Agenda item
St Georges Estate, Cable Street, London
Decision:
On a vote of 4 for and 1 against, the Committee RESOLVED that planning permission for the refurbishment of existing buildings and erection of nine buildings ranging from 6 to 9 storeys in height to provide 193 dwellings (13 x studios; 67 x 1 bed; 79 x 2 bed; 22 x 3 bed; 7 x 4 bed and 5 x 5 bed) and the erection of four townhouses and a community centre of 510 sqm and landscaping at St Georges Estate, Cable Street, London be DEFERRED to enable further negotiation in respect of increasing the amount of affordable and altering the mix of social rented accommodation.
(Councillor Rania Khan could not vote on the application as she had not been present at the previous meeting when the application had been considered).
Minutes:
Mr Michael Kiely, Head of Development Decisions, introduced the site and proposal for the refurbishment of existing buildings and erection of nine buildings ranging from 6 to 9 storeys in height to provide 193 dwellings (13 x studios; 67 x 1 bed; 79 x 2 bed; 22 x 3 bed; 7 x 4 bed and 5 x 5 bed) and the erection of four townhouses and a community centre of 510 sqm and landscaping at St Georges Estate, Cable Street, London.
Mr Terry Natt, Strategic Applications Manager, presented a detailed update report which clarified the figures relating to affordable housing, distances between proposed and existing buildings and design solutions proposed to mitigate any overlooking on Site 1.
Members expressed concern that the level of affordable housing did not meet the Council’s targets. Mr Kiely advised Members that the relevant policy to be applied to estate regeneration schemes, HSG5, recognised the need to invest in existing housing stock, therefore making allowance for a lower percentage of affordable housing. It was noted that in comparison to recent estate regenerations in the Borough, this was the highest percentage achieved to date. He stressed the need for investment in the estate and explained the viability assessments carried out on the scheme. He also reminded Members that 89% of the affordable housing proposed was family sized units, which were needed in the Borough.
Members asked questions relating to the privacy of George Leybourne House in relation to the design of the scheme, the traffic impact on Wellclose Square and the Conservation Area Policy in respect of the comments received from English Heritage. Mr Natt addressed the concerns and advised the Committee of the mitigation measures which had been proposed in respect of obscure glazing to overcome any loss of privacy and the traffic calming conditions which had been proposed by the Council’s Highways department. It was the view of the Officers that the development would enhance the Conservation Area, as the estate in its current form was in need of regeneration and did not contribute visually to the area. Officers had to balance the advice received from English Heritage against the benefits of the scheme for the area. It was not felt that a refusal could be justified on such grounds.
After consideration of all the issues and representations made, it was proposed and seconded that the application be deferred to enable officers to negotiate further with the applicant with a view to increasing the amount of affordable housing on site and altering the mix of social rented accommodation on the site.
On a vote of 4 for and 1 against, the Committee RESOLVED that planning permission for the refurbishment of existing buildings and erection of nine buildings ranging from 6 to 9 storeys in height to provide 193 dwellings (13 x studios; 67 x 1 bed; 79 x 2 bed; 22 x 3 bed; 7 x 4 bed and 5 x 5 bed) and the erection of four townhouses and a community centre of 510 sqm and landscaping at St Georges Estate, Cable Street, London be DEFERRED to enable further negotiation in respect of increasing the amount of affordable and altering the mix of social rented accommodation.
(Councillor Rania Khan could not vote on the application as she had not been present at the previous meeting when the application had been considered).
Supporting documents:
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St Georges estate, item 6.2
PDF 805 KB
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St Georges Est Appendix 1, item 6.2
PDF 876 KB
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St Georges Addendum Appendix 1 Part 2, item 6.2
PDF 53 KB