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planning report GLA/4559 & 4559a/01 21 January 2019 Recorder House and One Station Road in the London Borough of Redbridge planning application no. 4570/18 and 4557/18 Strategic planning application stage 1 referral Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008. The proposal Recorder House: Erection of 6 – 15 storey building, comprising 144 residential units and flexible commercial floorspace at ground floor. One Station Road: Demolition of existing building and redevelopment to provide 42 storey building, comprising 380 residential units, with retail and office floorspace at ground floor. The applicant The applicant is Access Self Storage and the architect is Collado Collins Architect. Strategic issues summary Principle of development: Both sites benefit from good accessibility and are both locally allocated for residential-led, mixed use development, whilst One Station Road also lies within the Ilford Town Centre. As such, the principle of residential-led redevelopment on both sites is supported; however, given each sites’ allocation and designations, the balance of commercial uses on each site should be considered further and additional justification is required for the loss of over 6,000 sq.m of commercial floorspace at One Station Road and the limited commercial provision at the Recorder House. Affordable housing: It is proposed that Recorder House, which will be 100% affordable, will provide the offsite affordable housing contribution for the entirely market Build to Rent scheme at One Station Road. When the sites are considered together, the affordable housing offer would be 33% by habitable room. The provision of offsite affordable housing is only acceptable in exceptional circumstances; as such, GLA officers will robustly assess the Financial Viability Assessments for each site to ascertain whether each scheme should provide affordable housing on site and, in turn, whether the viability provides exceptional circumstances for an offsite provision. Further information is also required on the London Shared Ownership units and London Affordable Rented units. Design: Further justification and work is required to reduce the perceived bulk of One Station Square, particularly when viewed from the north and south, and to ensure sufficient activity and good residential quality. For Recorder House, further work is also required to ensure good levels of activation and passive surveillance at ground floor. Further information is required on energy and transport. Recommendation That Redbridge Council be advised that the application does not comply with the London Plan and draft London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 91. However, the resolution of those issues could lead to the application becoming compliant with the London Plan and draft London Plan. page 1 Context 1 On 19 November 2018 the Mayor of London received documents from Redbridge Council notifying him of two distinct planning applications (albeit linked) of potential strategic importance to develop the above sites for the above uses. Under the provisions of The Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor must provide the Council with a statement setting out whether he considers that the application complies with the London Plan, and his reasons for taking that view. The Mayor may also provide other comments. This report sets out information for the Mayor’s use in deciding what decision to make. 2 Recorder House (GLA ref: 4559 and LPA ref: 4570/18) is referable under Categories 1A and 1C of the Schedule to the Order 2008: • Category 1A: Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats. • Category 1C: Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building of one or more of the following descriptions - the building is more than 30 metres high and is outside the City of London. 3 One Station Road (GLA ref: 4559a and LPA ref: 4557/18) is referable under Categories 1A and 1C of the Schedule to the Order 2008: • Category 1A: Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats. • Category 1C: Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building of one or more of the following descriptions - the building is more than 30 metres high and is outside the City of London. 4 Once Redbridge Council has resolved to determine the applications, it is required to refer both back to the Mayor for his decision on each application as to whether to direct refusal, take over for his own determination, or allow the Council to determine it itself. 5 The environmental information for the purposes of the applicable Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations has been taken into account in the consideration of the One Station Road scheme. 6 The Mayor of London’s statement on these cases will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description Recorder House 7 The 0.27-hectare site is located on the north side of High Road and is bound to the north by TfL railway lines, which run between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, to the south by High Road and Ilford Cemetery beyond. Whilst the land to the immediate east of the site is presently in commercial use, a planning application is presently pending for a 9-storey residential building, comprising 94 residential units (LPA ref: 3598/18). On the land to the immediate west of the site there is an extant planning permission also for a 9-sotrey building, containing 105 residential units and a banqueting suite on the lower floors (LPA ref: 2483/10); this permission has been implemented. The surrounding land page 2 uses are varied, with commercial uses fronting High Road and two-storey Edwardian residential terraces on the streets to the south. 8 At a local level, the site has a number of policy designations: within the Crossrail Corridor Investment and Growth Area; a key retail parade; and within a tall buildings area. In addition, the site is allocated as a ‘mixed use opportunity site’ within the Local Plan, for 180 residential units and 1,300 sq.m of employment floorspace. At a strategic level, the site lies within the Ilford Opportunity Area, which has an indicative employment capacity of 800 jobs and 5,000 homes. 9 The site has a PTAL of 3, which indicates a moderate level of access to public transport, however it is well connected with several bus stops within easy walking distance as well as Seven Kings station within a 600 metre step-free walk. One Station Road 10 The site is 0.27 hectares in size and lies opposite Ilford railway station, within Ilford Town Centre. The site is bound by Cranbrook Road to the west, which is a busy retail street, the TfL Rail tracks to the north and Station Road to the south. The surrounding land uses are varied and reflect the Town Centre location, with commercial uses on the adjacent sites and major roads, with residential uses beyond. 11 The site comprises numerous parts: the former Bodger’s Department Store, which fronts Station Road and Cranbrook Road, which was vacated in February 2018; retail units, with offices above, which are presently occupied by various chain retailers, including Costa Coffee; and a pedestrian link from Station Road to High Road, which is known as ‘Bodger’s Arcade’, but has been closed since the cessation of the department store use. 12 The site has a number of local planning policy designations, including: primary shopping frontages along Cranbrook Road; within the Ilford Metropolitan Centre; within an area appropriate for tall buildings; and an archaeological priority area. In addition, like Recorder House, the site is locally allocated as a ‘mixed use opportunity site’ for 295 residential units and 2,500 sq.m of retail floorspace. The site is also within the Ilford Opportunity Area. 13 The site records an excellent Public Transport Access Level (PTAL) of 6b on a scale of 1-6, where 6 is the highest. Ilford station with TfL Rail and Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) services in the future is adjacent to the site. There are several bus stops within walking distance serving 21 routes. The A118 is 300 metres away to the south of the site and is the closest part of the Strategic Road Network. The A406, North Circular Road, approximately 400 metres to the west of the site is the nearest part of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN). Quietway 6 runs approximately 1.2 kilometres north of the site. Details of the proposal 14 Two distinct, standalone planning application have been submitted by the applicant; however, the applicant proposes that Recorder House will serve as the affordable housing contribution for the One Station Road site. The applicant proposes to link the sites through a s106 legal agreement. 15 Recorder House: It is proposed to develop a part 6, part 10, part 15 storey building, comprising 144 residential units, all of which would be affordable, as well as flexible commercial floorspace at ground floor level (Use Classes: A1-A3, B1 and D2). 16 One Station Road: It is proposed to demolish the existing buildings on the site and redevelop the site to provide 42 storey building, comprising 380 residential units, all of which would be let as Build to Rent units, with retail (Use Class A1) and office floorspace (Use Class B1) at ground floor. page 3 Table 1 – Existing and Proposed land uses for both schemes Recorder House One Station Road Existing Proposed +/- Existing Proposed +/- sq.m sq.m sq.m sq.m Residential - 14,287 +14,287 - 32,701 +32,701 Retail - 247 +247 6,740 659 - Office - - - 327 1,997 + Total - 14,534 +14,534 7,067 2,656 -4,411 Case history 17 An initial pre-application meeting was held on 23 February 2018 to discuss both development proposals with GLA officers.