Crewkerne Garages, Battersea Church Road
Added on: 18 January 2021 at 12:55:31
First we wish to thank Joe Richardson and his team for the helpful way they have briefed us and for their willingness to maintain dialogue as their plans progress. We apologise for the delay in coming forward with these comments.
We have three main concerns about these plans:
Tall Building: The overbearing nature of the tall building, placed as it is on the site, leaving only a narrow pavement width between the base of the building and a narrow, heavily trafficked road near a bend.
Starter Homes: The proposal that all 50 of the shared ownership/discounted market rate flats be small ‘starter’ homes. These would only be acceptable if they were a small part of the provision and if there were ample opportunities for those living in these homes to progress to long term affordable housing within Battersea. We see no evidence that this would be the case.
The Council cites the number of young people living in the borough perhaps to justify this policy. It is a circular argument. Over the years Battersea has seen an increase in a younger, transient population and an older, more affluent resident – often with their home in Battersea being a second home. We wish to see Battersea remain a mixed community where a wide range of families can live longer term.
We are pleased to see that the emerging local plan endorses our views.
17.38 “The Local Housing Need Assessment (LHNA) identifies a need for family-sized accommodation”.
17.4 ”The Plan, therefore, aims to ensure that the housing delivered supports the needs of a range of households rather than perpetuating a polarised approach to meeting housing demand. It seeks to strike a careful balance between the need to provide low-cost rented homes against the need to provide intermediate housing for those households on low to middle incomes who would not qualify for social rented housing or be able to afford market housing. This will ensure that the affordable housing offer provides options for all of the borough’s residents regardless of income.”
We ask that the Council think again about their starter home policy for this site and look at it in relation to other developments given permission. We also ask that they review current plans which show that of the 106 homes proposed 50 are the small starter homes and the remainder 2-bed only.
Transport: These additional residents will have to fight it out with the many others in the developments along Lombard Road, York Road, the RCA development and the adjoining sites to use the already heavily over-crowded buses and trains (in normal circumstances). In addition there will be 500 extra pupils at Thomas’s School. The riverside is also heavily trafficked with pedestrians and cyclists sharing unmediated space.
