Agenda, decisions and minutes

No interest was declared at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the last meeting held on 13 June and 9 July 2024, be confirmed, and signed as accurate records.

MOVED, SECONDED and Unanimously RESOLVED to GRANT planning permission subject to the completion of a unilateral undertaking for demolition of the existing residential house and the construction of a 4-storey building plus roof space to provide 7 self-contained flats, together with associated landscaping, refuse storage and bike storage at 60 Lowther Hill, SE23.

3.1.    The Principal Planning Officer gave an illustrative presentation of the report, with a suggestion that the Committee should grant planning permission for the demolition of the existing residential house and the construction of a       4-storey building plus roof space to provide 7 self-contained flats, together with associated landscaping, refuse storage and bike storage at 60 Lowther Hill SE23.

3.2.    The Committee noted the report, the key planning considerations, together with the recent history about the proposed site, whereby several planning applications submitted by the applicant from 2017 to date were considered and refused.

3.3.    In discussing the report, the Committee recognised that the proposal under consideration was related to the aspect of the decision taken on the proposed site on 3 December 2020 whereby the reason to refuse was because of “impact on neighbours’ amenity”.

3.4.    In response to questions raised about accessibility, Officers advised the Committee that a level access into the new building could not be achieved because of the slope of the proposed site. However, ‘ambulant’ steps were considered acceptable by the Buildings Regulations Team as a means of access by wheelchair users to the upper and lower ground floor flats.

3.5.    The Committee heard submissions by the applicant and her agent who advised that he was also acting as an architect in relation to the application. They advised the Committee as follows:

•         That the applicant’s team engaged extensively with the Council’s Planning Team, local residents and ward Councillors during the pre-application process to overcome past refusal reasons.

•         That, in submitting the current proposal, the applicant’s team considered the recent policy changes such as the introduction of the New London Plan, the Small Sites Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and the Hopcroft Neighbourhood Development Plan.

•         That all flats had access to both a shared garden and private amenity.

•         That all balconies had screening and all side-facing windows were obscured which provided light to the flats but no view into neighbouring properties.

•         That a parking stress survey was submitted to the Planning Officer together with the application and indicated a value of 54% which was well below the 85% threshold.

3.6.    In response to a question about refuse, the applicant informed the Committee that a secured refuse store would be located at the forecourt of the proposed site. The refuse store would be bigger than required, with 3 large size bins for general waste, 2 large size bins for recycling, and an additional space for 1 organic waste bin, should this become a requirement in the future.

3.7.      The Committee was addressed by a resident who lived at 58 Lowther Hill. She was objecting to the proposal because of the following reasons:

•           That the previous application was refused on the ground of excessive bulk and loss of amenity to the neighbours.

•           That the level of overdevelopment and population density would be inappropriate for the site and the area.

•           That the proposed site would be impacting future residents and existing neighbours  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

MOVED, SECONDED and RESOLVED to GRANT planning permission for the part retrospective planning permission for the alteration and conversion of the existing building, together with the construction of an extension at roof level to provide a 14 room HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) including the following:

-       formation of internal courtyards

-       new timber shopfront

-       demolition of the extension at the front and the installation of windows and roof lights to the front and rear at 126 New Cross Road SE14.

4.1.      The Principal Planning Officer gave an illustrative presentation of the report, with a suggestion that the Committee should grant part retrospective planning permission for the alteration and conversion of the existing building, together with the construction of an extension at roof level to provide a 14 room HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) including the formation of internal courtyards, new timber shopfront and the demolition of the extension at the front and the installation of windows and roof lights to the front and rear at 126 New Cross Road SE14.

4.2.      The Committee noted the report and the relevant planning considerations specific to the proposal.

4.3.      In considering the submission, the Committee asked questions on the following matters:

a)       Windows replacement at the front of the proposed site. Officers responded as follows:

•       That the proposed development included an enhancement to the front façade through the restoration of a traditional style timber shopfront at ground floor level and timber sash windows to the first and second floor in place of the harmful uPVC casement windows currently installed.

b)     Enforcement Notice issued on 31 January 2023 (see para 12 of the report). Officers responded as follows:

•       That the Enforcement Notice had no bearing on the assessment of the planning application and that, granting the application would not preclude the Council from taking further actions in relation to the Enforcement Notice, if required.

4.4.      The Committee heard submissions by the applicant’s agent who advised that he was also acting as an architect in relation to the application. He advised the Committee as follows:

•     That the proposal intended to alter the existing unauthorised layout reducing the number of rooms on the existing ground, first, second and third floors from 14 to 11 rooms. Three further rooms would be added within the new fourth floor (14 rooms in total).

•     That a roof extension would be constructed accommodating the three new rooms. The design of the extension was amended to appear more like a traditional mansard following discussions with Officers.

•     That prior to the installation of the traditional timber approved shopfront at ground floor, detailed plans would be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

•     That the quality of the proposed internal accommodation would meet and exceed the Council’s expectations in terms of scale.

4.5.      In response to some questions posed by the Committee, the applicant’s agent responded as follows:

•     That of the 14 units in the HMO, 9 were en-suite and 5 had shared toilets/bathrooms. He added that the HMO guidance required a separate shower/bathroom and a separate toilet every 5 non en-suite units. The application would make provision for two separate bathrooms which also included a toilet each. The agent to the applicant stated that the proposal provided more than what the HMO Guidance required; however, if upon review, the HMO Licensing Team required the proposed site to have one shared shower/bathroom and one shared toilet separate from the bathroom, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.