PLANNING APPLICATIONS COMMITTEE 22 May 2008 Item No: 04 UPRN APPLICATION NO. DATE VALID 07/P2265 25/02/2008 Address/Site: 1 Cromer Road, Tooting, SW17 9JN (Ward) Graveney Proposal Change of use of a single dwelling into 2 two bedroom flats, one at ground floor level and the other at first and second floor level. In addition it is proposed to demolish the existing rear extension and develop a new rear ground level extension across the width of the site and with a depth of 3.1 metres. Drawing No’s 08-28/A2-02 and 08-28/A2-03 Contact Officer Jolyon Boyle (020 8545 3276) RECOMMENDATION GRANT PERMISSION subject to planning conditions 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This application was called in by Councillor Linda Kirby for determination by the Planning Application Committee. 2. SITE AND SURROUNDINGS 2.1 The site is occupied by a two storey end-of-terrace property near the intersection of Cromer Road and Links Road. The dwelling has an existing full width rear dormer roof extension and a full width single storey rear extension. The original building had a total floor area of 90m2, increased to 129 m2 with the roof extension and the rear lean to addition. 2.2 The site is designated as residential land on Council’s UDP proposals map. The site is not within a conservation area and no buildings on site are listed either locally or statutorily. 2.3 The neighbouring property to the northeast, 3 Cromer Road, has a similar design and provides a 2.65m deep single storey rear extension. Adjacent the opposite boundary is a 0.9m wide alleyway, which separates the site from the properties fronting Links Road. 121 2.4 The site is located approximately 250m from Tooting Railway Station and local bus services along London/Mitcham Road. As such the site has a high Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 4. The application property is not located in a Controlled Parking Zone. 3. CURRENT PROPOSAL 3.1 The application is a resubmission following the refusal of the application 07/P3094 in February 2007 by the Planning Applications Committee. 3.2 The current application would be similar in principle and involves a change of use of a single dwelling into 2 x 2 bedroom flats, one at ground floor level and the other at first and second floor level. In addition it is proposed to demolish the existing rear extension and develop a new rear ground level extension across the width of the site and with a depth of 3.1 metres. 3.2 The occupants of both flats would have access to private on-site amenity space. No on site car parking would be provided. 4. PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 07/P2508/NEW - Conversion of dwelling to two flats including a single storey extension - was the subject of pre-application advice in 2007. Planning Officers gave their provisional support for the proposal. 4.2 07/P3094 - Conversion of existing property to form 2 x 2 bed flats, incorporating a single storey rear extension. The planning committee on 17 January 2008 resolved to refuse planning permission. The application was refused on the following grounds: The proposed development would: (a) Fail to provide outdoor garden amenity space for the upstairs flat; (b) Fail to provide a satisfactory standard of residential accommodation and so give rise to loss of residential amenity for occupiers; (c) Fail to meet minimum room size requirements (particularly in relation to the size of the bathrooms); (d) Fail the room-stacking test (particularly in relation to a bedroom being located above a living room); (c) Fail to provide a satisfactory room layout (particularly in relation to a bedroom being accessed directly from a living room); contrary to Policy HS.1 of the Unitary Development Plan (October 2003) and Supplementary Planning Guidance:” Residential Extensions, Alterations & Conversions (November 2001). 4.2 The applicant has sought to address the grounds for refusal by providing an area of private outdoor amenity space for the upper level flat and by increasing the size of the both bathrooms to accord with current planning policy. In addition the layout of the ground floor flat has been altered to provide access to the second bedroom from the hall. This alteration would 122 also result in an increase to the size of the living space provided to the ground floor flat. 4.3 A similar proposal (LBM Ref. 06/P2238) for the conversion of a dwelling into 1 x 1-bed flat and 1 x 2-bed flat and the erection of a single storey rear extension, was approved at 1 Ascot Road, which is a similar sized dwelling, on 30/11/2006 under delegated powers. 5. CONSULTATION 5.1 The application has been publicised by means of a site notice and letters nearby occupiers. 5.2 An objection was received from Councillor Linda Kirby, who raised the following issues: • The proposal would not be in accordance with the SPG; • Loss of a small single family dwelling; • Exacerbated parking. 