Help with Town Centre objections

CAPITAL & REGIONAL’S TOWN CENTRE REDEVELOPMENT

45 Selbourne Road, E17 7JR

Planning Application 171355

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.