Issue - meetings

Description of application – Demolition of existing building and construction of part 3/part 4 storey block of 34 flats with associated car and bicycle parking, refuse and recycling storage and landscaping.

Oral representations from the applicant’s agent in support of the application included the following points:

·  Various issues with the content of the report were raised in a letter to the Council dated 19 May 2020.

·  As outlined in the report, the development was acceptable except for the conflict with Policy 11 which sought to protect sites that provided specialist accommodation.  The report failed to note that the use of the building for the provision of specialist accommodation for older people ceased as of 1 May 2015 as set out on the application form that accompanied the application for the redevelopment of the site for 9 dwellings.  It was, therefore, a matter of fact that the provision of specialist accommodation for older people from this site ceased just over five years ago. It was not right that this policy was afforded the same degree of weight as if the application related to a building that had recently closed or moreover still active but proving unviable to continue. The Policy was only formally adopted 18 months ago, more than three years following closure of the site and when an alternative residential development had been approved. The use of the site for specialist accommodation had therefore long since ceased and any need for such provision had been met elsewhere by other developments.  There was, therefore, no net loss to the provision of specialist accommodation for older people as envisaged by the Policy.

·  Balanced against this, Members must consider that this scheme would deliver 34 new residential apartments of which 12 were to be provided as affordable housing. The report acknowledged that there was not a current 5-year housing land supply position and therefore the provision of housing should be afforded significant weight in favour of the proposals. This was accepted by Planning Inspectors when determining appeals in Bromley as well as generally within authorities lacking the necessary housing supply. While the application would see 12 of the 34 units being provided as affordable housing, the current discussions with interested purchasers of the completed scheme indicated it was likely that all 34 units would be delivered as affordable housing. The additional 22 units would need to fall outside of the scope of any Section 106 Agreement due to funding arrangements with housing associations.

·  If Members accepted there was no fallback position regarding the implementation of the 9 unit dwelling scheme, which was not accepted by the applicant, then Members should consider whether the full weight of Policy 11 was applicable to this site and in the context of the housing crisis and the lack of sufficient supply at present in this Borough. If Members considered there was conflict with the Policy, it should not singularly amount to such harm that it otherwise outweighed the benefits acknowledge in the report.

In response to questions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10