PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
A levy for wear and tear is chargeable to residents extending their properties and developers of new builds fronting Welcomes and Uplands Roads including their spur roads.
Planning Permission
Please check the need for planning permission before embarking upon any property alterations, extensions etc. There have been a few cases recently where retrospective planning permission has had to be applied for and this is not ideal for the applicant or neighbours who could be affected by the developments. There is also the question of the management of construction traffic and the need for an agreement with WURA to pay for the extra wear and tear from HGV traffic. Please contact us for advice.
Advice for Residents
Members carrying out extensive landscape work or extending their property are expected to make an extra contribution to the road fund in an amount to be agreed with the Road Committee.
The main purpose of the Road Association is to maintain Welcomes and Uplands Roads. For this reason the Road Committee only becomes involved when a planning application is likely to have an adverse impact on the roads themselves. Please liaise with the KENDRA Planning Officer on planning applications or post your objection with reasons directly using the Planning Register on the Croydon Council web site. The Road Committee appreciate that there are a number of homes in the area that need updating but this should not mean that every square foot of the land they occupy should be built on leaving little parking space or other amenities. Every plan should include a large disabled parking space and somewhere for visitors to park – these are often glaring omissions and potentially would have an adverse impact on our roads.
The Road Committee are keen to do their utmost to maintain the existing character and local distinctiveness of this ‘area of special interest’.
The WURA Committee will object to planning applications it believes will have a detrimental effect on the road, the objections raised can be viewed in the Planning Application Archive.
WURA has proposed to Croydon Council that the WURA estate be given special consideration under Green Grid status but this has not found favour and has not proven to be a mechanism for ending the over development. The paper produced by the WURA secretary is included on the applications archive page.
Advice for Developers
There is an HGV levy charged for using our privately maintained roads and the associated extra wear and tear. This charge applies to developments whether fronting Welcomes and Uplands Roads OR their spur roads. The funds raised from the HGV levy are dedicated to improving our roads for everybody’s benefit including the buyers of new property fronting our roads and/or spur roads.
Before commencing work on the site developers must provide the Association, who are the road managers and street authority, with their contact details by contacting us.
Before embarking on any work on the site, developers and their agents need to meet the Chairman and Secretary (Acting) to discuss the proposed development, site management, parking and traffic routing and to enter into a formal agreement with the Association.
The Association reserves the right to alter the rates without notice or increase them if the projected HGV traffic is deemed to be excessive in the opinion of the Road Committee. It needs to be understood that Welcomes Road has no formal foundations or structure and as such is easily damaged by heavy lorries. In exceptional cases the Road Association would expect the users to make good the road at their expense.
Please note that due notice of the timing and date of any roadworks associated with your development MUST be advised to WURA (and not just the Council) so that we can inform members about possible road closures and give any other appropriate advice on traffic management. All H&S rules must be adhered to as if this was a standard council-owned road, including appropriate road closure signage at ALL access points to the road affected and safety barriers around the site itself.