Agenda item
Cambridge Court, Cambridge Avenue, Ely Court, Chichester Road & Wells Court, Coventry Close, London, NW6 (Ref. 10/3247)
- Meeting of Planning Committee, Wednesday 16 March 2011 7.00 pm (Item 9.)
- View the declarations of interest for item 9.
Decision:
Grant planning permission subject to the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 or other legal agreement and delegate authority to the Head of Area Planning to agree the exact terms thereof on advice from the Director of Legal and Procurement.
Minutes:
PROPOSAL: Demolition of Cambridge Court, Wells Court and Ely Court and redevelopment to provide 144 residential units (86 market units - 32 one-bed, 41 two-bed, 10 three-bed and 3 four bed & 58 affordable units - 16 one-bed, 22 two-bed, 10 three-bed and 10 four-bed) in 3, 4 and 5 storey buildings. Development includes the stopping up of existing access road and the formation of a new access road from Chichester Road, alterations to car parking, open space, relocation of existing playspace adjacent to Kilburn Park underground station, new vehicular and pedestrian routes through the site and provision of private and communal gardens. |
RECOMMENDATION: Grant planning permission subject to the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 or other legal agreement and delegate authority to the Head of Area Planning to agree the exact terms thereof on advice from the Director of Legal and Procurement. |
With reference to the tabled supplementary report Andy Bates, Area Planning Manager clarified the following issues that were raised at the site visit by members and local residents;
Ownership of open spaces & access
Currently, Alpha Place and Gorefield Place, the local access roads on the site, were estate roads and as they were not adopted highway they were maintained through local service charges to tenants and leaseholders. All new roads to be constructed as part of the proposal would be built to adoptable standards and maintained by the Council following completion. He added that the pedestrian footpath across the site was not intended as designated Public Rights of Way, although the public would have informal access to it.
Funding and tenure
The sale of the application site would provide sufficient funding for both the replacement affordable housing on the subject site and the construction of the proposed affordable housing scheme on the Bond/Hicks Bolton site, for which the planning application was likely to be considered in May of this year. He advised that if the current scheme were not to go ahead then it would have a direct impact on the viability of future phases of the South Kilburn Regeneration programme.
Loss of affordable units
The current proposal would involve the re-provision of 58 affordable units on the site, a net loss of 2 units as a direct result of this development.
Physical relationship between buildings
The proposed mews blocks would be sited so that they would only partially face the south-eastern facade of Alpha House, at either end, and where they would directly face one another, a distance of some 7m would be maintained. The siting of the proposed mews blocks would limit blocks directly facing each other, thus preventing unreasonable harm to the outlook from habitable room windows on the south eastern facade of Alpha House. In addition, all habitable room windows to the proposed mews blocks had been orientated in order to prevent direct overlooking of the south-eastern facade of Alpha House. He continued that whilst the link block may be visible at an angle from windows to the front and rear of Gorefield House, it would be unlikely to cause significant harm to the outlook and privacy of existing and future residents.
Car parking
Recent parking studies indicated that there was spare capacity to accommodate an additional 45 parked vehicles on-street within the vicinity of the site. If approved, with the exception of 43 units, the development would be subject to a 'permit-free agreement, whereby residents would not be entitled to on-street parking permits, in order to restrict the demand for the existing capacity for on-street parking to approximately one space per unit.
Consultation
As part of the wider consultation, a number of residents’ design group workshops were held from August to November 2010 with each session being attended by up to 23 residents and a series of New Homes Exhibitions each of which was attended by between 20-60 residents. In addition to the above, Officers from the Major Projects Team had met twice with residents of the Alpha Gorefield Residents Association in order to discuss local concerns. In addition the agenda set out the consultation carried out for the planning application.
Concerns of residents
In reference to concerns about high speed rail 2 (HS2) proposals and future activity associated with the nearby Royal Mail Sorting Office he stated that the HS2 rail link was an underground proposal that had its own ongoing consultation and that Officers were unaware of any plans or proposals involving the sorting office. In respect of concerns regarding highway safety to the proposed children's play area and collection and drop off at St Mary's School he responded that as light traffic was envisaged the proposed development would be unlikely to make existing conditions significantly worse.
He added that given the size and type of play area proposed, it was not envisaged that excessive noise would be associated with its use.
Emergency access and servicing
He confirmed that the proposals had been inspected by the Council's Transportation Unit who was of the view that the development would provide suitable access and circulation for emergency vehicles. In terms of servicing, the applicant had provided revised plans indicating a minor alteration to the access to the car-park at the northern end of the site which would provide better turning facilities for refuse vehicles entering and exiting Coventry Close. In view of this and the sustainability drawings submitted by the applicant, he recommended amendments to condition 2 as set out in the tabled supplementary report.
Ms Liz Leicester in objecting on behalf of Alpha & Gorefield residents expressed concerns about the scheme on the following grounds;
a) Over-development of the site within an area of multiple deprivation and lack of green open space.
b) the proposed development failed to respect the local context of South Kilburn
c) The Council’s consultation was flawed and did not take into account problems that some of the residents had with language. Most of the residents experienced problems with the information on the Council’s website and were not even aware of this meeting
Another resident objector was allowed to address the Committee. She raised objections to the proposals for the following reasons;
a) Lack of provision and residential amenities particularly for the elderly residents.
b) Lack of pay area provision and amenities for children above age 6.
c) Loss of existing green area.
d) Undue pressure on health facilities in the area.
e) Loss of mature trees.
Mr Peter Sherlock the programme manager for the applicant stated that the principle of the redevelopment of the site for housing was considered to be acceptable in policy terms as it complied with standards and policies of the Council. He added that the proposed development which would provide a series of buildings with good sustainability, high quality design, form and materials in a highly accessible location with PTA rating of 3, would provide an impetus to the wider proposals for the South Kilburn regeneration area and a key role in the regeneration of the former New Deal for Communities (NDC) area. Mr Sherlock explained that the applicant and the Council carried out extensive and thorough consultation with residents over a long period of time and that the initial concerns expressed by residents had been addressed in submitting the application. He urged members to endorse officers’ recommendation for approval subject a Section 106 legal agreement.
DECISION: Planning permission granted subject to conditions as amended in condition 2, the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 or other legal agreement and delegate authority to the Head of Area Planning to agree the exact terms thereof on advice from the Director of Legal and Procurement. |
Note: Councillor Long declared a prejudicial interest as a governor of Newfield Primary School. Councillor Long left the meeting room and did not take part in the voting or discussion on this application.
Supporting documents: