Issue - meetings
Land bounded by Elder Street, Folgate Street, Blossom Street, Norton Folgate, Shoreditch High Street and Commercial Street, E1.
Meeting: 27/08/2015 - Strategic Development Committee (Item 5)
Application for planning permission (PA/14/03548)
Redevelopment of the former Nicholls and Clarke urban block and adjoining former depot site, Loom Court, and land and buildings north of Fleur de Lis Passage and Fleur de Lis Street, including retention and refurbishment of buildings, for commercially led mixed-use purposes comprising buildings of between 4 and 13 storeys to provide B1 (Office), A1 (Retail), A3 (Restaurants and cafés), A4 (Public house) and 40 residential units; together with new public open spaces and landscaping, new pedestrian accesses, works to the public highway and public realm, the provision of off-street parking, and ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
Application for listed building consent (PA/14/03618)
Works to the public highway (Fleur de Lis Street) including repair and replacement, where necessary, of the carriageway and pavement, installation of cycle parking, hard landscaping and all necessary ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
Recommendations:
That the Committee resolve to GRANT planning permission subject to any direction by The London Mayor, the prior completion of a legal agreement to secure planning obligations, conditions and informatives.
That the Committee resolves toGRANT listed building consent subject to conditions
Additional documents:
- Blossom Place PA-14-3548, 21/07/2015 Strategic Development Committee, item 5 PDF 3 MB
- Update Report item 8.1, item 5 PDF 60 KB
Minutes:
Paul Buckenham (Development Control Manager, Development and Renewal) introduced the item reminding Members that the application was initially considered at the 21st July 2015 meeting of the Committee where it was resolved to defer the application to enable Officers to prepare a supplementary report setting out proposed detailed reasons for refusal and the implications of the decision. The Committee noted that Officers had considered the circumstances of this application against the relevant development plan policies in the Tower Hamlets Core Strategy 2010, the Tower Hamlets Managing Development Document 2013 and the London Plan 2015, the National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Practice Guidance and other material considerations and had concluded that:
· The scheme would provide an employment led mixed use development appropriate in this City Fringe location which has been identified as part of the ‘Tech-City’ cluster. The scheme provides over 30,000 sq. m. of B1 (Office) space suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which accords with the Tech City aspirations and supported by both the London Plan and Local Plan policies.
· The active ground floor uses would contribute to a vibrant development that would encourage visitors to the site in contrast to the predominantly vacant and underutilised buildings which currently occupy the site.
· The applications had been subject to extensive consultation with local residents and interested groups. The approach to heritage and design is supported by Tower Hamlets Officers, Historic England, CABE and the Council’s Conservation Design Advisory Panel as it is considered to represent a combination of sensitive restoration and retention of heritage assets whilst incorporating high quality new buildings that would preserve and enhance the character and appearance of the Elder Street Conservation Area. Where harm to designated heritage assets is identified this is less than substantial and outweighed by the public benefits of the scheme.
· The development would provide a suitable mix of housing types and tenure including a maximum acceptable provision of affordable housing given the viability constraints of the site.
· The housing would be of suitably high quality, providing a good standard of amenity for the future residents in accordance with housing standards. Subject to conditions, there would be no significant impact upon the amenities of neighbouring residents.
· Transport matters, including parking, access and servicing are acceptable and it is not considered that there would be any significant detrimental impact upon the surrounding highways network as a result of this development.
· A suitable strategy for minimising carbon dioxide emissions from the development has been proposed. Landscaping and biodiversity features are also proposed which seek to ensure the development is environmentally sustainable.
· The scheme would be liable to both the Mayor’s and the Borough’s community infrastructure levy. In addition, it would provide a necessary and reasonable planning obligation to local employment and training.
In summary, in view of the merits of the proposed development scheme Officers remained of the view that the scheme should be granted planning permission. Members were also reminded of the reasons for refusal and that whilst it was ... view the full minutes text for item 5
Meeting: 21/07/2015 - Strategic Development Committee (Item 8)
Application for planning permission (PA/14/03548)
Redevelopment of the former Nicholls and Clarke urban block and adjoining former depot site, Loom Court, and land and buildings north of Fleur de Lis Passage and Fleur de Lis Street, including retention and refurbishment of buildings, for commercially led mixed-use purposes comprising buildings of between 4 and 13 storeys to provide B1 (Office), A1 (Retail), A3 (Restaurants and cafés), A4 (Public house) and 40 residential units; together with new public open spaces and landscaping, new pedestrian accesses, works to the public highway and public realm, the provision of off-street parking, and ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
The application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement, Addendum and other environmental information. The Council shall not grant planning permission unless they have taken the environmental information into consideration.
Application for listed building consent (PA/14/03618)
Works to the public highway (Fleur de Lis Street) including repair and replacement, where necessary, of the carriageway and pavement, installation of cycle parking, hard landscaping and all necessary ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
Recommendation:
That the Committee resolve to GRANT planning permission subject to any direction by The London Mayor, the prior completion of a legal agreement to secure planning obligations and the conditions and informatives set out in the Committee report.
