Planning Committee 21/03/2018 Schedule Item No. 02
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Planning Committee 21/03/2018 Schedule Item No. 02 Ref: 178944FUL Address: Homebase Superstore, Western Avenue, Acton, Ealing, W3 7XX Ward: East Acton Proposal: Redevelopment of the site to provide a mixed use residential-led development comprising of 333 residential units (use class C3), 2,086sqm retail food store (use class A1), 67sqm of flexible space (use class A1/A3/D1), energy centre and sub-station, with building heights between 3 and 16 storeys; with associated car and cycle parking; hard and soft landscaping; private and communal amenity spaces. Drawing numbers/plans: For full list of plans and supporting documents please see proposed condition number 2 below. Type of Application: Full application Application Received: 20/12/2017 Revised: N/A Report by: Chris Maltby Recommendation: Grant planning permission subject to - 1. Stage II referral to the Mayor of London; 2. Signing of a Section 106 agreement; and 3. Planning Conditions of Consent Executive Summary: The proposals comprise a detailed planning application for this 0.95-hectare site located at the junction of the A40/Western Avenue with Old Oak Common Lane. The site has frontages to the A40/Western Avenue to the north, Old Oak Common Lane to the east and East Acton Lane to the south. The western boundary is shared with residential properties. The site is located adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Borough of Ealing with the opposite side of Old Oak Common Lane marking the boundary with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The site is currently occupied by a Homebase and Argos retail warehouse (use class A1). The main two storey warehouse building is located centrally in the northern part of the site with surface car parking extending to the east and south of the building fronting Old Oak Lane and East Acton Lane. To the west of the main building is a smaller single storey extension and a service yard which is accessed directly from the A40. The customer vehicle entry and exit is located on the southern boundary onto East Acton Lane, there are currently 115 customer parking spaces. The site is located within approximately 500m of East Acton underground station and there are a number of local bus routes stopping directly on the northern and eastern boundaries of the site. The site has a PTAL rating of predominantly 6a with some variance across the site. The surrounding area is characterised by a mix of uses, comprising residential, retail and religious buildings and a mix of building styles, types and heights. Properties to the north and east of the Site fronting the A40 and Old Oak Lane are typically 3 storeys in height and mainly comprise retail at the ground floor, with residential above. The wider context primarily consists of residential uses, Page 1 of 55 Planning Committee 21/03/2018 Schedule Item No. 02 with a mixture of two storey semi-detached properties, low rise apartment blocks to the west along the A40 and some high rise residential to the south of the site, including the 12 storey Burghley Tower. To the east is the ‘Savoy Circus’ Development, a 7-storey student accommodation block currently under construction. This site lies within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The application site is located within the East Acton Neighbourhood Centre and the north eastern corner of the Site fronting the A40 and Old Oak Lane is defined as a Primary Retail Frontage. The northern frontage of the Site to the A40 is located within the East Acton Green Corridor. The eastern and southern boundaries of the site contain a number of trees with preservation orders. The Site is within Flood Zone 1 and an Air Quality Management Area. There are no listed buildings within or adjacent to the site, the nearest listed built is St Dunstans Church (Grade II listed) located approximately 500m to the west. Located immediately to the east of the site and falling within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, is the Old Oak and Wormholt Conservation Area. The proposals subject of this application comprise a residential led mixed use development including 333 residential units and a retail food store (use class A1) of 2,086sq.m and a flexible space (use classes A1/A3/D1) of 67sq.m. In addition, 17 blue badge parking spaces are proposed to serve the residential units and 70 spaces are proposed to serve the retail component. 35% of all residential units by habitable rooms would be affordable with a tenure split of 30% London Affordable Rent and 70% shared ownership. The key determining issues in considering this detailed application are: • Design including scale, form, siting and appearance • Heritage considerations • Density, Housing standards mix, size, quality and outlook/privacy • Design including energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental protection • Affordable housing; • Transport; and • Planning obligations and the Mayor’s Community Infrastructure Levy. The principle of redevelopment this site is considered to be acceptable, the site is located in a highly sustainable location with a PTAL rating of predominantly 6a. The existing site is brownfield previously developed land that is underutilised in its current use and contributes little to the appearance of the area. The scheme would provide high quality residential accommodation all of which meets or exceeds the minimum space standards and will have access to private and communal amenity areas. A good mix of unit sizes are proposed. The development will deliver 333 new dwellings of which 114 will be affordable units significantly contributing to meeting housing need in the area. The residential accommodation provides access to a generous centrally located communal garden located at a podium level in addition at ground floor level to the west of the building a small pocket park is proposed. Both areas incorporate play features suitable for ages 0-11 with a S106 contribution also being made for improvements to local open space and children’s play spaces. The proposed A1 retail store is acceptable given that it occupies a position within the primary retail frontage within a neighbourhood centre. Although the proposed use does result in a small loss of floor space when compared with the existing situation this is considered to be acceptable given the existing unattractive retail warehouse is to be replaced with a modern, fit for purpose retail food store with an active frontage to the street. Page 2 of 55 Planning Committee 21/03/2018 Schedule Item No. 02 Whilst the bulk and form of the development is significant compared with the existing underutilised use of the site this is considered to be acceptable given that the proposed building is well designed and does not result in demonstrable harm to adjoining developments and occupiers or to the visual amenity of the local or wider environmental context. The bulk and form of the proposal has been designed to step down towards the south west corner of the site adjacent to two storey residential properties with the taller part of the development fronting the busy intersection of Old Oak Common Lane and the A40/Western Avenue. This approach is supported and the principle of a taller building on this site given its highly accessible, neighbourhood centre location is considered to be acceptable. The external design of the building includes high quality architectural detailing and the use of appropriate materials drawn from the local context. The architectural approach is an appropriate response to the urban context and will have a positive relationship with the street scene, neighbouring buildings and the wider area. Reflecting the varied character between the north and south the of the site the building has a more commercial appearance with active retail frontages to Western Avenue and Old Oak Common Lane and more domestic appearance to East Acton Lane where the development adjoins residential property. The form and design of the building has considered neighbouring existing uses and good separation distances have been maintained. This together with the careful positioning of windows and balconies ensures the development will not have significant impacts on the amenity and living conditions of adjoining occupiers. The proposed development would provide high standards in terms of sustainable design and construction including high energy and water efficiency measures, low emission levels, and connection to a Central Heating & Power (CHP) plant within the development. The proposed energy strategy results in a reduction in CO2 emissions of 54% far exceeding the London Plan requirement of 35%. Potential impacts with regard to air quality, noise and land contamination can be adequately dealt with by the conditions proposed and/or mitigation measures set out within the S106. Transport Services have assessed the potential implications of the proposed development for the highway network in the locality and consider it to be broadly acceptable subject to conditions and financial contributions towards road safety and pedestrian and cycle improvements. In addition, measures to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport including securing a travel plan and car club space and memberships are also secured via the S106. The proposals also include the transfer of land fronting the A40 and Old Oak Lane to enable TFL to deliver the Cycle Superhighway 10 (CS10) which is planned to be delivered along the A40 in front of the site and road and pedestrian improvements along Old Oak Lane and at the junction with the A40. Overall, the scheme will result in a number of significant planning benefits including a sizeable increase in the housing stock with well-designed dwellings including 114 affordable units and in the order of £2.4m in S106 contributions as well as other measures to mitigate impacts of the development and £1.06m in CIL payments.