Former British Gas Works, Purley Way, Croydon
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planning report PDU/0442e/01 8 September 2010 Former British Gas Works, Purley Way, Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon planning application no. 10/02407/P Strategic planning application stage 1 referral (new powers) Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 The proposal Variation of planning permission 05/05134/P on the site of the former gas works and development of Commercial House, Vicarage Road to deliver an additional 74 private residential units at New South Quarter, Purley Way, resulting in the erection of 11 blocks ranging from 3 to 9 storeys comprising a total of 496 residential class C3 units, a cafe (class A3), a shop (class A1) workspace (class B1, B2, & B8); opening up of River Wandle, provision of cycle, vehicular and pedestrian internal access routes and parking and contaminated land remediation works. The applicant The applicant is Barratt Homes Ltd., and the architects are Stanford Eatwell & Associates. Strategic issues The principle for the use of the employment site for a major mixed-use proposal is established by an existing consent and is accepted. Further work and discussion is, however, required in relation to affordable housing, design, sustainable development and transport before the application is referred back to the Mayor. Recommendation That Croydon Council be advised that the application does not comply with the London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 70 of this report; but that the possible remedies set out in paragraph 72 of this report could address these deficiencies. Context 1 On 10 August 2010 the Mayor of London received documents from Croydon 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 has until 20 September 2010 to 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 Category 1A of the Schedule to the Order 2008: ”Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats.” 3 Once Croydon 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) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 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 located within the Wandle Valley corridor, approximately two kilometres west of Croydon town centre. The application site forms part of a wider area of land which was formerly a gas works owned by British Gas and has since been partially developed in line with approved planning permission 05/05134/P. 7 The site is situated south of the Purley Way Retail Park, between the A23 Purley Way (which is part of the Transport for London Road Network [TLRN]) on the west, and the Croydon Tramlink to the east. Wandle Park is situated to the immediate east of the tramline and the site is bisected on an east-west axis by a culverted section of the River Wandle. The area surrounding the southern portion of the site is predominantly residential in character. 8 In addition to the retail park, the area surrounding the northern portion of the site includes blocks ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘K’ which form part of the approved planning permission for the wider site. Blocks ‘A’ and ‘B’ have already been built out, while block ‘K’ is under construction. The completed blocks comprise a mixture of commercial and residential uses, as well as housing the energy centre for the development. 9 Block ‘M’ is also under construction, and forms one half of a planned circus of private residential units at the centre of the application site. 10 The site is served by five bus routes calling at bus stops on Purley Way, Trafalgar Way and Waddon Road. The site is also a 12 minute walk from Waddon train station where frequent services run to Croydon and Central London, and a 10 minute walk from Wandle Park tram stop. The Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of the site ranges from 3 at the centre of the site to 4 at the eastern end, on a scale of 1 to 6 where 6 is considered as excellent. Site visit 11 A site visit was carried out by the GLA case officer on 2 September 2010. Details of the proposal 12 The proposal is for an uplift of residential units pursuant to planning permission 05/05134/P. 13 The scheme, as permitted under permission 05/05134/P, is to provide two buildings ranging from 3-9 storeys comprising units within Use Classes B1(b) and (c), B2, B8, D1 (medical page 2 centre) an energy centre at lower floors with 364 flats, the erection of 3-7 storey building comprising a day nursery and 51 flats, and the erection of 9 buildings ranging from 3 to 5 storeys comprising 256 flats, 25 houses a cafe and shop. The scheme will also provide formation of vehicular access from Purley Way and Turners Way, opening up of the River Wandle, provision of associated parking spaces and contaminated land remediation works, and formation of cycle and pedestrian accessways. 14 Blocks ‘A’ and ‘B’ have been completed and provide 364 residential units, a medical centre, energy centre and proposed employment floorspace. Block ‘K’ is under construction and will provide 51 residential units and a nursery, with a proposal for a further 12 units (dealt with under separate planning application 10/00433/P). 15 The proposed uplift relates to the remainder of the site, and comprises an additional 74 private residential units resulting in the erection of 11 blocks ranging from 3 to 9 storeys giving a total of 496 residential class C3 units. Table 1 below outlines the net difference in residential accommodation by block, between consented application and the proposal. Table 1 – Net difference in residential units between consented and proposed Block Studio One-bed Two-bed Three-bed Four-bed C +6 D -5 -9 E +3 -3 F -6 +8 G -3 H -1 -5 -14 J -1 +10 +15 L +2 +9 +6 M +22 +24 N -4 +10 -1 P +2 +12 +2 -5 Sub-total 0 +29 +45 0 0 TOTAL 0 +74 0 0 Case history 16 In December 2003, the previous Mayor considered an application for redevelopment of the site to provide approximately 20,000 sq.m. of industrial and warehouse space, and a 2,800 sq.m. car dealership. He commented that the proposed land uses were acceptable in principle but expressed concern over the details, including a new access from Purley Way, the retention of a culvert over a section of the River Wandle through the site, and the scope to maximise the development potential of the site. 17 To address those concerns and, in particular, to meet the abnormal cost of de-culverting the River Wandle, the Mayor suggested the inclusion of an enabling residential development within the site. Whilst it was intended that the scale of enabling development would, as far as practicable, be commensurate with the cost of the suggested environmental improvements, Croydon Council resisted the introduction of a residential use on the site on planning policy grounds, i.e. its UDP designation for industrial employment purposes. 18 The Council subsequently refused planning permission for the development, however, permission was granted on appeal by the Secretary of State in November 2004. page 3 19 A revised application (05/05134/P) was submitted in late 2005 (a description of which is provided in paragraph 13 of this report), and on 5 July 2006 the previous Mayor issued his initial consultation response. A number of issues were raised and subsequently addressed by the applicant, and following the Mayor’s decision to allow the Council to determine the case itself, the application was granted on 3 December 2007. 20 Following the approval of the above application, the site adjacent to the former gas works known as Commercial House, Vicarage Road was acquired by Barratt Homes and an application submitted for demolition of the vacant warehouses and erection of 41 apartments (08/01457/P). The GLA was not consulted. The council granted permission on 12 March 2009. 21 In January 2010 a further planning application (10/00433/P) was submitted for the construction of an additional story on block ‘K’ as part of intended improvements to application 05/05134/P. The proposals comprised an increase of 12 units to a total of 63 for the block. The GLA was not consulted. The council made a resolution to grant permission on 10 June 2010 subject to the completion of the Section 106 legal agreement. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 22 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Employment London Plan; PPS4; Industrial Capacity SPG Housing London Plan; PPS3; Housing SPG; Providing for Children and Young People’s Play and Informal Recreation SPG, Housing Strategy; Interim Housing SPG; Housing SPG EiP draft Affordable housing London Plan; PPS3; Housing SPG, Housing Strategy; Interim Housing SPG; Housing SPG EiP draft Density