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| Queen's Parade now |
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| Proposed new student accommodation building |
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| New building in townscape |
Planning Officers recommend granting of planning permission for 1-12 Queens Parade, Walm Lane, for demolition of the existing one storey shopping parade and its replacement by a part 6, 7 and 8 storey building housing 117 student accommodation units with 5 retail units on the ground floor and a basement retail warehouse space.
The shops are currently let on a 'meanwhile' basis pending redevelopment.
The officers' report LINK states:
The key
planning issues for Members to consider are set out below. Members will need to
balance all of the planning issues and the objectives of relevant planning
policies when making a decision on the application:
Principle
of use: There is no
objection in principle to the redevelopment of the site to provide student
accommodation and five retail units. The site is considered to accord with
Council policy in relation to the provision of student accommodation due to its
location within a town centre and good transport links. The submission
demonstrates a need for the student accommodation in line with Brent and London
Plan policy. The retail units would contribute to the viability and vitality of
the Willesden Town Centre. The principle of development is therefore considered
to be acceptable.
Representations
received: Objections
were received from 20 local residents and one Councillor raising concerns
regarding the loss of the retail units; harm to the high street; suitability of
student accommodation at the site; parking/servicing, overdevelopment; impact
on conservation the area and impact on neighbouring amenity. In addition to
this 50 letters of support were received from local residents who stated that
the existing buildings do not make best use of the site; the proposal will
boost the local economy; the new units will improve the town centre; and the
height is considered to be suitable.
Demolition
of existing building: There is no objection in principle to the demolition of the existing
retail units. While they are in a Conservation Area, the existing buildings do
not share the distinctive characteristics which define the Willesden Green
Conservation Area. The Site Specific Allocation encourages redevelopment of the
site with a more intensive and better use of land. The loss of these buildings
is considered to accord with policy provided the replacement building is of an
acceptable design.
Character
and Appearance: The
proposal is considered to have a high quality design that has regard to the
character of its surroundings including the conservation area and to not
inappropriately challenge or dominate surrounding development.
Impact
on Neighbouring Amenity: The development has been assessed against loss of light and sense of
enclosure on all neighbouring properties. It has been found that the
relationship between the proposed development and all surrounding properties is
considered to be acceptable, according with relevant Brent standards and BRE
guidance.
Parking
& Servicing: It
is considered that the use of a ‘permit free’ agreement secured by condition
would mitigate against parking concerns in the area. It is considered that the
proposed servicing arrangements would be
suitable for the site and would not materially harm the surrounding area.
7 comments:
So lets just ruin our new Borough of Culture, destroy the past, knock up some uninteresting buildings and decimate our culture of old.
Oh please, leave well alone, why would you want to spoil this area of Willesden. It's not really needed, it' does not enhance the area. Where does this planning officer live, i would really like to know?
Who decided that all Students need to live in close proximity to a tube station or bus stop, most students are young, fit and active they can walk!!
Waste of consultation time, as always in Brent the planning permission for this is already a DONE DEAL irrespective of how many objections the Council will receive!
5 retail units? is that all? It should at the very mininum include the same amount of incubator space for new business performing a vital role that is there currently.
I can't believe there would be 50 letters of support for this as the designs for new buildings like this are so ugly.
Was just looking at these '50' comments of support on the planning website.
They are a copy/paste of the same thing and are of similar addresses namely "Yates Court, 228 Willesden Lane'. It looks dodgy. https://pa.brent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=DCAPR_132271>
Was just looking at more of these 'supporting letters' - they're clearly fraudulent. not every person who lives next door to each other in Walm lane would write the following:
"As a local businessman in Willesden Green I believe that this proposal should be supported by
officers and that the Councillors should vote to grant planning permission to benefit the whole of
Willesden Green."
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