Councillor Stanton's Failure at Potter's Field

I am a resident of Tooley Street who made the mistake of voting for the Liberal Democrats and Nick Stanton, Eliza Mann and Paul Baichoo at the 2006 election. As a former Labour supporter I thought our “Leader” Nick Stanton would be more involved in key local issues like stopping the Berkeley Homes horrendous residential development of Potter's Field, most of which is owned by the people of Southwark like myself. I have been keeping an eye on this development since I saw those anti Berkeley homes protestors and after 4 years of empty rhetoric from Councillor Stanton about finding a cultural user for Potter's Field we are no further forward.

Who is going to win the battle over Potter's Field? Berkeley Homes and their owner Tony Pidgley (who is bankrolling the Mayor's property developments around London so Berkeley Homes gets the rights to the surrounding residential developments)??? or our lightweight “Leader” Mr Nicholas Stanton? NO CONTEST! Waste of a vote.

Oh GOODNESS david2000, how right you are. I could WEEP for the way that Tony Pidgely has ridden roughshod over everyone and everything.It is just massive corporate greed which supercedes anything in our day and age.

In the words of Gordon Gekko:

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.

Greed is right.

Greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind."

Without greed, we would still be living in caves.

surely the councillor's responsibility is to the local community? not to service the greed of berkeley homes... it infuriates me

david200 wrote:

surely the councillor's responsibility is to the local community? not to service the greed of berkeley homes...

You are so right but the Council has made so many decisions of this type that they obviously don't agree and I'm not being specific to any commercial interest! I've voted Lib Dem since I moved into SE1 25 years ago but never again!

Sad to see that Thathcher's legacy is still alive in some peoples thinking.

Hello - has the site been granted building permission ? Real shame. Any other campaigns still going to stop the development ?

Thanks

I agree with the OP. I can't believe Stanton and Southwark Council have failed to stop the Berkeley Homes scheme. Where is their leadership?

More importantly where is our Council Tax money?

Nick Stanton should tell us how much money he has wasted managing to lose a Public Inquiry which should have been an open and shut case - to stop development of our own land by Berkeley Homes.
How can you lose a simple contest like that? When EVERYONE is backing you. And surely he could have found the ‘cultural user' he's been banging on about for a site like that(!) in all the years this has been going on… What is he up to?

designateddriver wrote:

In the words of Gordon Gekko:
"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.

Greed is right.

Greed works.

Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind."

Without greed, we would still be living in caves.

Yes Des but do we just want a housing estate on the Potter's Field site for rich Arabs? Something that's better for the community could also make money!
Accepting Tony Pidgley's oil money (according to the sunday times Berkeley Homes has just done a �500 million deal with Pidgley's Saudi Partner “Saad Investments” to buy up prime London sites) rather than using this uniquely British site for a British based cultural project is completely the opposite to what the council should be considering. Shouldn't a site opposite the Tower of London be used for Britain rather than a housing estate and property development for Saudi Arabians?

Sure, if you believe that Britain's prosperity comes from excluding rich foreigners.

david200 wrote:

surely the councillor's responsibility is to the local community? not to service the greed of berkeley homes... it infuriates me

Are you not aware that Cllr Stanton has been trying to block BH's proposals at every turn? I really cant understand how you can turn the situation around to say that he is trying "to service the greed of berkeley homes" - it's completely at odds with reality. You may have a point about what has been done with the site in the past and how we got to this situation but that's not a party political or Cllr-specific issue. Cllr Stanton has raised this issue a lot and indeed replied very promptly when I had reason to raise aspects of it with him in the past. I think you should save your ire for BH and not for one of the Cllrs who is on your side on this (as I imagine all Cllrs in Southwark are).