Development at 76 Reddown Road
31/01/2019 23:11:00.......Posted by Luke Clancy
Tonight at Planning Committee I supported 110 objectors in opposing a development at 76 Reddown Road in Coulsdon Town Ward. Here is what I said: While local residents and councillors understand the need to increase housing across the borough we feel this is too much in this location. The massing of this large 4 storey development looms larger over its neighbours. The roofline proposed is about 2 metres higher than the surrounding properties and its footprint is approx. twice the scale of its neighbours. It will introduce a harsh blank solid brick wall to the outlook of the residents of number 78. The proposal would increase the mass and bulk compare to the existing building just a little too much in my view. The design is also out of keeping - particularly the fenestration and balconies. The exterior building materials and appearance are not consistent with neighbouring dwellings in the location, the grey slate roof being one example. And contrary to assertions in the report, residents claim their road does have a character of its own - white render, reddish-brown brick, wood panels – and that is not reflected in the design of this proposal. This proposal is also marked out by a lot of unattractive tarmacked parking at the front in contrast to the generally verdant nature of Reddown Road. It is important to note that even that parking provision still doesn’t guarantee all residents their own car parking space on site. So there will be parking in the street. It is a likely misassumption that six parking bays will suffice for 9 flats with 19 bedrooms. The lack of parking is a particular concern in a road that has a PTAL rating of 1b and residents dispute that parking is not already more stressed than the report assumes. The timing of the parking surveys seems to have been undertaken at times designed to suit the developer’s case. Most were timed to coincide with the period 11am to noon when a lot of residents have driven off to work and any illegal parking is actively enforced against by a warden in accordance with restrictions in the road. The survey results were also ignored when it was convenient for the developer’s case. On Thursday 8 November at 4am, for example, the parking survey shows stress was shown to be actually 100%. I think not restricting future residents applying for parking permits could lead to aggravation in the road and I would advise the committee to consider such a restriction on future residents in the interests of maintaining the status quo in the competition for parking spaces. A better solution would be for the onsite parking provision to be mirror the number of occupants, and perhaps this could be reduced by reducing the number of flats in the building to six or seven, which is what I think had been proposed in a previous application. The refuse arrangements are also questionable. Does the proposal of just 3 large bins adequately provide for the needs of the proposed development, when all the existing housing along the road have 3 and in many cases 4 bins already along with food waste caddy? All in, this indicates this is an overdevelopment and that too much is being crammed onto this site. Unfortunately the proposal was approved by a 5-4 vote with one member abstaining.
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