5.3 Transport Planning The site is located within 240 metres, or a 3-minute walk, of Tooting Station. It is also located within a 4-minute walk of bus stops providing services in either direction along Mitcham Road, the majority of which in a northerly direction connect directly to Tooting Broadway tube station. Having regard to these issues and the modest nature of the scheme, together with the fact that parking pressures are lower during the evening / overnight period, it is not considered that the scheme would materially add to the pressure for on-street car parking in the locality of the site. 6. POLICY CONTEXT 6.1 The relevant policies in the Council’s Unitary Development Plan (October 2003) are HP.1 (Housing Target), HP.5 (Flat Conversions), PK.2 (Car Parking Standards), PK.3 (Car Parking and Development), HS.1 (Housing Layout and Amenity), BE.15 (New Buildings and Extensions), BE.23 (Alterations and Extensions to Buildings). Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) on Residential Extensions, Alterations and Conversions (2001) is also relevant. 6.2 The relevant polices in the Consolidated London Plan (February 2008) are as follows 3A.1 (Increasing London’s Supply of Housing), 3A.2 (Borough Housing Targets) and 3A.5 (Housing Choice). 7. PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS 7.1 The main planning considerations are the principle of converting a single dwelling into self-contained flats, the loss of family accommodation, the standard of accommodation to be provided and the impact of the proposed rear extension upon adjoining occupiers and the impact of the conversion upon the area including traffic and parking. 123 7.2 Principle of Conversion into Flats UDP policy HP.1 encourages the development of additional dwellings within residential areas. In addition London Plan polices 3A.1 and 3A.2 and PPG3 (Housing) encourage the development of additional dwellings in locations with good public transport accessibility. The site is located within a residential area and is located within proximity to public transport and has a high PTAL rating of 4. Therefore the principle of converting the existing dwelling into flats is supported, subject to achieving other relevant policy objectives discussed below. 7.3 Loss of Family Housing While the proposal would result in the loss of an existing three-bedroom house, the overall character of the area of predominantly small family dwellings would remain, and there is no evidence to indicate that it would lead to an unacceptable shortage of small family dwellings locally. Statistics relating to the conversion of dwellinghouses in Cromer Road are provided in the table below: CPZ Number Number Percentage Percentage Floorspace Floorspace Conversion of of flats of change as Original proposed to be dwellings in street. dwellings in a result of (sq.m) (sq.m) subject to a in street. street current S106 which are proposals. flats No 53 0 0% 1.89% 129 136 No 7.4 While the original floor area of the dwelling is below the SPG’s minimum requirement of 120m2 for buildings suitable for conversion, in the recent summary of 7 appeal decisions regarding the conversion of dwellings (Item 4 on the agenda for the Planning Applications committee held on 22 August 2007) officers reported in paragraph 2.22 that: 7.5 “Whilst the floorspace within the seven appeal properties ranged from between 65 and 90 square metres, this was not considered by the Inspectors grounds to dismiss the appeals. It was accepted by the Inspectors that the floorspace was substantially below the 120 square metres threshold in the SPG, however as this size threshold was omitted from the subsequent UDP policy and specifically discounted by the UDP Inquiry Inspector this fact was not afforded any weight. The Inspectors attached greater weight to the actual standard of the residential units provided, including assessing the units against the minimum universal room sizes standards.” 7.6 Notwithstanding the advice provided by the Inspectorate the total floor area of the property including extensions would be 136.2m2 (increased from 129m2– arising from the demolition and replacement of the lean-to extension), which exceeds the minimum required. Accordingly it is reiterated that the site is considered suitable for the conversion into flats subject to achieving other relevant planning objectives discussed below. 124 7.7 Standard of Accommodation The application has been assessed against policy HS.1 of the Council’s UDP and Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG), which seek to facilitate a satisfactory standard of accommodation for future occupiers. 7.8 The layout of the flats to a large degree is restricted and determined by the internal layout of the existing dwelling, particularly the location of the staircase, the location of exiting fixtures and the constraints imposed by the size and width of the site.