Site of the Romford Ice Rink, Rom Valley Way in the London Borough of Havering Planning Application No.P/1468/12
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planning report PDU/3097/01 27 February 2013 Site of the Romford Ice Rink, Rom Valley Way in the London Borough of Havering planning application no.P/1468/12 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 A hybrid application comprising: Detailed proposals for redevelopment of the ice rink site to provide a food store with associated new access arrangement, parking and servicing space; and a petrol-filling station with kiosk and carwash facility. Outline proposals for a residential development of up to 71 dwellings to be situated directly north-west of the proposed supermarket and with all matters reserved except the means of access and quantum of development. The applicant The applicant is Chase & Partners, acting on behalf of Optimisation Developments Ltd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morrisons Supermarkets Ltd) and the architects are Collado Collins. Strategic issues The key strategic issues relate to the re-provision of leisure facilities, out of centre retail development, housing and affordable housing, urban design, access and transport. Recommendation That Havering Council be advised that while the application is generally acceptable in strategic planning terms, it does not fully comply with the London Plan, but that the potential remedies set out in paragraph 89 of this report could address those deficiencies. Context 1 On 21 January 2013, the Mayor of London received documents from Havering 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 1 March 2013 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 Categories 1B, 3E and 3F of the Schedule to the Order 2008: 1B-“ Development (other than development which only comprises the provision of houses, flats, or houses and flats) which comprises or includes the erection of a building or buildings— (c) outside Central London and with a total floorspace of more than 15,000 square metres.” 3E- “Development—(a) which does not accord with one or more provisions of the development plan in force in the area in which the application site is situated; and (b) comprises or includes the provision of more than 2,500 square metres of floorspace for a use falling within any of the following classes in the Use Classes Order—(i) class A1 (retail); 3F- “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 Havering 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 Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 5 The roughly rectangular site is 2.9 hectares in size and situated along the A125 Rom Valley Way, on the south-western edge of Romford town centre. The site is bounded on the north by relatively recent blocks of residential accommodation that front onto Oldchurch Road; on the west and south by the grounds of Queen’s Hospital/Oldchurch Park; and on the east by Rom Valley Way. 6 The ice rink building is sited centrally within the application site, with tarmac access routes and car parking areas to its south; and a significant portion of vacant but grassed open space to its north. The latter is the subject of outline proposals for the residential element of this hybrid planning application. 7 The surrounding area is predominantly residential in character, with a mixture of retail and other town centre uses concentrated in an area centred on Romford railway station, northeast of the application site. Details of the proposal 8 The application is submitted in hybrid form. The detailed application proposals comprise- A food superstore with gross internal area of 9,732 sq.m. and a net trading area of 3,760 sq.m. Parking would be provided for 398 vehicles, including a proportion for disabled customers (25), ‘mother & child’ users (12) and 10 dedicated electric-vehicle charging points. A six-pump petrol-filling station with an 81sq.m. kiosk and a 12 sq.m. carwash facility. New site access arrangements off Rom Valley for both customers and service delivery vehicles. Peripheral landscaping. 9 The outline proposals comprise- page 2 A development of up to 71 residential units on 0.88-hectare of land on the northern portion of the application site. Indicative illustrations for 25 three and four-bedroom townhouses, a five-storey block of 36 one and two-bedroom apartments fronting Rom Valley, and a three-storey block of 10 one and two-bedroom apartments in the north-west corner of the site. 10 Altogether, the application proposes a total development of 16,674 sq.m. (gross internal area), including 6,849 sq.m. of residential accommodation. Case history 11 No applications of ‘potential strategic importance’ have been made in respect of this site; however, this retail-led mixed-use application is made in anticipation of the imminent termination or expiry of the current ice rink operator’s lease, and the culmination of land swap negotiations between representatives of Morrison’s Stores Ltd and Havering Council. 12 This application should therefore be considered in conjunction with a separate application by Havering Council for the construction of a new leisure centre on a 0.97-hectare site currently owned by Morrison’s and situated at the junction of Mercury Gardens and Western Road. 13 The details of the aforementioned land deal are elaborated in a subsequent section of this report. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 14 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Leisure London Plan; Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism (DCLG) Health London Plan; Health Inequalities Strategy Retail/town centre uses London Plan; draft Town Centres SPG Regeneration/economic London Plan; the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy development Employment Action Plan; Employment London Plan; Land for Industry and Transport SPG Housing London Plan; Housing SPG; Housing Strategy; draft Revised Housing Strategy; Providing for Children and Young People’s Play and Informal Recreation SPG Affordable housing London Plan; Housing SPG; Housing Strategy; draft Revised Housing Strategy Density London Plan; Housing SPG Mix of uses London Plan Urban design London Plan; Access London Plan; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG; Planning and Access for Disabled People: a good practice guide (ODPM) Transport/parking London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy; Crossrail London Plan; Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy; Crossrail SPG Sustainable development London Plan; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG; Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy; Mayor’s Water Strategy page 3 15 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 2008 Havering Core Strategy, Site Specific Allocations DPD, Romford Area Action Plan, Development Control Policies DPD and the 2011 London Plan. 16 The following are also relevant material considerations: The National Planning Policy Framework and Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework. The Revised Early Minor Alteration to the London Plan. Land use policy and the loss of land in sports/leisure use 17 From a strategic perspective, the London Plan (paragraph 3.110) recognises the importance of sport and recreation facilities as parts of the social infrastructure that provide a range of social and health benefits for communities and neighbourhoods. Accordingly, the plan reaffirms the aim of the Mayor’s Sport’s Legacy Plan1, which looks to increase participation in and tackle inequality of access to sport and physical activity in London, particularly amongst groups/areas with low levels of participation. 18 In line with those objectives, London Plan policy 3.16 directs that proposals which would result in a loss of social infrastructure in areas of defined need for that type of social infrastructure without realistic proposals for re-provision should be resisted. For sports facilities in particular, policy 3.19 makes clear that development proposals which increase or enhance the provision of sports and recreation facilities should be supported; whilst those that result in a net loss of such facilities, including playing fields, should be resisted. 19 At the local policy level, however, the adoption of Havering Council’s Site Specific Allocations DPD pre-dates the 2011 London Plan. It describes the Romford Ice Rink site, which is owned by the Council itself, as being ‘adjacent to Romford Town Centre’ and states, under site allocation policy SSA7, that only a mixed-use development comprising residential, leisure and retail facilities would be allowed. This allocation is supported by core policy CP8 of the borough’s Core Strategy DPD, which states that the Council will work in partnership with other bodies to ensure that a suitable range of community facilities are provided to meet existing and forecast demand by measures that include: ensuring major developments provide facilities to meet new demand, especially in London Riverside and Romford Town Centre, where significant growth in the number of residents is planned; retaining or re-providing community facilities where a need exists; and seeking developer contributions towards the provision of essential new community facilities.