Agenda item
Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9RL (PA/11/03375)
Decision:
Update Report Tabled.
Councillor Judith Gardiner entered the meeting at 8:05 pm for the consideration of this item.
On a vote of 0 for and 4 against, with 2 abstentions, the Committee RESOLVED –
That the Officer recommendation to grant planning permission PA/11/03375 at Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9RL be NOT ACCEPTED.
Councillor Bill Turner moved a motion to refuse the application seconded by Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed for the reasons set out below.
On a vote of 4 for and 0 against, with 2 abstentions, the Committee RESOLVED –
That planning permission (PA/11/03375) be REFUSED at Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9R on the grounds of
- Lack of sufficient affordable housing
- Overdevelopment of the site.
- Impact on local services in terms of limited capacity to accommodate the development.
It was noted that Officers would bring a further report to the Committee setting out the detailed reasons for approval by the Committee.
Minutes:
Update Report Tabled.
Councillor Judith Gardiner entered the meeting at 8:05 pm for the consideration of this item.
Pete Smith (Development Control Manager) introduced the item Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9RL (PA/11/03375).
The Chair then invited registered speakers to speak.
Ms Terry O’Connor presented her concerns. She advised that she lived in Teviot Street. She was initially in objection but now considered that the scheme was a positive initiative. She ran a local asbestos business aimed at women and felt that the proposals could assist this. The scheme would benefit the local economy and would create jobs.
Mr Ian Dubber spoke in support of the application. He outlined the merits of the scheme including the affordable housing offer and the number of new jobs proposed. In response to Members, he estimated that the scheme would create more than 125 new jobs so between 400-410 in total. As part of the Section 106 Agreement there was a condition that 20% of the construction force be local. However, generally speaking around 70% of the overall workforce on site would be local people based on experience of managing similar sites.
Jane Jin (Planning Officer) presented the detailed application. She described the site location and the results of the public consultation. She also addressed in detail the key material issues. She explained the proposed layout and the workspaces. It was estimated that around 425 jobs on site would be created by the development. She also outlined the residential plans. The housing mix accorded with policy. The affordable housing was subject to a viability assessment. This showed that the scheme offered the maximum number that could be provided with contributions to mitigate impact. She also explained the child play and amenity spaces, the massing height and design, the day light assessment, the parking plans and the overall lack of major amenity impact. Overall the proposals were acceptable on the key material grounds and should be approved.
In response the Committee raised a number of questions on the following issues:
- The methods used to test viability.
- Number of new jobs to be created by the scheme.
- The safety of the child play spaces and the roof top terraces given the closure of similar facilities elsewhere.
- Whether the child play spaces included areas for all age categories.
- The parking available to the affordable family sized units.
- The capacity of local services to accommodate the development given their restricted capacity. The impact on services elsewhere.
- The proximity of the scheme to London City Airport and the measures to detract large specifies of birds.
- The cumulative impact of the scheme given the number of new developments in the area.
- Adequacy of the affordable housing. Particularly the lack of social housing as set out in policy SP02 of the Councils Core Strategy.
In response, Officers addressed each point raised by Members.
Regarding the affordable housing, it was reported that the offer included the new Affordable Rent provision, issued after policy SP02. The offer was subject to robust viability testing that was independently reviewed. This showed that any figure higher than that proposed could place at risk viability and the provision of a satisfactory mitigation package.
Given this and the affordability of the rents (as shown by the research), it was considered that the offer was acceptable and complied with policy SP02. The plans would also be subject to review to explore the potential to increase the offer should the economy permit this.
It was anticipated that the proposal would create over 425 jobs directly based on density. Details of the child play spaces would be conditioned to amongst other things, ensure there were safe and accessible. The provision complied with policy. Education Services had considered the contributions and were of the view they were suitable. Given this and the Council’s school building plans, it was considered that there would be sufficient infrastructure to accommodate the development. The cumulative impact of the developments in the area had been carefully considered. Officers had looked in to the nearby new schemes in conjunction to ensure that the overall impact was acceptable and would be beneficial to the area. All units benefited from adequate private and communal space and access to the roof top terraces.
On a vote of 0 for and 4 against, with 2 abstentions, the Committee RESOLVED –
That the Officer recommendation to grant planning permission PA/11/03375 at Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9RL be NOT ACCEPTED.
Councillor Bill Turner moved a motion to refuse the application seconded by Councillor Khales Uddin Ahmed for the reasons set out below.
On a vote of 4 for and 0 against, with 2 abstentions, the Committee RESOLVED –
That planning permission (PA/11/03375) be REFUSED at Poplar Business Park, 10 Prestons Road, London E14 9R on the grounds of
- Lack of sufficient affordable housing
- Overdevelopment of the site.
- Impact on local services in terms of limited capacity to accommodate the development.
It was noted that Officers would bring a further report to the Committee setting out the detailed reasons for approval by the Committee.
Supporting documents:
-
Poplar Business Park FINAL, item 7.2
PDF 731 KB
-
Location Map for Poplar Business Park, item 7.2
PDF 2 MB