PDU Case Report XXXX/YY Date
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planning report GLA/0797c/01 2 March 2020 Asda Crossharbour, 151 East Ferry Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning application ref: PA/19/02534 Strategic planning application stage 1 referral Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008. The proposal A hybrid planning application for the demolition of existing buildings and the comprehensive, mixed-use, re- development of the site to deliver up to 2,015 homes. Full details, for buildings 4 to 16 storeys in height, are submitted for 568 residential units, flexible commercial floorspace, including foodstore, primary school, community uses, petrol filling station, public bus parking and a site wide basement, with associated uses including car parking (up to 670 spaces), cycle parking, and an energy centre. Creation of new vehicular and pedestrian access and public realm works, landscaping and a programme of interim works (which include a temporary multi-storey car park with 250 car parking spaces and a temporary access lobby to the retail foodstore). Outline permission (matters at upper levels reserved) is sought for between 1,221 and 1,447 residential units, with private and communal amenity, within four buildings between 12-32 storeys in height. The applicant The applicant is Asbourne Beech Property Ltd and Asda Store Ltd, and the architect is CZWG. Strategic issues Principle: The scheme responds positively to strategic designations of this site and is supported in principle, subject to securing the provision of public realm, transport infrastructure, community and education facilities, as well as affordable retail space. In addition, further information is required to justify the re-provision of the petrol station. Subject to addressing these issues, the scheme would transform the site as part of the Crossharbour District Centre, and provide facilities to address the needs of the increased population expected in this Opportunity Area, with retail, commercial, community and education spaces, along with a substantial quantum of residential development and public realm, including a public square and bus interchange (paragraphs 21-48). Affordable housing: 17 per cent affordable housing is proposed (by habitable room) which comprises a 70/30 tenure split in favour of social rent. In the context of a blended threshold of between 35 and 50 per cent for land that is in both public and private land ownership (and prior to the independent verification of the viability position) the affordable housing offer is wholly unacceptable. The phasing of the affordable housing delivery, at the end of this long-term scheme, is also wholly unacceptable. A viability assessment has been provided to GLA Officers for scrutiny and interrogation (paragraphs 50-59). Design and heritage: The development would be visible in strategic views from Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and from London Bridge towards Tower Bridge. Notwithstanding this, the height and massing strategy is generally consistent with the aspirations of the OAPF and is supported by GLA Officers. The proposal will result in less than substantial harm to heritage assets. This must be weighed against the public benefits of the scheme, which are yet to be confirmed and require further discussion. (paragraphs 64 to 84). Transport: A site specific S106 contribution in the region of £1 million is required towards the delivery of a major improvement scheme at Crossharbour DLR station; other contributions are also required. The provision of a bus interchange is agreed in principle, subject to further details; car parking should be reduced and a package of highways measures to support Healthy Streets approach and an enhanced public transport interchange is required (paragraphs 110 to 155). Outstanding issues relating to playspace, energy, water and urban greening need to be addressed. Recommendation That Tower Hamlets Council be advised that the application does not yet comply with the London Plan and the Intend to Publish London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 159 of this report; but that the possible remedies set out in that paragraph could address these deficiencies. page 1 Context 1 On 9 January 2020, the Mayor of London received documents from Tower Hamlets 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 and 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 the Intend to Publish 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 The application is referable under the following Categories of the Schedule to the Order 2008: • Category 1A(1)- “Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats”. • Category 1B(1c) – “Outside Central London and with a total floorspace of more than 15,000 square metres”. • Category 1C(1c) - “Development which comprises the erection of a building that is more than 30 metres high and is outside the City of London”. • Category 2C – “Development to provide a bus or coach station” • Category 3F(1) – “Development for a use, other than residential use, which includes the provision of more than 200 car parking spaces in connection with that use”. 3 Once Tower Hamlets Council has resolved to determine the application, it is required to refer it back to the Mayor for his decision as to whether to direct refusal; take it over for his own determination; or allow the Council to determine it itself. 4 The environmental information for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (as amended 2018) has been taken into account in the consideration of this case. 5 The Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 6 The site is 4.5 hectares in size and is located in the Isle of Dogs. The site is bounded to the west by East Ferry Road (where it is accessed), to the south by Mudchute Park and Farm, to the north by the Island Health Centre and residential properties on Glengall Grove and to the east by residential properties on Friars Mead. 7 The site is currently occupied by an existing supermarket and its surface car park which was originally constructed during the 1980s. This supermarket provides approximately 9,382 sq.m. of retail floorspace with customer facilities including a cafe, opticians, petrol station, recycling point and a cash machine. The surface car park currently provides approximately 600 spaces. page 2 8 Mudchute Park and Farm, which abuts the application site at its southern boundary, is designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL). Strategically, the site is located within the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar Opportunity Area as set out in the London Plan. Locally, the site is designated within, and forms the majority of, Crossharbour District Centre. 9 Crossharbour DLR station is located less than 100 metres to the west of the site, and 4 bus routes (D6, D8, 135 and 277) serve (and stand at) the site. The closest section of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is the A1261 Aspen Way, approximately 1.2 kilometres to the north. The site has a good public transport accessibility level (PTAL) of 4, on a scale of 0 to 6b where 6b is highest. The north-west corner of the site, closest to Crossharbour DLR station, and East Ferry Road records a PTAL score of 5. Details of the proposal 10 A hybrid planning application (part detail, part outline) for the demolition of existing buildings and the comprehensive, mixed-use, re-development of the site, comprising a maximum of 219,954sq.m. of floorspace. 11 Full details are submitted for 568 residential units (Class C3), flexible commercial floorspace (A1-A4/B1), including a new foodstore, a primary school (D1), community uses (D1), a petrol filling station, public bus parking and a site wide basement, with associated uses as part of the development including car parking (up to 670 spaces), cycle parking, and an energy centre. Building heights are proposed to range between 3 storeys to 15 storeys above ground level. Creation of new vehicular and pedestrian access and public realm works, including all ground floor hard and soft landscaping and other works incidental to the proposals, including a programme of interim works (which include a temporary multi-storey car park with 250 car parking spaces and a temporary access lobby to the retail foodstore). 12 Outline permission (with layout, scale, appearance and landscaping at upper levels being reserved) is sought for up to 111,137sq.m. above podium level, comprising of between 1,221 and 1,447 residential units (C3), with associated private and communal podium amenity and landscaping, within four buildings with maximum heights ranging between a maximum of 12 storeys and 32 storeys. 13 The proposals include a maximum of 158,319sq.m. of residential floorspace. This is contained within each of the ten plots with the exception of Plot D. The maximum floorspaces for the proposed land uses across the site are set out in the table, below: page 3 Table 1: Proposed floor areas across the site Use Use class Maximum Floor area sq.m. (GEA) Residential C3 158,310 Residential Ancillary Leisure C3 2,327 Flexible Commercial A1-A4/B1 16,625 Primary school D1 7,135 Community Hub D1 1,983 Petrol Filling Station (PFS) Sui generis 749 Bus Facilities Sui generis 103 Basement Car parking N/A 17,794 Other (Landlord plant/Enclosed Service N/A 14,919 Road/Refuse/Cycle parking TOTAL 219,954 14 The detailed element proposes 47,182 sq.m.