planning report D&P/3444/01 10 December 2014 Stockley House, 130 Wilton Road, SW1V 1LQ in the City of Westminster planning application no. 14/08299/FULL 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 (Class B1) and redevelopment to provide a 15-storey building plus three basement levels comprising 107 residential units, retail floorspace (Class A1/A3/A4), 60 car parking spaces, plant enclosure at roof level and public realm works. The applicant The applicant is Victoria Gardens Development Ltd and the architect is Squire and Partners. Strategic issues The principle of a residential-led mixed use development on this site within the Central Activities Zone and the Victoria Opportunity Area is strongly supported. Whilst the density, design, ground floor layout, massing and height are supported, further work is required on the internal layout in order to resolve a number of issues relating to residential quality. Further information is also required on the children’s playspace strategy. Matters of inclusive access are broadly supported. The indicative affordable housing offer raises strategic concern and further discussion is required on this, together with an independent assessment of the applicant’s viability appraisal. The energy strategy needs further attention as the London Plan target is not being reached, and there are a number of strategic transport matters that require attention, including the car parking provision and construction logistics including the stopping up of the highway and servicing issues. Conditions and section 106 obligations are required to secure a number of transport matters. Recommendation That Westminster City Council be advised that the application broadly complies with the London Plan but that the issues set out in paragraph 99 of this report should be addressed before the scheme is referred back to the Mayor. Context 1 On 20 October 2014 the Mayor of London received documents from Westminster City 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 page 1 London) Order 2008 the Mayor has until 28 November 2014 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 Schedule to the Order 2008: Category 1C: “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building of more than 30 metres high outside the City of London.” 3 Once Westminster City 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 application site is located adjacent to Victoria station on its south-eastern side and currently comprises a seven storey office building on a roughly triangular shaped plot bound by Wilton Road to the east, Hudson’s Place to the north-west (owned by Network Rail) and Bridge Place to the south which the building bridges over as the road runs through from Neathouse Place from the east. 6 The surrounding area is defined by a mix of uses, building styles and heights. Wilton Road contains mainly retail uses at ground level with office or residential above together with some hotel uses, in buildings of generally 5-10 storeys. To the north on Wilton Road is also the Apollo Theatre which is Grade II* Listed. Victoria station is Grade II Listed. There is an entrance to Victoria station opposite the site on Hudson’s Place, which also provides a service access to the station. 7 The site lies within the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) and within the Victoria Opportunity Area (VOA), which London Plan Policy 2.13 and Annex 1 state has the potential for significant mixed-use regeneration given the proximity to the transport interchange, with potential to provide up to 1000 new homes and 4,000 new jobs. 8 The site is served by nineteen bus routes within walking distance, together with National Rail and London Underground services on the Victoria, District and Circle lines at Victoria station adjacent to the site. An upgrade is currently taking place at Victoria underground station, known as Victoria Station Upgrade (VSU), which is due to complete in late 2018. 9 Both Wilton Road and Bridge Place are part of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), and access to Wilton Road is restricted to buses, taxis and bicycles. Bridge Place is part of London’s inner ring road and is a key link in the Victoria one way system. As noted in paragraph five above, Bridge Place passes directly under Stockley House, in a one-way westbound direction, and has a weight limit of 18 tonnes. The existing office building oversails Bridge Place with ground floor frontages on both sides. The proposed building would also oversail the highway. The public transport accessibility level (PTAL) is 6b and is therefore classifiable as excellent. Case history 10 A pre-application meeting was held on 7 July 2014 to discuss the scheme now the subject of this planning application. At the applicant’s request, an advice report was not issued. page 2 Details of the proposal 11 Full planning permission is sought for a development proposing the demolition of the existing office buildings (currently providing 9,869 sq.m GIA) on the site and redevelopment to provide a residential-led mixed-use development comprising a building of 15 stories providing: 107 residential units; Two flexible retail units (Classes A1/A3/A4) at lower ground, ground and mezzanine level; Provision of three basement levels utilising an existing car lift off Hudson’s Place providing access to 60 car parking spaces, seven of which will be accessible. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 12 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Land use principles London Plan; Central Activities Zone London Plan; Housing London Plan; Housing SPG; Draft Revised Housing Strategy; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Play and Informal Recreation SPG; Affordable housing London Plan; Housing SPG, Draft Revised Housing Strategy; Density London Plan; Housing SPG; Urban design London Plan; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Character and Context Draft SPG; Heritage London Plan; Inclusive access London Plan; Accessible London SPG; Sustainable development London Plan; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG; Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; Mayor’s Climate Change and Energy Strategy; Mayor’s Water Strategy; Transport and parking London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy; Crossrail London Plan; Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy. 13 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 Westminster City Plan: Strategic Policies, adopted November 2013; the saved policies of the 1997 Unitary Development Plan, and; the London Plan 2011 (with 2013 Alterations). 14 The following are also relevant material considerations: Westminster City Council’s Victoria Area Planning Brief (adopted July 2011). The Further Alterations to the London Plan (January 2014 consultation draft) The National Planning Policy Framework and Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework. Land use principles 15 As set out in paragraph seven, the site is located within the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) and within the Victoria Opportunity Area as designated on London Plan Map 2.4 and Annex 1. London Plan Policy 2.10 sets out the strategic priorities for the CAZ, which encourages opportunities for high density development capacity to support the mixed character clusters in page 3 the CAZ. Whilst this Policy and Policy 4.2 encourage the renewal and modernisation of existing office floorspace in the CAZ, neither the London Plan nor the Policies in Westminster’s City Plan seek to protect existing office space and indeed promote mixed uses, including housing, within the CAZ area. The loss of office floorspace therefore raises no strategic concern, although the Council should satisfy itself that this loss does not undermine the wider employment capacity in the borough. 16 London Plan Policy 2.13 states that development in opportunity areas is expected to optimise residential and non-residential densities and to contain a mix of uses. Annex One of the London Plan indicates that the Victoria Opportunity Area has the potential for significant mixed use intensification, capitalising on the enhancements to the public transport interchange and improvements to accessibility and capacity, and suggests that the area has the potential for up to 1,000 new homes and 4,000 new jobs over the plan period to 2031. The proposals will provide a mix of residential accommodation on the upper floors with flexible Class A retail type uses at ground level, which is fully supported in strategic land use terms within this CAZ location adjacent to a major transport interchange. 17 London Plan Policy 3.3 seeks