CAPITAL &
REGIONAL’S TOWN CENTRE REDEVELOPMENT
45 Selbourne Road,
E17 7JR
Some suggestions
about where to concentrate objections.
Comments in italics
are from the Design & Access Statement.
1. 1. Planning App – Full planning permission for a new Town Square and new leisure and
retail, Outline Planning Permission
for the 4 residential tower blocks for 500 dwellings. This is because they have
not signed up a developer to build the tower blocks and it needs to be vague so
the developer can say what they want to build.
I In other words the Planning
Committee has to decide if tower blocks are appropriate to this site and
conform to the: LONDON PLAN , LBWF Local Development Plan and the
TOWN CENTRE AREA ACTION PLAN, LBWF TOWN CENTRE STRATEGY PLAN, LBWF TOWN CENTRE DELIVERY PLAN (which they do!).
2. High Rise - The
purpose of the tower blocks is to “by
reputation and by physical presence, promote Walthamstow in a wider London
context and mark the location of the Town Square”. The redesign of the adjoining
public space “which presently performs
poorly and adds little to the enjoyment of visiting the Town Centre”.
3. 3. Housing - The London Plan expects Waltham Forest to build
862 units of accommodation but the council has decided to allow 12,000 units
across the Borough by 2020, 50% to be affordable! There is no need for this
development to help meet the London Plan target – that is already well
achieved.
4. 4. Density permitted is managed by PTAL and the
Town Centre, being adjacent to transport links, is the highest rated at PTAL 6.
This allows for between 200 and 700 habitable rooms per hectare (Hr/Ha).
Capital & Regional (C&R) state this development is between 115 and 164
(Hr/Ha). This needs to be checked to ensure it is correct.
5. 5. London Plan, which this development has to
comply with, states for high rise developments:
a generally be limited to sites in the Central
Activity Zone, opportunity areas, areas of intensification or town centres that
have good access to public transport
b only
be considered in areas whose character would not be affected adversely by the
scale, mass or bulk of a tall or large building
c relate
well to the form, proportion, composition, scale and character of surrounding
buildings, urban grain and public realm (including landscape features), particularly
at street level;
d individually or as
a group, improve the legibility of an area, by emphasising a point of civic or
visual significance where appropriate, and enhance the skyline and image of
London
e incorporate the
highest standards of architecture and materials, including sustainable design
and construction practices
f have ground floor
activities that provide a positive relationship to the surrounding streets
g contribute to improving
the permeability of the site and wider area, where possible
h incorporate publicly
accessible areas on the upper floors, where appropriate
i make a significant
contribution to local regeneration.
6. 6. Policies - LBWF Policy CS1 identifies the Town Centre for
2,000 new homes so this is only a quarter of what they want in the centre of
Walthamstow.
Policy CS1.4 relates to an attractive and
vibrant Town Centre.
7. 7. Town Centre Area Action Plan states “no negative impact on amenity values due to
overshadowing” Objections need to prove this is not the case.
8. 8. Link to station – there will be a tunnel from
the station to the shopping centre. I assume this can be built as they had
great difficulty building the stairs from the Bus Station because of a huge
pipe which is in the way. I forget if it is a sewer or water. Objections need
to explore if this really can be built at an economic cost.
9. 9. LBWF Town Square Design Objectives state “minimise loss of open space and demonstrate
that improvements provided by the re-imagined Town Square compensate for any
proposals to reduce open space.” Objections need to address this issue.
10. The consultation held by C&R last year
showed a majority thought “the lawns are
the most popular element of the existing gardens and there is a desire for any
future proposals to retain them”. “The avenue of Limes should be retained” Check
the plans against this public view. One picture seems to show some of the limes
missing!
1 11. Construction period – “the Mall must remain fully operational during the development”
“Development proposals must not impact on the High Street Market” “Development
site sits above an underground line which presents logistical challenges in
construction”
At the two consultation sessions ask how
this will be achieved and the delivery of all the plant and equipment to the
site without clogging up the existing streets. How will the work force arrive
at site?
1 12. Transport – the residential will be car free
except for 25 disabled spaces located in the existing car park. There will be
904 cycle spaces for the residents of the flats.
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