Juniper House Ball Court Planning Delays

I've spent quite a lot of time over the last month battling with council bureaucracy on behalf of the kids of Juniper House on Pomeroy Street.

The Nunhead & Peckham Rye Community Council gave the estate £30k in 2003 so they could build a multi-sport ball court at the back of the estate where there used to be garages. The council owned estate is run by a very efficient tenant management committee and I was very surprised to find the ball court still hadn't been built. It turned out that they needed planning permission and instead of processing this in the normal 8 weeks, Southwark Council had been sitting on it for nearly a year and a half!
Myself and the management committee made numerous attempt to resolve this quietly, but promises from the planning department were repeatedly broken. On 2 May parents and children from Juniper House came to the Town Hall to make their anger known and to present their petition. Thanks must go to the Southwark News, South London Press and BBC London Radio who all covered the story.

Following the protest the council pulled their finger out and planning permission was granted on 22 May. Hopefully the ball court will be ready in time for the summer holidays.