Current status – waiting for planning permission from church diocesan authority
The boundary wall at the Good Shepherd Church was built in 1881, and as it is part of the Lee Manor Conservation Area, we’re required to get planning permission from Lewisham Council and the Diocese of Southwark prior to carrying out any repairs.
We have surveyed the brick boundary wall and gained reports and drawings from architects and structural engineers; trial pits have been dug at the base of the wall; and we have commissioned an arboricultural report on the trees adjacent to the wall on Wantage Road. All of which has taken time and money, and the services of appropriate specialists.
Our proposal is ready; the advice of the experts is that we need to replace the entirety of the Wantage Road wall, save for a small section to the south of the pedestrian gate, adjacent to 11 Wantage Road. This will require new foundations and suitably matched new materials, as the current foundations and salvaged bricks are unsuitable.
We have a support letter from the Lee Manor Conservation Society, and we submitted our proposal to the first of the two planning authorities, the Diocese of Southwark, at the beginning of August. When we have that approval, we will also seek the approval of the Lewisham Council Planning Authority. Pre application advice in February 2023 from Lewisham Council suggested that it would be sensible to seek Diocesan approval first.
Next Steps
1) Continue to push for Diocesan approval
2) Make a planning application to Lewisham (with letters of support)
3) Go out to tender
4) Raise funds – given the constraints we are working under, the cost is likely to be greater that the Good Shepherd’s existing resources, so we hope to raise funds from the congregation, hall users and the local community.
We shall update this page as the story develops!