Local Residents Anger at London GAA

[thejuice]

*****May have been discussed already******

London GAA have decided to let one of their grounds go to waste for 12 years and are now hoping to build upon it. Locals are opposing any development as the land they consider is now community and green space. The fact that the site has "naturalised" ie overgrown some would reckon it is now a valuable habitat for local wildlife as well. Anyway they seem pretty pissed as can be seen by their website no matter what the outcome wont reflect well on the GAA in London

http://www.ragedresidents.org.uk/

We have the support of GLA Members, Bexley and Greenwich MPs, Local Councillors, Lamorby and New Ethan Residents Associations, Sport England, The Football Foundation, The National Playing Fields Association, Planning Aid for London, English Nature and Disabled Charities.

We support the Government, GLA and Local Authority legislation and planning controls that protect this site. For over 40 years it has been recognised that London needs its Green Spaces to act as the GREEN LUNGS for us all. In these days of serious air pollution in London, the old Green Belt contributes to the health and well being of all Londoners.

The site is threatened under Greenwich's Unitary Development Plan (UDP) as Greenwich Council wish to declassify the site from its Private Sports Ground and Community Open Space designation. They propose to designate it as for Mixed Use which is code for "YOU CAN BUILD HOUSES HERE"

With the forthcoming Olympics, Child Obesity and ever increasing Pollution the land should be put to use for the amenity and health of residents and visitors to the Greenwich and Bexley Boroughs, as well as all of London.

The site has been WILLFULLY LOCKED AWAY AND NEGLECTED for over 12 years, by its owners. This a cynical, land grabbing and profiteering action to reap Millions of Pounds from getting the land built upon.

The Gaelic Athletic Football Association hope that local residents would wish to ditch the Sporting and Green aspects of this site in favour of housing. In reality the site is returning to nature and is now supporting a wonderful diversity of wildlife with endangered species.

We wish to return the site to Sports and Recreation taking account of all the ecological, health and environmental aspects it serves today.

[john mcgill]

A Donegal developer has bought New Eltham for millions depending on planning permission.  The London County Board has depended on that sale to clear debts at Ruislip.

[spiritof91and94]

A Donegal developer has bought New Eltham for millions depending on planning permission.  The London County Board has depended on that sale to clear debts at Ruislip.

Duffy Construction & Scanmoor Construction were the main players in the deal back in 2000 - Scanmoor have since 'hit the wall'

[snatter]

Ben Dunne has playing fields in South West London he could do with getting rid of.

He paid £3M stg, failed to get permission to upgrade the palying fields to be some fancy sports club, and now he's looking to turn it into a cemetry.

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/kingstonnews/display.var.2204038.0.public_meeting_over_cemetery_plans.php

[Mike Sheehy]

I think now would be a good time to remind this particular set of English folk about their colonial past, especially their habit of absentee landlordism which we have merely picked up on from their goodselves !! 

[Frank Casey]

Chickens coming home to roost eh Mike.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Swung a leg on that particular ground myself, fadó, fadó, but no particular axe to grind here - if it's not within the green-belt it's ripe for development, and if the local residents have a problem with that they should move to somewhere where their flora and fauna interests are fully indulged. Either that, or shoot the government and raise a revolution!... nah, not in Eltham!

[spiritof91and94]

I say bombard them with emails!!!

[Mike Sheehy]

Duffy Construction & Scanmoor Construction were the main players in the deal back in 2000 - Scanmoor have since 'hit the wall'

You say Scanmoor have hit the wall...how about Duffy ? are they still going strong ?..I worked a cople of summers with them back in the late 80's  (if its the same crowd...Donegal roots ?)

[spiritof91and94]

Still going strong although Andy died last year at his Fulham home and things are a bit up in the air - a buy out seems imminent, his wife is the MD at the moment.
Andy was only 46 when he died and was a massive gael and set the Tir Chonnail boys up were they are today. RIP.

[GaelicGames.In]

This is one of the un-mentioned issues of London GAA.

The county is centralised with most of the games taking place in Ruislip and Greenford (both in North West London). All the clubs outside of that have no proper (self owned) facilities and are forced to travel to NW London for 9 out of 10 of their games. Growth in London GAA is really hampered by this distance issue.

There are a few clubs near New Ethlam. These include Dulwich Harps, Cuchuallans and Green Isle Camogie. Dulwich in particular, have put in place a really good underage system in conjunction with a seconrdary school.

To sell off this land to pay for debts (which including sending county teams back to ireland to get hammered) is very shortsighted.

They could perhaps justifiy selling off 2 of the 3 pitches... but all three? Lunacy.

And not to use the pitches for 15 years, out of spite? Well, to be honest its just typical.

[irunthev]

Danny Keeney is the developer currently  involved.
Permission was granted by the local authority to develop last year but was then turned down by Government Minister Ruth Kelly on the grounds that firstly the London GAA had made no attempt to sell the land as playing fields and that she felt their agenda had always been to try and cash in on its development potential and also for the fact that Greenwich already had sufficient land bank to do meet their development needs for the next ten years. There were other sundry reasons regarding the lay out of Keeney's proposal e.g. height of some buildings, but ultimately Ruth Kelly objected to the intention to always sell as development land.
It's not over yet. This is a two-sided story and the residents are very good at complaining (and rightly so as they have the right to defend the area they live in). The land is of little use to the GAA now as it is so far away from where the game is centralised with most of the top teams in both codes being based in SW London and New Eltham is a good 2 hour drive across town and it isn't served by the underground, so its totally inpractical.
London GAA are in the region of £800,000 in debt with an income that struggles to meet the repayments. A couple of years ago the county board's independent auditor warned the delegates at convention that selling this ground wasn't so much an option but a requirement. The County Board over the years have made a  few right ham-fisted attempts at selling this land, but Keeney is paying an annual premium for the right to seek permission and it is probably the most logical approach for the London GAA. Things have been difficult for London GAA for the last ten years or so, but there is a definite increase in the number of players going to the city, so that can only be good. New Eltham though is a relic and would require hundreds of thousands to make any sort of playing arena out of now. There are no facilities, trees growing in the middle of what were the pitches, no car parking and no real good access.

[GaelicGames.In]

I'm not on the County Board but can I ask:

- Should one of the pitches not be retained and developed for Dulwich Harps and the other local clubs?

They might be over grown but they would have to be levelled to have houses built on them anyway.

I'm dead set against the centerising of London GAA. I think that the few clubs that are south of the river should be clubbing together to fight it. If you want to grow the GAA in the town you dont centeralise everything in one field in the corner of the city.

And you sure as hell shouldnt sell capital resources to pay for current expenses. Any junior cert business student would know that.