planning report GLA/4806/01 25 March 2019 Argenta House in the London Borough of Brent planning application no. 18/4847 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 the existing building and redevelopment to provide a 28-storey building comprising 151 residential dwellings with associated cycle parking, landscaping and enabling works. The applicant The applicant is Londonewcastle Capital Ltd and the architect is FAL Architects. Strategic issues summary Land use principle: no objection is raised to the loss of the office use. The proposed housing use is welcomed. (paragraphs 22-28). Affordable Housing: The application currently proposes 30% affordable housing by habitable room, comprising 71.2% social rent and 28.8% intermediate. The viability of the scheme is being robustly assessed to ensure the maximum level of affordable housing is being provided the applicant is strongly encouraged to realise the benefits of the Fast Track Route. (paragraphs 29- 39). Urban design and heritage: further work is required to maximise active frontages on the ground level. Further information on the management of the brook and the results of design review panel is required. (paragraphs 40-52). Matters in relation to inclusive design (paragraph 53), climate change (paragraph 54-57), flood risk, drainage and water (paragraphs 58-61) and transport (paragraph 62-73) should also be addressed. Recommendation That Brent Council be advised that whilst the scheme is supported in principle, the application does not comply with the London Plan and draft London Plan for the reasons set out in paragraph 77 of this report. page 1 Context 1 On 16 January 2018 the Mayor of London received documents from Brent 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 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 the following Categories 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.” • 1C – “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building more than 30 metres high outside the City of London.” 3 Once Brent 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 a block of land approximately 0.15 hectare in size located opposite Stonebridge Park station, in the London Borough of Brent. The site is bounded to the north and east by Wembley Point, a 21 storey office building (with recent permission under permitted development for conversion to 440 units) with considerable surface level parking. To the south and east, the site is bounded by Argenta Way and Point Place. Further east is the Old North Circular Road. 6 The existing site comprises a two storey building, the current owner-occupier is Ari D Noman Ltd, a jewellery company, who have confirmed via their agents that they have occupied Argenta House since March 1989, and use it as their business headquarters. 7 It appears from evidence provided to the GLA that any industrial activities that may previously have taken place on site have now made way for the more modernised internet-based distribution business and the current use falls within office (class B1(a). There is some storage on site but it is understood this is ancillary to the main use. 8 There is also a small news kiosk within the site fronting Argenta Way, primarily serving commuters using Stonebridge Park station. 9 The site forms part of a wider site allocation called Wembley Point, set out in Brent’s Site Specific Allocation Development Plan Document. This allocation comprised both Argenta House and Wembley Point and requires the retention of the office use of the Wembley Point building and development of part of the site for residential and other uses which are complementary to the mixed office/residential development. 10 The applicant has advised that Wembley Point site is under different ownership and the owner does not wish to bring the site forward for comprehensive redevelopment, preferring the office to residential conversion already secured. page 2 11 No heritage assets exist near to the site, but given the scale of the building, the potential impact on heritage has a wide scope. 12 The existing building is stilted over a brook. The site falls within flood zone 3. 13 The site is adjacent to the boundary of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation and Royal Park Opportunity Area but falls outside of these boundaries. 14 The site is bound by Argenta Way to the south, Point Place to the west, Wembley Point to the north and the Old North Circular Road to the east. The nearest section of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is the North Circular Road, located approximately 150m to the east of the site. The site is located directly opposite to the entrance to Stonebridge Park station, which is served by London Underground (Bakerloo Line) and London Overground (Watford to London Euston) services. The nearest bus stop is located directly outside the site, which is served by routes 112 and 440. The site has a Public Transport Access Level (PTAL) of 4, on a scale of 0-6b, where 6b is highest. 15 The existing vehicular access on Argenta will be closed and reinstated as footway, which is supported, in line with the Healthy Streets approach. A new vehicular access is proposed on Point Place, which is considered acceptable in strategic highway terms. Details of the proposal 16 The scheme proposes redevelopment of the site to provide a residential scheme of 151 residential units in a building of 28 storeys in height, with associated cycle parking, car parking amenity space. 17 The proposals also involve the creation of a new riverway biodiversity area through the reprofiling and alignment of Wembley brook and the introduction of new planting and habitat areas. Case history 18 26 September 2018, a pre-application meeting was held with GLA and TfL officers regarding the above proposal. Advice was subsequently issued on 13 December 2018. GLA officers concluded that the proposed redevelopment of the site to provide a residential-led scheme comprising 156 units is supported in principle and the scale and massing is appropriate. The constraints faced by the site in relation to Wembley Brook and Environment Agency’s advice present various design challenges to the scheme, and in any planning application brought forward the applicant should demonstrate that the most appropriate approach has been taken to redeveloping the site independently of Wembley Point. GLA officers requested further involvement as the scheme progressed. In addition, issues relating to affordable housing; urban design; inclusive access; climate change; flood risk, drainage and water; and transport must also be addressed in order to make the proposals compliant with the London Plan and draft London Plan. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 19 For the purposes of Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the development plan in force for the area comprises London Borough of Brent Local Plan (comprising its Core Strategy (2010) and Development Management policies (2016)) and the 2016 London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2011). 20 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: • Principal of development London Plan; Town Centres SPG • Housing and affordable housing London Plan; Affordable Housing and Viability SPG (this page 3 must now be read subject to the decision in R (McCarthy & Stone) v. Mayor of London).; Housing Strategy; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Play and Informal Recreation SPG; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Character and Context SPG • Urban design and heritage London Plan; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Character and Context SPG; Housing SPG; Shaping Neighbourhoods: Play and Informal Recreation SPG • Tall buildings/views London Plan, London View Management Framework SPG • Inclusive design London Plan; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG • Climate change London Plan; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG; London Environment Strategy • Flood risk, drainage & water London Plan; London Environment Strategy • Transport London Plan; Mayor’s Transport Strategy; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy 21 The following are relevant material considerations: • Revised National Planning Policy Framework (February 2019); • National Planning Practice Guidance; • Draft London Plan (consultation draft December 2017, incorporating early suggested changes published August 2018) which should be taken into account as explained in the NPPF; and • Brent’s Site Specific Allocations Development Plan Document (2011). Land use principle 22 The site allocation seeks to retain some employment uses as part of a mixed use redevelopment of Wembley Point (a large office tower) and Argenta House. It is nevertheless recognised that the office use of Wembley Point (representing the vast majority of the site allocation), has now been lost as a result of the exercise of office to residential permitted development rights. It is therefore accepted that the Wembley Point site is unlikely to come forward for the form of comprehensive development envisaged by the local plan site allocation.