Planning Committee and officers in tussle over Lycee swimming pool and Red House

The proposed swimming pool building - the bus stop is currently in front of the rectangular proposed entrance

The planning application by Lycee International De Londres Winston Churchill to build a basement swimming pool on the Grade Two listed former Brent Town Hall site is coming up again at Brent Planning Committee on January 13th. LINK

In a surprise move the Planning Committee turned down the application  at its last meeting but must now give reasons for its decision that could withstand appeal to the Planning Committee. Planning Officers stand by their decision and warn:

In making this resolution [minded to refuse permission], Members raised concerns about the development related to reasons highlighted below. No additional material or information has been submitted by the applicant for Officers to comment on. Members are reminded that any appeals are assessed by the Planning Inspectorate and that appeal performance is a planning ‘quality’ indicator. Appeals also involve costs in terms of staff time and legal advice and the appellant’s costs can be awarded if an Inspector considers that a reason for refusal to be unreasonable. The test of unreasonableness is different from not agreeing with the Council’s decision.

The Committee is reminded that both Heritage England and the 20th Century Society were consulted about the plans before officers recommended approval. Officers stand by their original recommendation to grant planning permission but give a formulation to justify refusal if the Committee decides to maintain their position.

The Committee refused planning permission on two counts - one regarding the impact on the view of the building and the other on the impact of repositioning of the bus stop that is currently adjacent to the steps up to the building.

These would be examined by the Planning Inspectorate if the application goes to appeal:

The proposed pool building, by reason of its design, size and siting and, in particular, its location within the principal frontage of the Grade II listed former Brent Town Hall, results in a detrimental impact on the setting of a Grade II listed building, reducing the visibility of the listed building when viewed from the immediate frontage of the property. This is contrary to Policy 7.8 of the London Plan (consolidated with further alterations since 2011) and the National Planning Policy Framework. 

In the absence of specific details of the proposed relocation of the bus stop and shelter, the proposal is likely to result in conditions prejudicial to the free and safe flow of traffic on a distributor road in terms of the proximity of the bus cage to the traffic signals. This is contrary to saved policies TRN3 and TRN4 of the Brent Unitary Development Plan 2004. 

The Planning Committee's less publicised rejection of the much higher value Red House planning application is subject to the same process.  This is the former Wembley Conservative Party Club close to Wembley Stadium station which was sold off  by the Tories and currently occupied by a commercial play facility. LINK

Situated between the station and the London Designer Outlet this is clearly a valuable plot and the Conservatives may be kicking themselves over the original disposal. The plans are for two buildings, one yet another hotel, 13 storeys with 312 beds, restaurant, bar, gym and offices and another of 4 storeys for A1-4 and D2 use. The development would involve realignment of the route between South Way and the Wembley Park Boulevard.

The Officers again maintain their original recommendation to approve the application, warn about the risks attached to it going to the Planning Inspectorate but give possible reasons for refusal:

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1) Design,siting, scale and massing in relation to adjoining buildings

The report and supplementary discussed the relationship to existing buildings, the current masterplan and proposed future changes. Officers consider that the siting and scale issues are generally appropriate to development within the wider growth area and recognise the change in the applicant's ownership. However, if Members are minded to refuse on similar grounds then the following is a possible reason for refusal which concentrates on design issues and the corner location:

The proposal provides an unacceptable response in terms of its design, detailing (including materials) and siting to its prominent corner location and to its relationship to the primary pedestrian route from the High Road, including the legibility of the London Designer Outlet centre, and in the context of the wider masterplan and other development proposals. The proposal is accordingly detrimental to the character and appearance of the area, contrary to saved policies BE2, BE3, BE7, BE9, BE10 of the Brent Unitary Development Plan 2004, policy CP5 of the Brent LDF Core Strategy 2010 and Policies WEM1, WEM2, WEM5 of the Wembley Area Action Plan 2015.

(2) Impact on Wembley Park Boulevard in terms of its width during construction and its future alignment to Stadium Station Square

The report explained the reasons for the realignment of the original route of the "boulevard" to link with Stadium Station Square to the south of South Way. Amendments were sought to the layout of the building to respond to this change and, on balance, the principle issue is the legibility of the route and its attractiveness and design for the function intended. If Members are minded to refuse on this ground then the following is a possible reason for refusal;

The proposal, by reason of the reduced width of the interim “boulevard” during construction, fails to demonstrate that the proposal will not result in conditions prejudicial to pedestrian safety during Major Events at Wembley Stadium. This is contrary to saved policy TRN10 of the Brent Unitary Development Plan 2004.

