Say NO to taking territories.

[Duke of Clarence]

I saw the following notice on Virtual Norwood and thought I'd post it here:

SAY “NO” TO TAKING TERRITORIES - SAVE 25 CHURCH ROAD FOR A CINEMA!

The Crystal Palace Triangle Group (CPTPG) invites local residents and traders to join them on Saturday 21st May 2011 from 12:45 PM for a peaceful, symbolic protest to mark their objections to Kingsway International Christian Centre’s (KICC) plans for 25 Church Road.

On Saturday 21st May 2011 KICC intend to hold an event on the top site in Crystal Palace Park (immediately adjacent to the bus garage). The event has been organised by KICC’s South West Branch based in Wimbledon and, according to LB Bromley, is a religious event for up to 1000 people.

This is the first major event held by KICC in Crystal Palace. Its promotion as “A New Beginning” and connection to KICC’s Wimbledon congregation, for whom 25 Church Road was allegedly bought, may imply that KICC intend to further their ambitions of “taking territories” by building a considerable presence in South London, centred around future activities at 25 Church Road.

Having failed to obtain planning permission to use 25 Church Road for religious worship, KICC now appear determined to press on with plans to use it for entertainment uses such as “religious concerts”, conferences and other events. This is despite the fact that:

1. KICC are a religious charity, not an organisation set up to run an 1150-capacity public entertainment venue.

2. KICC spent £1.25 million of charitable funds with the stated intent to use the building as a place of worship, not a place of public entertainment, but failed to get planning permission for that use.

3. KICC’s own planning consultant acknowledging that using 25 Church Road for other purposes, such as concerts, rather than acts as worship would be harmful to the area. He submitted to LB Bromley that “the unrestricted nature of the permitted use could mean that the site is used more intensively i.e. additional seating and standing capacity introduced so that the building could hold numbers way in excess of the current 1150 capacity limit without any need for planning permission. It could also be used for other permitted uses including a dance hall, concert venue etc all uses with the potential to cause significant noise/disturbance and parking problems in the local area.”

4. KICC do not have a public entertainment licence for 25 Church Road

5. KICC have not undertaken any meaningful consultation with the local community and deferred requests to meet local MP’s and community representatives, even though their regulator, The Charity Commission, advises that “charity projects involving the acquisition of land arouse opposition locally, even to the extent of active hostility. Where this is likely, trustees are advised to plan carefully in advance, to consult widely and to provide full information about their proposals and the reasons for them”

Whilst fully recognising KICC’s right to exercise freedom of religious assembly, the CPTPG believe that KICC’s plans for 25 Church Road risk antagonising the local community and creating disharmony and may damage the vibrancy and vitality of the Triangle.

We also believe that it is time to call on KICC to consider whether its plans meet its legal obligation not to cause public detriment or harm in the carrying out of its charitable aims and to consider whether the appropriate course of action is to gracefully withdraw their plans and sell 25 Church Road.

CPTPG’s belief is based on the fact that:-

Over 3500 local residents and traders lodged objections to KICC’s application to LB Bromley for a change of use of 25 Church Road from one of public entertainment to a place of worship for up to 650 people.

Southwark, Croydon and Lambeth Councils all objected to KICC’s proposals

LB Bromley Planning Committee rejected KICC’s planning application because it went against town centre policies for maintaining the vitality and viability of the district centre, was deemed harmful to the social, cultural and economic characteristics of the area and because the volume of traffic and parking from proposed congregations of over 500 people would have a damaging effect upon the area

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Join the CPTPG from 12:45 to 13:30 on Saturday 21st May 2011 for a peaceful protest. Please gather at the entrance to Crystal Palace Park Museum at 12:45. We will then walk to an assembly point not less than 50 metres away from where the KICC congregation have gathered and then stand and observe KICC’s event for 30 minutes as a mark of protest. We propose to invite protesters to hold up a banner or similar written wording reading “SAY NO TO TAKING TERRITORIES - SAVE 25 CHURCH ROAD FOR A CINEMA!” during this 30 minutes.

Join the CPTPG’s mailing list by contacting mailtocptpg@gmail.com and pledge to continue the fight for 25 Church Road by helping CPTPG contest any future application by KICC for a public entertainment licence or certificate of lawfulness, which would assist KICC to host religious concerts and intensify use at 25 Church Road.