Decision:
Planning Permission (PA/14/03548)
Update report tabled.
On a vote of 0 in favour of the Officer recommendation to grant planning permission 4 against and 4 abstentions, the Committee did not agree the Officer recommendation to grant planning permission
Accordingly, Councillor John Pierce proposed and Councillor Danny Hassell seconded a motion that the planning permission be not accepted (for the reasons set out below) and on vote of 4 in favour, 0 against and 4 abstentions, it was RESOLVED:
That the Officer recommendation to grant planning permission be NOT ACCEPTED at Land bounded by Elder Street, Folgate Street, Blossom Street, Norton Folgate, Shoreditch High Street and Commercial Street, E1 for
· Redevelopment of the former Nicholls and Clarke urban block and adjoining former depot site, Loom Court, and land and buildings north of Fleur de Lis Passage and Fleur de Lis Street, including retention and refurbishment of buildings, for commercially led mixed-use purposes comprising buildings of between 4 and 13 storeys to provide B1 (Office), A1 (Retail), A3 (Restaurants and cafés), A4 (Public house) and 40 residential units; together with new public open spaces and landscaping, new pedestrian accesses, works to the public highway and public realm, the provision of off-street parking, and ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
The Committee were minded to refuse the scheme due to concerns over:
· Insufficient provision of housing within the scheme and the proportion of affordable housing is too low
· Impact of the scale and massing of the proposal on the setting of the Elder Street Conservation Area both in terms of the overall scheme and the S1 plot.
Listed Building Consent (PA/14/03618)
On a vote of 1 in favour of the Officer recommendation to grant listed building consent 6 against and 0 abstentions, the Committee did not agree the Officer recommendation to grant consent
Accordingly, on vote of 6 in favour, 0 against and 2 abstentions, it was RESOLVED:
That the Officer recommendation to grant listed building consent be NOT ACCEPTED at Land bounded by Elder Street, Folgate Street, Blossom Street, Norton Folgate, Shoreditch High Street and Commercial Street, E1 for
Works to the public highway (Fleur de Lis Street) including repair and replacement, where necessary, of the carriageway and pavement, installation of cycle parking, hard landscaping and all necessary ancillary and enabling works, plant and equipment.
The Committee were minded to refuse the listed building consent due to concerns over the impact of the scheme on the setting of the Elder Street Conservation Area.
In accordance with Development Procedural Rules, the application was DEFERRED to enable Officers to prepare a supplementary report to a future meeting of the Committee setting out proposed detailed reasons for refusal and the implications of the decision.
Councillor Andrew Cregan did not vote on the listed building consent as he was not present during the vote on this part of the scheme.
Minutes:
Update Report tabled.
Paul Buckenham (Development Manager, Development and Renewal) introduced the application and the update report
The Chair then invited registered speakers to address the Committee.
Oliver Leigh-wood (Spitalfields Trust) and Alex Foreshaw spoke in objection to the scheme. They objected to the impact of the scheme on the Conservation Area given the proposed demolition of valued buildings, the height, scale and bulk of the replacement buildings out of keeping with the area and the uncertainty around reuse of materials. The impact of the scheme, especially the s1 plot would be far worse than the consented 2011 scheme, contrary to the Historic England report that underestimated the impact of the proposal and the damage to buildings. They also expressed concern at the affordability of the business units, displacement of businesses due to this and the lack of affordable residential properties.
The scheme had attracted over 500 objections many of which came from outside the Borough showing that the area was world known. There were only seven representations in support. Furthermore, the proposals only involved part of the site so it was likely that if approved the applicant would propose further development.
The current building could be easily converted and refurbished, given the standard of the buildings, with lower rentals due to the reduced costs of refurbishment with a lot less harm to buildings. The Trust had a successful track record with preserving historic buildings and the character of the areas and improving plans. However, the Applicant in this case had failed to consult.
In response to questions, it was noted that the national groups (such as Historic England) were generally supportive of the scheme whereas the local groups placed more emphasis on the importance of the buildings possibly due to greater local awareness and knowledge. Whilst they might lack original features, the buildings identified for demolition were generally in a good condition. In response to further questions, they expressed concern at the plans for the 1927 warehouse, recognised as a building of some merit in the Council’s Conservation Area policy. They also clarified their concerns about the scale of the development representing excessive development in a Conservation Area, low rise in nature.
Mike Wiseman and Ben Davies spoke in support of the scheme for the applicant. The plans would bring back into use a disused site, whilst recognising and preserving the historic buildings and the special character of the area. The measures to ensure this were explained including the delivery of high quality replacement buildings. The historic groups were supportive of the proposal such as CABE, Historic England and the LBTH Conservation experts.
Turning to other issues, the scheme would deliver much needed commercial space for start-up businesses and grow on units, lacking in the tech city area and would generate many new jobs.
In response to questions, the speakers explained in further detail their employment and training strategy with particular focus on creating opportunities for local residents.
They also answered questions about their business retention strategy ... view the full minutes text for item 8