 As often stated here the Planning Committee has statutory independence from the Council and it is interesting to see how that will be maintained, particularly in the new era following the departure of Andy Donald, previously in charge of planning along with regeneration and major projects.

Andy Donald appointed Chief Executive of Redbridge Council

Andy Donald, probably the most powerful of Brent Council's three strategic directors, was  confirmed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Redbridge Council tonight.

His portfolio has expanded over his term in Brent to cover regeneration, planning, council housing, adult skills, environmental health, school expansion and the sale of some of the Council's own property. His approach to regeneration has often been controversial as a result of his view that the role of the Council is to smooth the way for developers. LINK

He is Deputy Chief Executive in addition to these roles. He is also a founder board member of The Future of London and Chair of the Meanwhile Foundation, a national charoty set up by Brent Council.

During his tenure there have been major regenerations in Wembley (Quintain), South Kilburn, Park Royal and Alperton.  The high rise skyline of Brent will be his most visible legacy. Among the more controversial schemes have been the school expansion/new housing that saw the closure of Stonebridge Adventure Playground and the Willesden Green library development which resulted in luxury flats being sold at inflated prices in Singapore.

His predecessor at Redbridge, Roger Hampson, had a salary of £193,301. 

Willesden Green Cultural Centre space to be let for 'income generation' rather than One Stop service for residents

When residents opposed the redevelopment of Willesden Green Library and the consequent loss of the Willesden Bookshop, cinema, cafe, museum, art gallery and meeting rooms they were assured that the community would gain not only a Cultural Centre but a Brent Council customer service that would mirror that on offer at the new Civic Centre in Wembley. LINK

The Future Customer Service Project aims to improve efficiency and clarity of the services offered to citizens. The strategy is dependent on developing a new customer contact centre at WGLC providing a service for the south of the borough, an area where many of the Council‟s high need customers reside.

Now a report from Andy Donald to be considered by the Cabinet tomorrow will recommend as part of a new  'Customer Access Strategy' that this be ditched.  The new strategy will rely mainly on Internet access where library staff might help residents get on to the system and a replacement for the telephone system that was installed at the Civic Centre just two years ago.

The report LINK states:

There are other implications for this approach in respect of the new Library at Willesden, including the opportunity to make use of the surplus space in the new building for alternative uses that are of public benefit and in keeping with the ethos of the building. It is proposed that the Council enter into a local dialogue about options for alternative uses in the space. Any use of the space will need to be income generating and as a minimum will need to cover the proportionate running costs such as Business Rates, heating, lighting, cleaning and maintenance.

This news comes on top of the controversy over the  development's luxury apartments, which have already been onward sold twice by property companies before completion, and which have been marketed abroad as investment opportunities with the 'benefit' of  no affordable or key worker housing on site.

Latest prices included £450,000 for a one bedroom flat.

The new strategy will also include changes at the Civic Centre:

The Civic Centre Service Centre includes dedicated self service space on the ground floor which has proved to be very popular with visitors. Members of staff are available within this area to assist visitors to use the self service facilities and also to encourage use of on line services where these are available. The current configuration of the Service Centre will need to be adapted to meet the increasing demand for self service with a concurrent reduction to the numbers of visitors requiring a more traditional face to face interview. Proposals are therefore being drawn up to change the layout of the service centre at the Civic Centre to reflect the need for greater self service provision in the future and to relocate the reception from the mezzanine floor to the ground floor to ensure that visitors’ needs can be quickly assessed when they approach the ground floor area.

It sounds like one of those supermarkets where you find all the tills are self-service.

The report states (original English in the report retained):

Face to face interview will continue to be available for residents who need a more help and assistance in resolving their enquiry.

But it appears that these are likely to be only available on a weekly basis and by appointment:

.        An equality impact assessment for the new community access strategy is attached as Appendix C. The overall impact assessment indicates that the extension of on line access to services could benefit many protected groups providing easy and convenient access on a 24/7 basis. As all channels of contact will remain available, the strategy offers all residents, including those in protected groups enhanced and improved access arrangements. The reconfiguration of the Services centre at Willesden will reduce the availability of face to face interviews with officers, however these will still be available at the Civic Centre and at Willesden by way of a weekly surgery. Residents using self service computers located in the library at Willesden will also be able to speak to an officer using free phones to assist them with any enquiries or to support them through the self service process. During the early stages of the opening of the new Willesden library, staff will be available to provide details about the options available for face to face enquiries from both the Civic Centre and Willesden.