Contact your local councillors and MPs and let them know how you feel.


It would be great to see other STFers on Saturday for what the CPTPG hope will be a peaceful and law abiding mark of protest. Whilst the CPTPG recognises that the issue of 25 Church Road can stir passions , we would ask all members of the community who wish to protest to remember that KICC's event in the park has been authorised by Bromley Council and that KICC have the right to practice their religion and support their Church without fear, harrassment or intimidation. The purpose of the protest is not to attack or abuse KICC's congregation, which will include families with young children, but rather to to draw attention to local objections over their plans for the use of 25 Church Road. Please also be aware that, since this is a public protest, CPTPG have fulfilled their legal obiligation under the Public Order Act to notify the local Police. The Police have asked us to remind protestors about the need to behave peacefully, avoid confrontation and obey the law, particularly as the protest is taking place in a public park.

[ALIB]

Not really Sydenham, is it ?

[Duke of Clarence]

Not really Sydenham, is it ?

Depends how you look at this. Church Road is not in Sydenham it is in Crystal Palace. Sydenham and Crystal Palace meet in the park. Large events that take place in the park and in CP town centre do effect (usually in a positive way) the Sydenham area.

As the proposed uses of 25 CR are aimed at a membership from a very wide catchment area this is going to present some serious traffic and parking problems. In January 2009 KICC presented a 2k parking target zone but that was for 500 capacity numbers. They have now doubled the audience size so the zone will need to be extended which means it would creep further into Sydenham, even Forest Hill. We are yet to learn where the park and ride areas would be.

So ALIB you may be lucky and not live in a part of Sydenham that will be affected by any of this but there are plenty of people who live near the CP borders who will.

[downthehill]

DoC

Thanks for drawing attention to this.

I am a Committee Member of the Crystal Palace Triangle Planning Group who are seeking to organise the protest.

I just wanted to pick up on on a few points - one from this thread and one from the leafletting thread.

First - adverse comment about KICC
This fight is not about KICC as an organisation. It's about local residents fighting for what they believe to be the best use of a landmark building which sits slap bang in the middle of our town centre. I'd agree that some of the comments on VN are OTT but the local community in CP are having their patience and understanding tested to the limit by KICC's refusal to consult and what many see as KICC seeking to get around the refusal of planning permssion to hold church services at 25 Church Road by proposing to host "religious concerts" instead.

Second -that this isn't a Sydenham issue
Should KICC succeed in their plan of hosting religious concerts at 25 Church Road on the basis that this is an "entertainment" use , rather than an act of worship (for which they do not have planning permssion ) then the one building in the district which was custom built to be used as a cinema will be gone, for decades, with little or no prospect of a decent local independent cinema opening anywhere else in the district.

I'd suggest that there are plenty of Sydenham residents who would use a decent independent cinema just a few miles up the road.

Finally - Why are residents targetting a religious service in the park ?
The protest is not aimed at disrupting KICC's service in the park or attacking their beliefs (albeit the there are some concerns about why Bromley have just rolled over to the idea of a 1000 strong gospel service , with a stage and amplified music - they didn't even think it was advisable to notify the local Police).

At the end of the day it is KICC's Executive and Trustees, not the congregation, that make decisions and we understand the difference between leaders and followers.

The protest is to mark objections about the proposed use of 25 Church Road.

However since KICC will not come to us (for example by hosting a wide consultation as the Charity Commission suggest should happen when a land transaction by a charity is contraversial) then we intend to go to them.

I see no issue with that provided the protest is peaceful and does not descend into harrassment or intimidation which is aimed at KICC's beliefs.

[The Clown]

I'm afraid I dont have time to come down and protest.
If you want to enlist support it would be great if you could make it easier for people to be involved
I would suggest an online petition or a pre-drafted letter with an email address that can be sent to councillors......
These are busy times...

[Duke of Clarence]

Thanks for your support Clown. It was a well attended, peaceful and good humoured protest. The KICC event was not the 1,000 strong crowd it was billed as, which was a relief to protestors who had turned up expecting to be hopelessly outnumbered.

Here's a few pics:



for more check out http://www.virtualnorwood.com/forum/top ... ge__st__45

[maestro]

Saturday protest has made news............

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/90442 ... tre_event/