Land North of Westfield Shopping Centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Planning Application No

planning report D&P/2826d/01 30 January 2017 Land north of Westfield shopping centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham planning application no. 2016/04602/FUL 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 Erection of 4-storey building comprising 3,783.4 sq.m. of retail use and 3,056.5 sq.m. of restaurant/cafe use adjacent to the Westfield Phase 2 extension. The applicant The applicant is Westfield Shoppingtowns Ltd, the architect is Rick Mather Architects, and the planning agent is Gerald Eve. Strategic issues summary Transport: The Council and the applicant have agreed to work on a technical solution to the strategic bus journey time impacts and the submission of more detailed design and safety auditing. Conditions requiring the applicant to complete the modelling and implement the signalised junction have also been agreed between the Council and the applicant (paragraphs 14- 17). Recommendation That Hammersmith and Fulham Council be advised that the application is supported and complies with the London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 20 of this report, and does not need to be referred back to the Mayor. The Council should, however, take account of the comments made in paragraphs 14-17 of this report. Context 1 On 9 November 2016 the Mayor of London received a letter from Hammersmith and Fulham Council notifying him of a planning application of potential strategic importance to develop the above site for the above uses. Under the provisions of The Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor may 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. page 1 2 The application is referable under Paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Order 2008 which states: “If the local planning authority receive an application for planning permission for development, which they consider forms part of more substantial proposed development, on the same land or adjoining land, they must for the purpose of this Schedule treat that application as an application for planning permission for the more substantial development”. 3 In this instance the application is part of more substantial proposed development at the Westfield Shopping Centre (ref.2013/01115/OUT) which was referable under the following Categories of the Schedule. Category 1A. Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats. Category 1B: Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building or buildings outside Central London and with a total floorspace of more than 15,000 square metres. Category 1C: Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building more than 30 metres high and outside the City of London 4 The Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 5 The application site (shown below as Phase 2A) is located within the White City Opportunity Area and adjacent to Shepard’s Bush town centre which is identified as a metropolitan centre in the London Plan. It is located to the north of the Westfield Shopping Centre and to the west of the Phase 2 extension of this shopping centre. It is bounded by the DIMCO buildings and Ariel Way to the south and it will create the south-easterly edge of Relay Square in front of Wood Lane underground station. 6 The West Cross Route on the eastern boundary of the site forms part of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), whereas Ariel Way, running through the site, is part of the local highway network. White City bus station is located immediately to the south-west of the site and is served by ten bus routes. A further four routes stop adjacent to Wood Lane London Underground (LU) station, a short distance to the west. Wood Lane station itself is served by both Hammersmith and City and Circle line service while White City station, approximately 250m north along Wood Lane is served by frequent Central line services. Shepherds Bush rail station, providing access to both London Overground and Southern Rail services is also located on the south side of the existing shopping centre, approximately 750 metres away. As such, the majority of the site records an excellent Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 6a to 6b, the highest possible, although for a small area in the north-east of the site this drops to 5, still representing very good accessibility. page 2 Figure 1 : Applicant’s DAS pg3 Details of the proposal 7 Permission is sought for a 4-storey building comprising 3,056.5 sq.m. of restaurant and cafe floorspace at the ground and first floor level and 3,783.4 sq.m. of retail floorspace above. Case history 8 Planning permission was granted in 2012 for outline permission with all matters reserved (ref. 2011/02940/OUT) for the comprehensive redevelopment and regeneration of the site to provide approximately 55,000 sq.m. retail extension to the existing Westfield London shopping centre, up to 1,522 residential units, a leisure facility and community uses, car parking spaces, areas of public realm and pedestrian routes through the site to provide connections to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the east as well as passive provision for connections north through the Hammersmith & City Line viaduct. 9 In 2014 outline permission was granted with all matters reserved (ref.2013/01115/OUT) for the comprehensive redevelopment and regeneration of a smaller site area excluding the DIMCO building and bus station to provide 61,840sqm retail use; 8,170sqm restaurant and cafe use; 2,065sqm office use; 1,600sqm community/health/cultural use; 3,500sqm leisure use; and up to 1,347 residential units. 10 Since then permission has been granted for several reserved matters applications and Section 73 applications for minor material alterations to the 2014 approved scheme. page 3 Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 11 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Transport and parking London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy 12 For the purposes of Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the development plan in force for the area is the 2011 Hammersmith and Fulham Core Strategy and Proposals Map; the Hammersmith and Fulham Development Management Local Plan (July 2013) and the London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2011). 13 The following are also relevant material considerations: The National Planning Policy Framework and Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework; Hammersmith and Fulham Local Plan (Submission draft Sept 2016) Hammersmith and Fulham Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) (July 2013); and White City Opportunity Area Planning Framework (December 2013). Transport 14 There is no change in cycle or car parking provision, and the overall floorspace of the combined retail, leisure and restaurant floorspace is primarily unchanged; demand can be accommodated on the public transport, walking and cycling networks. Therefore no additional strategic transport issues are raised regarding this current application, with the exception of bus journey time delays in the new bus lane and road circulation system internal to the Westfield site. 15 Given the forecast bus delays which will affect the efficient operation of bus services across the whole of the White City Growth Area, the applicant and Council agreed it was expedient to submit further traffic modelling along with this application. Following modelling iterations, and discussions during the application consultation period, a revised signalised option for access to the bus layover has been submitted. 16 The proposed signalised entry/exit for buses accessing the bus layover, and accompanying modelling, is acceptable in terms of initial design and lessening of delays, but this is subject to further iteration and a Road Safety Audit. This must be completed and agreed with TfL prior to the formal decision by the Council on the internal road layout scheme. Additionally, TfL has negotiated with the applicant and the Council for buses to be allowed to use the servicing lane in order to minimise service journey time delays. A condition to require the applicant to complete the modelling and implement the signalised junction, and to allow buses to access the service lane, is being negotiated for this scheme. 17 The Council and the applicant have agreed to work on a technical solution to the strategic bus journey time impacts and the submission of more detailed design and safety auditing. Conditions requiring the applicant to complete the modelling and implement the signalised junction have also been agreed between the Council and the applicant. As such the application is supported. page 4 Legal considerations 18 Under the arrangements set out in Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor is required to provide the local planning authority with a statement setting out whether he considers that the application complies with the London Plan, and his reasons for taking that view. Unless notified otherwise by the Mayor, the Council must consult the Mayor again under Article 5 of the Order if it subsequently resolves to make a draft decision on the application, in order that the Mayor may decide whether to allow the draft decision to proceed unchanged, or direct the Council under Article 6 of the Order to refuse the application.

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