Agenda item
20/2788 - St Catherine's Church Hall & St Catherine's Church, Neasden Lane, London
Minutes:
PROPOSAL:
Demolition of fire
damaged community centre and erection of a new two storey community
centre and church hall building with roof terrace attached to St
Catherine's church, creation of new vehicular access, bin store
enclosure, alteration to boundary and associated landscaping.
RECOMMENDATION:
Resolve to grant planning permission subject to prior completion of a legal agreement to secure planning obligations as set out in the report.
That the Head of Planning and Development or other duly authorised persons is delegated authority to agree the exact terms thereof in line with the Heads of Terms as set out in the report.
That the Head of Planning and Development or other duly authorised person is delegated authority to issue the planning permission and impose conditions and informatives as set out in the report.
That the Head of Planning and Development, or other duly authorised person, is delegated authority to make changes to the wording of the committee’s decision (such as to delete, vary or add conditions, informatives, planning obligations or reasons for the decision) prior to the decision being actioned, provided that they are satisfied that any such changes could not reasonably be regarded as deviating from the overall principle of the decision reached by the committee nor that such change(s) could reasonably have led to a different decision having been reached by the committee.
Damien Manhertz, Planning Team Leader South, introduced the report, set out the key issues and answered members’ questions. The Planning Team Leader South clarified that an Arboriculture Method Statement would be required by condition to ensure trees were either retained or compensated for through replacement tree planting or financial contribution to tree planting off site. A detailed landscaping plan would also be required by condition to ensure the proposed landscaping was maximised and of high quality. The Planning Team Leader South also confirmed that twelve cycle spaces would be provided which was welcomed in light of the survey carried out amongst regular users of the hall which found 20% of visitors travel by bicycle.
Rob Harrison, the applicant, then addressed the Committee on several matters including:
· The old Church Hall was often fully booked and the Community Café space within the church was approaching full usage by the time of the Church Hall fire in 2018.
· In early 2019 a community consultation day was held, during which it was made apparent that users wanted a facility with a range of different spaces available. These included a grand hall, meeting rooms, a café and a garden area.
· Those that were involved in the community consultation day were invited back to give their thoughts on the basic plans for the community centre. They felt their voice had been heard and the proposal was what they were looking for.
· The proposed business model was to take on a balance of income generating bookings that would cover the running costs of the building so that other facilities could be made available to the local community at low or zero cost.
In response to questions from members, Rob Harrison made the following points:
· The possibility of holding events of up to 150 people was welcomed. Such events would likely be concerts or theatre performances. Historically the hall had been used for small-scale community activities.
· A gas heating system was proposed after consultation with relevant professionals. The applicant was committed to ensuring the development was as sustainable and energy efficient as possible.
In the ensuing discussion, members raised several issues including trees and biodiversity, parking provision, transport, fire safety, environmental health and the relationship with neighbouring sites. Officers then clarified a number of key points including:
· An Arboriculture Method Statement would be required by condition to ensure trees were either retained or compensated for through replacement tree planting or financial contribution to tree planting off site. It also noted the protection afforded to bats and nesting birds as required by legislation.
· The Transport Management Plan provided stated a maximum capacity of 150 users. With no off-street parking provided, pressure falls on the surrounding residential areas. A car parking management plan was therefore recommended to be secured through condition for the site to ensure that parking for large events can be managed on the site and in the local area.
· The Travel Plan survey identified that 53% of respondents travel less than 15 minutes to the site, so the facility was considered to have a predominantly local catchment. This would make it easier to promote sustainable modes of travel to the site. The site was well connected by public transport, and local public transport infrastructure was set to be improved as part of the Neasden Growth Area Masterplan.
· A preliminary fire statement had been provided to support the proposal. It was recommended that a condition be attached requiring the submission and approval of a fire statement prior to any development taking place on site.
· Overall there were not considered to be any significant neighbour amenity issues with the proposal. Residential properties were relatively far away, and the existing site had been in use for a number of years without any issues.
With no further issues raised and having established that all members had followed the discussions, the Chair thanked all speakers for their contributions and asked members to vote on the recommendation.
DECISION: Granted planning permission subject to the prior completion of a S106 legal agreement and the conditions and informatives as set out in the report.
(Voting on the recommendation was as follows: For 8)
Supporting documents: