Douglas & Olive Waite houses, 77-79 Priory Rd planning application

A new planning application has been lodged for the redevelopment of this site and Camden have started their consultation. If for any reason Camden have not consulted you and you want to comment, go to the Camden website www.camden.gov.uk, click on planning and follow the links for this application. The number is 2009/1534/P and you need to comment by the 6th May. Alternatively email Andrew Marshall at andrew.marshall@camden.gov.uk and he will email you the link. We have this week urged further notices to be put up by Camden planners in Woodchurch Rd, which had been missed out.

Based on an initial review of the planning documents, both Andrew Marshall and Don Williams continue to consider the bulk and size of the new application to be inappropriate for this site and are planning to work alongside local residents to oppose it. If this application is reccomended by Camden's Planning Officers, this will go to the Development Control Committee for decision making. The previous application was of course not recommended for approval by Camden's Planning Officers, and so did not go to this Committee.

While the proposal has some improvements on the previous scheme, the proposal to our thinking is still inappropriate for a conservation area. For me, the key issue is that while the current building has some limited five storey element, the proposed design is consistently taller looking from Woodchurch than the present building, while looking from Priory the evelation with the attic storey (which is only marginally set back) is higher than the adjoining buildings. This is all no doubt partly because the proposal includes a bedroom increase from 86 to 104, so roughly 20%. increase. In addition there is some slight sunlight loss, particularly affecting West End Court on the Priory corner. Looking from Woodchurch, there is also the point that the building is much closer than the present one to the road - we would lose the 'front garden' which for many people is what makes a modernist building acceptable in a Victorian conservation area.

We do recognise that residents in the houses themselves have divided views on the scheme and on the approach social landlord Octavia should be adopting. Clearly there have been some changes from the previous scheme that was rightly turned down by Camden, but it doesn't seem to Don Williams and I as councillors (Roger Freeman needs to reserve his position for now as chair of the Development Control Committee) that this has gone far enough. Please let us know what you think, and we look forward to working with residents and amenity groups to oppose this when it comes to full committee in a few weeks (probably late June/July).