planning report PDU/1376b/02 3 April 2013 Junction of Preston’s Road & Yabsley Street, Poplar in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning application no. PA12/02107 Strategic planning application stage II 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 Redevelopment of car park site by the erection of two buildings of 7 and 26 storeys to provide 190 residential units (comprising 78 one-bedroom, 58 two-bedroom, 50 three-bedroom, 2 four- bedroom and 2 five-bedroom apartments), 134 sq.m. of gymnasium space at upper ground level, 42 car parking spaces and 244 cycling spaces at basement level; communal open space and associated works. The applicant The applicant is Telford Homes Plc and the architects are RMA Architects. Strategic issues The few issues brought forward for resolution from the consultation stage are: inclusive design and access; energy provisions, transport and ambient noise. The Council’s decision In this instance Tower Hamlets Council has resolved to grant planning permission. Recommendation That Tower Hamlets Council be advised that the Mayor is content for it to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take and does not, therefore, wish to direct refusal or direct that he is to be the local planning authority. Context 1 On 9 August 2012, 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. This was referred to the Mayor under Categories 1A, 1B and 1C of the Schedule to the Order 2008: 1A- “Development which comprises or includes the provision of more than 150 houses, flats, or houses and flats.” page 1 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.” 1C- “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building of one or more of the following descriptions—(a) the building is more than 25 metres high and is adjacent to the River Thames.” 2 On 20 September 2012 the Mayor considered planning report PDU/1376b/01 and subsequently advised Tower Hamlets Council that the application did not comply with the London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 111 of the above-mentioned report; but that the possible remedies set out in paragraph 113 of the report could address those deficiencies. 3 A copy of the above-mentioned report is attached. The essentials of the case with regard to the proposal, the site, case history, strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance are as set out therein, unless otherwise stated in this report. Since then, the application has been revised in response to the Mayor’s concerns (see below). On 24 January 2013, Tower Hamlets Council resolved to grant planning permission for the revised application, and on 21 March 2013 it advised the Mayor of this decision. Under the provisions of Article 5 of the Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor may allow the interim decision to proceed unchanged, direct Tower Hamlets Council under Article 6 to refuse the application or issue a direction to Council under Article 7 that he is to act as the Local Planning Authority for the purposes of determining the application and any connected application. The Mayor has until 3 April 2013 to notify the Council of his decision and to issue any direction. 4 The environmental information for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 has been taken into account in the consideration of this case. 5 The decision on this case and the reasons will be made available on the GLA’s website www.london.gov.uk. Update 6 At its meeting on 13 December 2012, the Strategic Planning Committee of Tower Hamlets Council indicated that it was minded to refuse planning permission for the above development against officers’ recommendation, but deferred making a resolution on the application to allow the Council’s officers to draft appropriately worded reasons for refusal. The suggested grounds for refusal related to an excessively high density that was over the indicative range provided in the London Plan density matrix; a resulting shortfall in the provision of children’s play space; and the lack of an adequate contribution to mitigate the impact of development on local transport infrastructure. Each of these issues was addressed in the stage 1 report, copied as an attachment to this document. 7 Following subsequent revisions to the scheme, the application was reported back to the Council’s planning committee on 24 January 2013; at which Members resolved to grant planning permission subject to conditions and the completion of a legal agreement to secure the obligations listed in the Heads of Terms detailed elsewhere in this report. Inclusive design and access 8 At consultation stage, the applicant was requested to submit appendix 2 of the design and access statement and ensure that the location, tenures and mix of the proposed wheelchair accessible units were clearly identified on the accommodation schedule or accompanying drawings to secure full compliance with London Plan policy 7.2. page 2 9 The applicant has not responded to this request and neither the location nor tenure of wheelchair units have been identified on the accommodation schedule or any drawings subsequently submitted to Tower Hamlets Council. 10 Council officers have indicated that all 19 wheelchair units would be provided as two- bedroom flats to meet the 10% London Plan policy requirement, following advice from the partnering registered provider, Notting Hill Housing Group, that there is a local need for two- bedroom accessible units. Whilst officers have accepted this arrangement, the tenure mix of the units has not been confirmed and the report to the Council’s planning committee expresses a clear preference for a mix of wheelchair unit sizes in line with the London Plan policy aspiration. 11 On balance, however, a direction to refuse the application may prove difficult to sustain on appeal and the provision of 10% two-bedroom wheelchair units is accepted in this instance. Energy provisions 12 The applicant was also requested to provide a range of details pertaining to the energy strategy for the site. 13 In particular, the applicant was requested to confirm that a site heat network would be installed and all apartments and non-domestic building uses connected to it and to provide a drawing to illustrate the route of the heat network linking all buildings on the site. The applicant was also asked to confirm that the heat network would be supplied from a single energy centre and to identify the location and floor area of the energy centre. 14 GLA energy advisors have since confirmed that condition 21 on the Council’s draft approval notice fulfils these requests, in conjunction with a drawing (1317-0180 Rev D) that shows a 103 sq.m. energy centre located in the proposed basement. 15 The applicant proposes to install a 70We gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) unit sized to provide a proportion of the domestic hot water load as its lead heat source for the site heat network. Condition 21 on the Council’s draft approval notice would also secure the 57 tonnes per annum (31%) reduction in regulated carbon dioxide emissions expected to be achieved by this second part of the London Plan energy hierarchy. 16 The applicant has investigated the feasibility of a range of renewable energy technologies and proposes to install 56 sq.m. of photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of the low-rise block, for which a drawing was requested of the proposed installation. 17 The applicant’s drawing (1317-0185 Rev D) illustrates the location of solar PV panels on the roof of Block B and this is secured by condition 20 on the Council’s draft approval notice. 18 Overall, the response to these requests is satisfactory and the energy strategy is fully compliant with the policy requirements of the London Plan. Transport for London’s comments 19 At Stage 1, TfL agreed that the proposed level of car parking (including disabled parking bays) was acceptable. TfL welcomes the proposed section 106 obligation which requires electric vehicle charging points to be secured in line with the London Plan and for the applicant to enter into a ‘permit free’ agreement with Tower Hamlets Council to prevent future residents from obtaining local on street parking permits. Furthermore, the applicant has increased the total number of cycle parking spaces to make provision for visitors in line with revised London Plan standards, which is welcomed. page 3 20 A revised travel plan was submitted following TfL’s initial response and is now considered robust. This will be secured through the section 106 agreement. 21 A range of sustainable transport mitigation including; Legible London wayfinding, bus stop upgrades and improved pedestrian links to Blackwall station were requested at Stage 1. Citing viability issues, only £30,000 has been secured for ‘TfL Highway Works’ which is regrettable but nevertheless understood. TfL has agreed with the Council that this contribution will be allocated in line with future priorities. TfL also welcomes the submission of a bus stop accessibility audit, to be secured through planning condition. 22 TfL supports conditions to require details of construction methodology and associated impact on the adjacent Blackwall Tunnel to be submitted to and approved by the Council, in consultation with TfL.