A disgruntled Battersea resident has told how he was “tricked” into publicly supporting the controversial Battersea Bridge tower planning scheme.

Digital technology strategist Pedro Silva, 52, who lives near the tower being proposed by planning giant Rockwell Property, has accused a canvasser of “deliberately misleading” him into signing a document that was then used to support the planning application.

Not long after the male canvasser had visited his home in Battersea Bridge Road, Mr Silva was shocked to discover that his name and exact home address had been loaded to Wandsworth Council’s planning portal as part of a “letter of support”.

In an exclusive interview with The Citizen, Mr Silva, 52, laid bare the tactics used by the worker to gain his signature and support Rockwell Property in its bid to build a 28-storey tower by the bridge. Mr Silva said:

‘I am disgusted how I was misled into signing up as a supporter of the tower. I have been fully against the project ever since it was announced and have even signed the petition against it. But they tricked me and then used my name in public as if I want it to go ahead. This is totally wrong and out of order.’

 

 

Father-of-two Mr Silva has today written to Wandsworth Council officers and Councillor Tony Belton, the Chairman of the Planning Applications Committee, insisting that his “support letter” is removed from the portal as a matter of urgency.

He has also written to Mr Nicholas Mee, managing director of Rockwell Property, asking for an explanation as to why this letter appeared and that the company issues an apology. He has also asked that the company used by Rockwell to canvas him erases all records and data relating to him.

It is widely believed that the company used to seek Mr Silva’s support was Your Shout, a specialist in community consultation based in Vauxhall, London.

Mr Silva’s complaint comes as the level of comments of support for One Battersea Bridge has in itself become controversial. The number on the planning portal has soared during the past two months as the council moved closer to passing a decision on the planning application.

Hundreds of letters per week were suddenly loaded to the portal. The total now stands at 1,887 and a vast proportion state the same reason for signing – that the signatory supports more “social housing”.

Wandsworth’s Planning Committee meets this Thursday (24th April) to debate and vote on the application. Only last week, council officers issued a 132-page report advising the committee to REFUSE the application.

Mr Silva’s experience sheds new light on what may lay behind the volume and similarity of the “support” submissions. The Citizen went to meet Mr Silva in Battersea last week to hear his story.

He revealed that he was approached by a canvasser late one afternoon after the man knocked on the door at the family home. The canvasser was wearing a jacket similar to a hi vis gilet and was holding a clip board.

 

The man took a deliberately focused line of questioning and made no mention of the One Battersea Bridge planning proposal that has attracted widespread opposition. Mr Silva takes up the story:

‘By the way he looked and presented himself, I thought the man was working for a charity or an NGO (non-government organisation). He said something like “There is a lot of opposition to social housing in this area – are you against it?”. He was polite but he was very rushed. He had someone else working with him who was knocking on doors across the road.

‘It was an odd question to ask – why would anyone say they oppose social housing? So I said, “No, I am not against it”. He then asked to me sign a piece of paper on his clipboard to say that I support social housing. That’s all he said. He didn’t explain what I was signing.

‘I was really busy getting ready to go out with my kids and I did not have time to read what was on the bit of paper. He made no mention of the tower, or what my signature was for, or that my name and address would go on the council website. He was very economical with what he said and did not direct me to any small print.

“I feel that I am partly to blame because I did not ask any questions. I just signed and shut the door to get rid of him, but it feels totally wrong that he did not explain what it was all really about.’

Only last week, The Citizen alerted Mr Silva that his name was on the council portal as the signatory of a letter of support for the tower. The reason for his support was described in one short, blunt sentence: “A supporter of more social housing”.

Mr Silva added: ‘The way they have been drumming up support for their tower is disingenuous and sneaky. The fact that they have submitted many other letters from people who may also have been tricked like me doesn’t feel right. This whole exercise is ridiculous and should be stopped. The council needs to look at other letters of support and work out if they were also gained under false pretences.’

The Chelsea Citizen has contacted Wandsworth Council, Rockwell Property and Your Shout for comment.

Since this interview was published, Rockwell Property has been in contact with Mr Silva and it has agreed to remove his “support” from their  database, as well as all data relating to him. Wandsworth Council has yet to confirm whether the data will be removed from the council’s portal.

Rockwell also issued a statement via email – under its project subsidiary, The Glassmill – and asked for it to be re-printed in full.  In good faith, it is laid out below.

An image of the latest tower proposal – the one that rises to 28 storeys at the front, plus a double height ground floor, and 10 storeys to the rear – has also been added here, at Rockwell’s request, to replace an older image.

 

This page will be up-dated as soon as any statements are received from Wandsworth Council and Your Shout.

 

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