planning report PDU/2671/01 8 September 2010 Tote House, Upper Richmond Road in the London Borough of Wandsworth planning application no. 2010/2916 Strategic planning application stage 1 referral (new powers) Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 The proposal Erection of a part four, part eight and part eleven-storey hotel containing 140 bedrooms, associated restaurant and bar, car parking and off-street servicing. The applicant The applicant is Wicklow Enterprise Limited, and the architect is David Millar Architects. Strategic issues The principle of providing a hotel in this town centre location is supported and in the interest of good strategic planning in London. However, further information and discussion on urban design, access, climate change and transport are needed to ensure the proposal complies with London Plan policy. Recommendation That Wandsworth Council be advised that while the application is generally acceptable in strategic planning terms the application does not comply with the London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 57 of this report; but that the possible remedies set out in paragraph 59 of this report could address these deficiencies. Context 1 On 29 July 2010 the Mayor of London received documents from Wandsworth 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 8 September 2010 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: ”Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building more than 30 metres high and is outside of the City of London”. page 1 3 Once Wandsworth 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 located towards the edge of Putney town centre on the northern side of the Upper Richmond Road, at the junction with Woodlands Way and Oakhill Road to the east of Putney High Street and East Putney tube station. The site is bounded by Wandsworth County Court to the west, offices to the north and residential uses to the east and south. 6 The site has a public transport accessibility level of 6a, on a scale where 1 is low and 6 is high, reflecting the fact that it is well served by a wide variety of public transport modes. The nearest London Underground station to the site is East Putney station which is approximately 115 metres from the site. A total of twelve bus routes can be accessed from a range of bus stops within 640 metres of the site. Rail services are provided from Putney Station which is located approximately 600 metres to the west of the site. Details of the proposal 7 Erection of a part four, part eight and part eleven-storey hotel containing 140 bedrooms, associated restaurant and bar, car parking and off-street servicing. Case history 8 No relevant planning history. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 9 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Principle of development London Plan; PPS1 Tall buildings/views London Plan; RPG3A, Revised View Management Framework SPG Urban design London Plan; PPS1 Access London Plan; PPS1; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG; Planning and Access for Disabled People: a good practice guide (ODPM) Climate change London Plan; PPS1, PPS1 supplement; PPS3; PPG13; PPS22; draft PPS Planning for a Low Carbon Future in a Changing Climate; the Mayor’s Energy Strategy; Mayor’s draft Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies; Mayor’s draft Water Strategy; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG Transport London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy; PPG13 10 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 Wandsworth Unitary Development Plan and the London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since 2004). 11 The draft replacement London Plan, published in October 2009 for consultation, and the Wandsworth Core Strategy, due to be adopted in October 2010, are also material considerations. page 2 Principle of development 12 Policy 3D.1 of the London Plan seeks to strengthen the wider role of town centres by supporting retail, leisure and other associated town centre uses. Policy 5E.1 of the London Plan sets the strategic priorities for south-west London; it seeks to encourage sensitive restructuring of some town centres to reflect changes in the office market and the need for a range of economic activities. Paragraph 5.134 states that Putney “can gain from significant growth in retail demand and put in place environmental improvements, increases in housing and a wider range of activities”. 13 Policy 2.15 of the draft replacement London Plan also seeks to support and enhance the competitiveness, quality and diversity of town centre retail, leisure and other consumer services. 14 Policy 3D.7 of the London Plan and policy 4.5 of the draft replacement London Plan seeks to improve the quality, variety and distribution of visitor accommodation and facilities in London. Beyond the Central Activities Zone, new visitor facilities should be provided in town centres with good public transport access to London. 15 The proposal will result in a loss of employment floorspace; however, the site is not designated as strategic industrial land. As such it is not protected by policies within the London Plan. Provided Wandsworth Council is satisfied the land is not required to meet local employment needs, the principle of a hotel development in this town centre close to the East Putney tube station and direct links to central London is supported. Tall buildings / views 16 London Plan policies 4B.8 and 4B.9, which relate to the specific design issues associated with tall and large-scale buildings, are of particular relevance to the proposed scheme. These policies set out specific additional design requirements for tall and large-scale buildings, which are defined as buildings that are significantly taller than their surroundings and/or have a significant impact on the skyline and are larger than the threshold sizes set for the referral of planning applications to the Mayor. Policy 7.7 of the draft replacement London Plan states that tall buildings should be part of a strategic approach to changing or developing an area, and should not have an unacceptably harmful impact on their surroundings. 17 The building will not impact on any strategic views as defined within the London View Management Framework. The nearest protected corridor, from Richmond Park to St Paul’s Cathedral, passes a significant distance to the west, and the site is significantly removed from defined river prospects, so as to not affect these views. 18 The height of the building is likely to have local impacts, and these are explored in more detail within the next section. Urban design 19 Good design is central to all objectives of the London Plan and is specifically promoted by the policies contained within Chapter 4B which address both general design principles and specific design issues. London Plan Policy 4B.1 sets out a series of overarching design principles for development in London. Other design polices in this chapter and elsewhere in the London Plan include specific design requirements relating to maximising the potential of sites, the quality of new housing provision, tall and large-scale buildings, built heritage, views, and the Blue Ribbon Network. The draft replacement London Plan reinforces these principles, with new development page 3 required to have regard to its context, and reinforce or enhance the character, legibility and permeability of the neighbourhood (policy 7.1). 20 The building is a tall building of eleven storeys, on a site defined within Wandsworth Council’s emerging site allocations development plan document as being capable of accommodating a tall building, subject to detailed design considerations. The proximity of conservation areas to the east and south is an important consideration. 21 The approach to the external elevation, with the use of corrugated aluminium and brick could be very striking and give the building a distinctive presence on the high street. Often with hotel developments, the design tends towards the bland, and the applicant’s willingness to explore something more distinctive is welcomed and would add positively to the very mixed and variable character of the town centre. 22 The overall massing has two main elements: an eleven-storey semi-circular tower facing orientated onto Upper Richmond Road, and a smaller four-storey building projecting to the rear of the site. It is recognised that there is good reason for having a taller element on the corner as it helps to articulate and define the corner site, and in principle this approach is important in this location. The older Edwardian mansion building on the adjacent corner uses a similar approach, with its turret defining the corner. At eleven storeys, the scheme is one storey higher than the nearest tall building, to the southwest (the SWISH building).