Thameslink works cause St John's headache
We are having a nightmare in St. Johns with the ongoing railway work. Network Rail have converted the woodland area opposite the station into a works depot for the broader Thameslink project. They have done this without planning permission and consultation.
For those of us living around it, it has become a noisy sometimes 24 hour nightmare. What’s more, they seem to now be extending their depot by constructing new permanent buildings.
This photo shows the currently muddy works deport, complete with the foundations for new buildings that do not have planning permission despite needing it as we are in a conservation area.
Living with the has been difficult over several years and they have partly destroyed the woodland area that makes Cliff Terrace such a special street. We understand that the work has to take place and that it will ultimately benefit everyone, but we are tired of the every expanding, unpermitted work they are doing on our street.
What makes it even more difficult is that our local labour councillors seem to completely indifferent to the difficulties we are experiencing. We are a small community have been imploring them for years to help us, but they just talk about the issue and deliver nothing. They have been aware of the work since before it has started, and have been involved, but have proved completely ineffective in dealing with network rail.
This is a plea to our local councillor Sophie McGeever and Lewisham planning department to help address these problems. We want the work to stop and we want the area to be properly replanted.
