Welcome

to the website of the
Crystal Palace Campaign

The Crystal Palace Campaign is a popular movement which has successfully prevented a 20-cinema multiplex from being built on the historic, Grade II* listed site in Crystal Palace Park where the rebuilt (Sydenham) Crystal Palace used to stand.
We are now engaged in a dialogue process, which we initiated, to see the results through to a successful conclusion i.e. an arrangement in place to allow full and proper consultation with local people and others .

Updated:

    17 January 2012

     

     

     

Bromley Council - Crystal Palace Park Mangement Board: Apply now, date extended to January 13th; forms etc go to master plan documents
Applications now closed

 

Joseph.Paxton

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803-1865), gardener & architect, creator of the original Crystal Palace in Hyde Park in 1851.

PARK WORKING GROUP

Spawned from the work of the old facilitation process, set up by the amenity groups and including local boroughs, councillors, English Heritage and many others, the Park Working Group set up a conference on Crystal Palace Park on 20th May 2011. There have been important consequences recently highlighted in a Bromley Council press release and picked up by BBC London News.

The meeting of Bromley's Executive Committee on Wednesday 19th October passed the proposal (with only minor changes) for a body to investigate and define a governance strategy for Crystal Palace Park: see Project Management Board link below.

GO TO:

Conference of 20th May 2011 to 20 May conference
Bromley News Release 7 October 2011 goto Bromley press release 7 October 2011
BBC London NewsBBC London news
Project Management Board - Proposal Details BBC London news

NOTE: keep visiting the Bromley Council website - during the next month or so there will be calls for applications to various positions in the Project Management Board structure. It is important that we, the community, participate and show that we have the determination and skills to produce a governance model which satisfies park requirements and incorporates community involvement.

GO TO THE MASTER PLAN ONE-STOP SHOP go to master plan documents

Link to Call-in Inquiry information to call-in inquiry info
 

JUDICIAL REVIEW - the application for Judicial review of the Master Plan will be heard on 7th March 2012

Confirmed by phone yesterday - details of exact time and court can be found on the Queens Bench website 2 days before the hearing.

 

Secretary of State approves Master Plan

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Right Hon. Eric Pickles, has fully approved:

Application A - the Master Plan for Crystal Palace Park
Application B - conservation area consent
Application C - listed building consent.

A large number of people and organisations have worked towards the regeneration of Crystal Palace Park; this is a real 'holiday season' gift to them as well as to local residents, park users, the local economy and others. The huge amount of work put into the Master Plan by its many contributors, financed by the LDA and supported by a majority of local people, now has to put into practice. Everyone faces the challenge in the new year of implementing the plan - a complicated but satisfying task.

One caveat, clause 15 in the approval letter of 13 December 2010: " ...the validity of the Secretary of State’s decision may be challenged by making an application to the High Court within six weeks from the date of this letter." See Right to Challenge link below.

Further links:
Rt Hon Eric Pickles
time-line
Right to Challenge - notes from Dept. C & LG
We want your email

Peter Austin, Adrian Hill and Ray Sacks

Peter Austin (Norwood Society), Adrian Hill (Dulwich Society) and Ray Sacks (Crystal Palace Campaign) - Today (4/4/11) outside the GLA building. Separate meetings with both the LDA and GLA today proved very informative for everyone and very positive in spite of current economic woes.

 

APPROVAL - HAS ARRIVED

Crystal Palace Park, after so many years in the preparation, will have a 'new life'. Remember that this is an outline application so that the design and financing and consultation will start up again but this time it will centre around real change.

Master Plan Supporters

Master Plan supporters outside the Inquiry hall - July 2009

roof radio mast

Main Pool, 10m diving board and new, smart Results Panel

National Sports Centre - refurbishment.
Where is all that time and money going?

Take a look at a short picture report on the progress being made in refurbishing the NSC building.
May 2008 link to NSC report

NOW take a look at the Fabulous
National Sports Centre
April 2009

EXCITING MOMENT

On behalf of the London Development Agency Robin Buckle delivers the Master Plan to Bromley Council. The deed was done on the 1st November (2007), and acknowledged by Bromley Council on 2nd November. This is the first of three elements of the planning application - the other two concern 'listed buildings' and the 'conservation area'.

Bromley will shortly formally register the document and will then begin the normal consultation/comment process. Because of the size of the application (count the boxes!), special arrangements are being made to view it at Bromley Headquarters and the process will extend longer than usual simply to give everyone a chance to read and comment on the huge amount of material.

