Fitzpatrick Building, 188-194 York Way in the London Borough of Islington Planning Application No
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planning report D&P/3804/01 1 September 2016 Fitzpatrick Building, 188-194 York Way in the London Borough of Islington planning application no. P2016/1999/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 Demolition of existing office building and redevelopment to provide ground floor plus part 5/part 15 storey office building, including basement, ancillary ground floor cafe, 6th floor level terrace podium and roof plant room, cycle parking, plant/storage, landscaping and all other necessary works associated with the development. The applicant The applicant is Deepdale Investment Holdings, and the architect is Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design. Strategic issues summary: Land use: redevelopment of site for increased employment floorspace, and the proposed provision of affordable workspace, is supported. (paras. 14-20) Design: Height and architectural approach supported. (paras 21-24). Climate change: Shortfall in carbon reduction target should be met off-site (paras 26-34). Transport: improvements to public realm and cycle parking should be considered; contributions to bus stop and cycle hire required; conditions and section 106 obligations required (paras 37-45). Recommendation That Islington Council be advised that whilst the application is generally acceptable in strategic planning terms it does not fully comply with the London Plan for the reasons set out in paragraph 50 of this report. Possible remedies are set out in that paragraph to ensure full compliance with the London Plan. page 1 Context 1 On 4 July 2016 the Mayor of London received documents from Hounslow 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 12 August 2016 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. 2 The application is referable under Category 1C of the Mayor of London Order 2008: 1C “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building (c) more than 30 metres high and is outside the City of London.” 3 Once Islington 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 site is located to the north of King’s Cross and St. Pancras station in the London Borough of Islington. The site is approximately 0.1 hectares and is bound by Vale Royal to the north and York Way to the west. A four storey building containing commercial and residential accommodation, and a data storage facility, are located to the south. To the east is a modern 5 storey office building. York Way forms the borough border with the London Borough of Camden. On the opposite side of York Way just over the borough boundary a 20 storey residential building has recently been constructed. 6 The proposed development site currently comprises a six-storey office building. The existing building contains 3,029sq.m. of gross internal floorspace and 14 on-site parking spaces. The site has direct frontage onto York Way and Vale Royal which form part of the local road network. 7 The site is within Islington Council’s Kings Cross and Pentonville Road Locally Significant Industrial Site and just within the local view from Dartmouth Park Hill. 8 The nearest part of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is approximately 800 metres away (Camden Road) and the nearest part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN) is approximately 500 metres away (Caledonian Road). Three bus routes stop nearby. Caledonian Road and Barnsbury station (London Overground) station is 1 kilometre distant. Measured on a scale of 1a – 6b the site has a PTAL rating of 2 which is considered poor. Details of the proposal 9 The applicant proposes to demolish the existing office building and redevelop the site to facilitate commercial development. The scheme proposes to deliver a part 5 storey and part 15 storey office building which will include affordable office space for small to medium enterprises. The applicant is proposing a total of 8,637sq.m. of gross internal area, with page 2 7,038sq.m. being designated for office uses. A cafe is proposed on the ground floor to be combined with the reception space for the office accommodation. Case history 10 In November 2015 a pre-application meeting was held with GLA officers (ref: D&P/3804) and a report was issued on 24 November 2016. At that time, a scheme involving a part 7, part 19 storey building was presented to officers. The applicant was advised that the principle of redevelopment for office use at this site is supported in strategic planning terms. The design approach for the new building was also broadly supported. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 11 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Economic development London Plan; the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy; Employment Action Plan Urban design London Plan; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Character and Context, Transport London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy Retail/town centre uses London Plan; Town Centres SPG Employment London Plan; Land for Industry and Transport SPG Inclusive Access London Plan; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG; Planning and Access for Disabled People: a good practice guide (ODPM) 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 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 Islington Core Strategy (2011) and the 2016 London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2011). 13 The following are also relevant material considerations: The National Planning Policy Framework, Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Practice Guidance; Islington Development Management Policies DPD (2013); and, Islington Site Allocations Development Plan (2013). Principle of development 14 The site is located in a regeneration area, as defined in London Plan Policy 2.14 ‘Areas for Regeneration’, which provides strategic support for regeneration, including employment, housing and environmental improvements. 15 The proposed development site is identified in Islington Council’s Core Strategy (2011) as part of the Kings Cross and Pentonville Road Key Area. This key area has been identified as an appropriate location for an expansion of business floorspace. The Kings Cross and Pentonville page 3 Road Key Area is expected to accommodate an estimated growth in jobs of approximately 3,200 of B-use floorspace. The Council’s Core Strategy also states that accommodation for Small/Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be supported and accommodation for small enterprises will be particularly encouraged. 16 Having regard to the policy direction set out in Islington’s Core Strategy and Development Management Policies DPD, and London Plan policy on regeneration areas, the proposed redevelopment of the Fitzpatrick Building for an increase in employment floorspace is supported in principle. Employment 17 London Plan Policy 4.1 ‘Developing London’s Economy’ provides strategic support for the provision of employment floorspace and London Plan Policy 4.2 ‘Offices’ supports the redevelopment of office stock to improve London’s competiveness. 18 London Plan Policy 4.4 ‘Managing Industrial Land and Premises’ seeks a robust approach to industrial land management to ensure a sufficient stock of land and premises to meet future need, whilst also recognising that it may be appropriate to allow for a managed release of existing land in some circumstances, so as to contribute to strategic and local planning objectives. Islington is identified in the London Plan as being in the restricted transfer category of industrial land to other uses. The Fitzpatrick Building is also identified in the Islington Core Strategy and Development Management Policies DPD (2013) as part of the Vale Royal/Brewery Road Locally Significant Industrial Site. This area is to be retained as the only locally significant concentration of industrial/warehousing/employment land in the borough. Notwithstanding this, the existing building is currently used as office premises. Due to the current uses there will be no loss of existing industrial premises. Therefore, the provision of employment floorspace within the locally significant industrial area is supported in principle. 19 The existing building provides approximately 3,029sq.m. of office floorspace, and the proposal would result in an uplift in office accommodation of approximately 4,000sq.m. The proposal includes the reprovision of private office accommodation, as well as providing affordable office space. It is proposed that 723sq.m. (9.3%) of the floorspace would be reserved as affordable workspace. This is notably above Islington Council’s local policy requirement of at least 5% of floorspace to be affordable in schemes with more than 10,000sq.m. of new offices. In accordance with Islington Council’s policies, the applicant agrees to lease this space at a peppercorn rent for at least 10 years to a Council-approved Workspace Provider. The provision of affordable workspace is welcomed and the Council should secure this space, plus suitable terms for its long-term management, within the S106 agreement.