planning report D&P/0181b/01 29 July 2015 East India Dock Estate, Clove Crescent, E14 2BE in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning application no. PA/15/01005 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 Hybrid planning application: Outline planning application (all matters reserved): Demolition of all existing buildings; comprehensive mixed use redevelopment comprising a maximum of 78,871 sq.m of floorspace (excluding basement) for the following uses: residential (Class C3), business use including office and flexible workspace (Class B1), leisure uses (class D2), retail (Classes A1-A4); streets, open spaces, landscaping and public realm, utilities including sub-station(s) and other incidental works. Full planning application: Demolition of the existing building and redevelopment to provide 41,709 sq.m of floorspace (excluding basement) comprising residential (Class C3), retail, food and drink uses (Classes A1-A4), business uses (Class B1) and leisure use (Class D2) in buildings ranging from 10-27 storeys in height (plus 2 storey plant enclosure), together with car and cycle parking, associated landscaping and new public realm. The applicant The applicant is EID Ltd and the architect is 3D Reid. Strategic issues The loss of offices on this site raises no strategic concern and the land use principles are supported on this site within the Lower Lee Valley and emerging Isle Dogs and South Poplar Opportunity Areas, subject to sufficient mitigation for social infrastructure impacts. The affordable housing offer of 25%, the tenure split proposed and the inclusion of PRS units within the private element are all welcome, subject to the applicant’s viability appraisal being independently verified to confirm that the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing is being secured. Given the phasing of the development, a review mechanism will be required. Whilst the layout, height, massing and public realm improvements are welcome, the residential quality raises strategic concern given the high density. Matters of flooding and energy are broadly acceptable subject to some further clarification, and more information is required on matters of air quality and transport. Recommendation That Tower Hamlets Council be advised that whilst the proposals are broadly supported, the application does not fully comply with the London Plan for the reasons set out in paragraph 105 of this report, which should be addressed before the application is referred back to the Mayor. page 1 Context 1 On 23 June 2015 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 & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor has until 4 August 2015 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 Categories 1A and 3D of the Schedule to the Order 2008: Category 1A: “Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats”. Category 1B(c): “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building(s) outside Central London and with a total floorspace of more than 15,000 square metres.” Category 1C: “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building more than 30 metres high outside the City of London.” 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 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 roughly 2.5 hectares and is located in the East India Dock Estate that is situated between Aspen Way to the south, the A13 (East India Dock Road) to the north and the Blackwall Tunnel approach (A102) immediately to the west. To the north and east the site adjoins other existing office buildings also forming part of the estate. Poplar High street runs to the south-west corner of the site. The southern and western boundaries of the site are formed by a Grade II Listed naval wall. 6 The site is currently occupied by four office buildings – Ancourage House, Capstan House, Lighterman House and Mulberry House – that are arranged around a linear water feature. The buildings are roughly 8-10 stories high with 245 basement car parking spaces accessed via Clove Crescent. Mulberry House in the north-west corner of the site is currently occupied by Tower Hamlets Councils offices and Town Hall. 7 The site falls within the southern portion of the Lower Lee Valley Opportunity Area, within the Blackwall and Leamouth sub-area. It also falls within the northern part of the emerging Isle of Dogs Opportunity Area, for which a Planning Framework is currently being drafted, which, once adopted, will supersede the LLV OAPF where the geographies overlap. 8 The site is of equal distance between East India and Blackwall Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations, located approximately 230m to the south-east and south-west of the site respectively. Canning Town station is located approximately 1.1km to the east of the site, which also provides access to DLR and Jubilee line London Underground (LU) services. page 2 9 Bus route 277 operates through this site with a stop located on Clove Crescent and stand on Saffron Avenue to the east. Route 115 is also accessible from East India Dock Road with bus stops located 200m to the north of the site. The site has a good public transport accessibility level (PTAL) of 4 on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 6 (excellent) and this is confirmed by a manual PTAL assessment undertaken by the applicant. The site is also served by the Mayor’s Cycle Hire scheme, with the nearest docking station on Naval Row, 130m to the south-west of the site, providing access to 19 cycle docking points. Site history 10 There is no significant planning history directly on the site, although prior approval for the change of use from office to residential was refused in July 2014 on the basis that the proposals comprised EIA development. A prior approval application has recently been resubmitted. 11 The East India Dock Estate and the wider area has been, and continues to be, subject to significant regeneration, and with the emerging Opportunity Area Planning Framework, the area is expected to see continued growth. 12 Of note, in 2008 the Mayor considered a scheme at Sites 6 & 8 of the East India Dock Estate (bound by Leamouth Road, East India Dock Road, Sorrell Lane and Saffron Avenue) which lies to the east of the application site (D&P reference: 0181a). This comprised a mixed use development of nine blocks ranging in height from 8 to 37 storeys for 796 dwellings and other uses including commercial, leisure and community space with basement car parking. Subsequently, the Mayor considered a scheme for the redevelopment of the Robin Hood Gardens estate to the west (D&P reference: 2727). Known as the Blackwall Reach regeneration scheme it will provide up to 1,575 new homes and a mix of commercial and community uses including a new school and faith building. In both cases, the Mayor was satisfied with the proposals to allow Tower Hamlets and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation to determine the applications themselves. 13 Other significant development schemes in the immediate context include: New Providence Wharf (mixed use scheme of 1,000 residential units and 50,000 sq.m of commercial floorspace); Wood Wharf (mixed use development), and; Leamouth Peninsula (mixed use scheme with over 1,500 residential units). Details of the proposal 14 The application has been submitted as a hybrid application comprising both outline and full detailed proposals, across three development zones. Development zone A is in full detail (which also comprises phase one), and development zones B and C are outline (phases 2, 3 and 4). In total the hybrid application seeks permission for a maximum development threshold of 120,580 sq.m (GIA) of floorspace across residential (up to 1,357 units), business, retail and leisure land uses, and will be limited by the parameter plans. 15 The outline component of the application seeks permission for ‘up to’ the maximum floorspace specified for each land use. The land use figures therefore generate a cumulative floorspace figure that is greater than the total amount for which outline planning permission is sought. The outline planning permission sought will set a maximum total floorspace and the cumulative floorspace of the basket of potential uses to be delivered across the site would not exceed an approved overarching total floorspace figure. Given the long term build programme anticipated (circa 5 years), the applicant requires this flexibility to allow for potential changes in market demand, and respond to uncertainties and risks over the lifetime of the development. The location of non-residential land uses across the site is also not fixed to allow for flexibility. page 3 Land use Use Class