As soon as more detail about the planning registration number, viewing etc. becomes available it will appear here!

Exciting Moment... This is the culmination of the Master Planning phase of the move to regenerate the Park and the result of a vast amount of work commissioned by the LDA. This phase was one of the most expansive consultation process of any planning application of this type. The consultation kept the Master Planners informed about community aspirations and directly influenced many of the choices they made. It gave many thousands of people a chance directly to have their say.

The Crystal Palace Campaign have always promoted consultation. We initiated the Dialogue Process more than five years ago and have supported it since. We will continue to do so in the phases to follow. Our supporters can be proud of the achievements so far and look forward to the new future for Crystal Palace Park.

Grouped items see Themes page...or
try our SEARCH page for site searching.
Baffled by ACRONYMS? Try our Glossary page.

button

 

button2

"There is no city like London. It is a wonderfully diverse and open city providing a home to hundreds of different nationalities from all over the world. I can't think of a better place than London to hold an event that unites the world." - Nelson Mandela...

see....London 2012 Olympic bid website green table















 

 

  • WHAT'S BEEN ADDED....

 

  • Previous:
  • GOVERNANCE - a very important issue which needs to be resolved before major works can begin. Who is responsible for Crystal Palace Park? The current owners - Bromley Council? The five boroughs surrounding the park all of whose people/voters/citizens and visitors get benefit from the open space? Some London wide authority? During the formal consultation period, many good ideas were considered and, partially, debated. An excellent presentation was given to the then Park Working Group by David Wythicombe of Land Management Services - January 2008! It has been on our website since then.. but here's a link to re-visit it afresh link to wythicombe governanec presentation ...also use the SEARCH page with (obviously) "governance" as the search word.
  • Some recently published articles relating to the Master Plan decision (etc)-see publications Index:
  • p170: Residents loose fight.... - this could also have been titled (but with greater relevance!): Residents win fight to regenerate Crystal Palace Park (only the content and pictures would have changed!) - interesting comments from Boris Johnson - Mayor of London
  • p171: 67.5 million pounds park plan gets government approval
  • p172: The Queen steps in... (from July 2010) - might have interesting repercussions for the governance of Crystal Palace Park.
  • Master Plan material: GO TO THE ONE_STOP_SHOP!
  • Crystal Palace Station - refurbishment plans - great pictures...CP station external view - refurbished building
  • Older items archived - A35


Fine print section:

e-mails 2011:

  • please let us know your email address if you want to receive e-mailed news from us
  • if you have already received e-post, then you are on the list
  • if you know someone who doesn't have email, then please let us know (we'll use snail mail)
  • get friends to pass us their email addresses
  • persuade your friends to get on the email list - see contact link below - even its simply to keep in touch
  • go to contact form
  • there will be more activity than before later in 2011 including information on meetings, consultation and participation - the more emails we have, the better

For old "Season's Greetings" messages and various other archived material go to Archive Index.
 First "uploading" of the web site - 4th October 1998. Website moved server - June 2007. Every effort is being made to keep the contents informative, up to date and accurate. However... comments on the contents please e-mail.
webmaster@crystal.dircon.co.uk
 Last updated 2321, 17/1/12
Pages updated:- Home; N50

NOTE: if you don't have the "frames" of this website up and running, you might have entered this website awkwardly
click here>>> go to index.htm to get to the best screen arrangement.
Browsers: these web pages are tested with Internet Explorer and Safari.
Archive: much material is archived - see index - e.g. A18 for Who We Are and Core principles.

-------keep coming back to this site, it's always changing-----

Sir Joseph Paxton - the leading photograph above is of a sculpture by W.F.Woodington, 1869: it now stands facing the sports stadium, his back towards the old Palace site! In 1823 Paxton moved to the Horticultural Society in Chiswick and entered the date of his birth as 1801 - an action which mislead many an historian. In fact he was born on 3rd August 1803 in a small village called Milton Bryan a few miles south-east of Milton Keynes in Bedfordshire. He died on the 8th June 1865 at Rockhills in Sydenham, south London, having seen his great building, Crystal Palace, for the last time in May of that year. He was wheeled in a chair through a flower show and, although surrounded by the plants he had always loved, he was unable to complete the journey.

you are the ... ...visitor to this site (continuing from our old site).

Click on the Sphinx to get a higher resolution picture (it's a great screen background).

Top of Page