dictate this planning-application of use from its original intended purpose. [b]“Conservatism” seems dead from local political-powers, that of conserving benefit for the future residents and taxpayers[/b].
[b]Other Principal Considerations:[/b]
1. Covid19 / pandemic has highlighted necessity of PRESERVING public open-spaces sports like bowling
2. Wandsworth residents will be SUBSIDIZING Lambeth taxpayers
3. Change to a restaurant from sports-purpose usually accomodates an ALCOHOL license
4. Idyllic corner of Clapham Common Westside will become SUPER-CHARGED in nature
5. Astro-turf crazy-golf features is insulting to GREEN-ENVIRONMENT trends
Etcetera
Posted by local resident of 40+ years, and now [b]Clapham Common tennis-coach and activist Krishna Siva[/b], please contact me by reply for further information. :shock: :o :mrgreen: