FORA objection letter to Council
FOREST RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
FORA
21 August 2006
The Planning Department
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Municipal Offices
16 The Ridgeway
Chingford E4 6PS
Dear Sirs,
St. Andrew's Church Hall site - Application no 2006/0953.
The Association requests, before any decision is made, that the Planning Committee of the London Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF) makes a site visit to assess the proposed development and its surrounding area, as the Application lies within the Leytonstone Conservation Area.
The Association makes the following objections to this Application.
1. Change of Use
There should be no change of use from Community to Residential. This site has been in community use for over 100 years and there is a strong feeling in the locality that it should remain so. It is also of great importance in the local townscape with a pivotal position in both the Conservation Area and the Wallwood Estate.
Following the demolition of the Hall this now open space has become a link between the residential area and the Forest.
2. Conservation Areas BHE13
"In order to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Conservation Areas the LBWF Council will
A)Refuse permission for any development in these areas, which does not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area."
The proposed new development will destroy the coherence between the late Victorian/Edwardian architecture of the School/Church public buildings and the houses in Forest Glade.
The now demolished Church Hall was a building of great architectural merit and any replacement should be of equal calibre. The new building falls far short of this; it is far too cumbersome, dominating both the Church and the surrounding domestic streets.
No attempt seems to have been made to design an appropriate building. Indeed the proposed flats closely resemble those recently built by Newlon in Forest Road E11. The windows, doors and large acreage of glass are especially at variance both with the Church and the houses nearby; and there are no examples of balconies or mixed brick and render within the Conservation Area. BHE1 8.9 requires that any new building should fit into those already there.
The roof is also at variance, being far too high and large. It is noted from the plans that there is sufficient space therein to be capable of accommodating further habitable rooms, thus creating a third floor.
3. Listed Building in a Conservation Area.
St Andrew?s Church is a Grade Ii Listed Building within a Conservation Area.
The Mayor's Plan for London (accepted by LBWF) states that 'planning applications and spatial management plans need to respect the relevant sight lines of viewing corridors' of historic and architectural buildings. This new build, however, will obliterate the view of a Grade II Listed Building, completely blocking the east end of this important building from sight and negating the protection offered by the Plan.
Not only does the East Window have architectural significance but it also has a great religious significance within the Christian religion, in that, the light entering here represents the Life Eternal and any interference with this could be said to represent the abuse of a religious structure.
The old Hall was only one storey high with a steeply sloping roof allowing light into the East Window. The southern wing of the flats being two storeys and in close proximity to the Church will severely reduce the amount of light into the Church and the vestry, which is contrary to BHE8.10 and was one of the reasons for the refusal in 1972 for flats to be erected on this site.
4. Noise
Problems relating to noise nuisance due to the closeness of the planned new development to the Church could well arise. In the plans a Communal Courtyard is provided next to the church and there is no way that use of this could be curtailed during Church Services. It would be very difficult if not impossible to
install sound proofing between the two buildings and the noise engendered in each could cause problems both for the Church congregation and the occupants of the new flats.
5. Unsuitable due to size, shape, situation
This new application for flats is an overuse of the site and allows for five more occupants than in the Planning Application No2005/1300/LA, which was refused.
In 1972 an application for six flats on this site was refused.
The flats themselves will be crammed in between the Church, the Electricity sub-station and two roads. Car parking problems in this area will be exacerbated by an extra possible twenty five cars and these will also affect the entrance and exit to Wallwood Estate along St. Andrew's Road.
6 Building constraints
The site itself is entirely occupied by the basement of the Hall, which remains in situ. At present this hole is filled by demolition rubble covered by a thin layer of soil. The floor of the basement is below the water table and frequently filled with water, which had to be pumped out.
This water problem will remain a threat to any new building on the site and to the Church of St Andrew.
In view of the foregoing objections and protection offered by the Planning Laws, the Plan for London, and the Unitary Development Plan, together with the Legal Duty of Care that the Council of LBWF owes to Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings, the Association respectfully urges the Planning Committee to refuse this Application.
Yours truly,
Mina Patel, Chair, The Forest Residents Association (FORA), info.fora@hotmail.com, www.forestresidents.org.uk
(The Association understands that Newlon Housing Association has bought the site outright but that the London Borough of Waltham Forest has retained Overage whereby the Buyers are obliged to pay LBWF an additional sum of money of the Buyers obtain planning permission over the next 10 years to build more habitable rooms than agreed under the current building scheme. If this is indeed the case the London Borough of Waltham Forest retains a pecuniary interest in any decision made regarding this Application, now or in the future. Presumably the Council of LBWF will be information it?s Planning Committee of this interest.) Back to top