Agenda and minutes

Councillor North welcomed everyone to the meeting. Members of the Committee and officers introduced themselves and the Chair outlined the procedures for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Ogunro.

Meeting was informed that Councillors Klute & Staff are substituting for the 2 vacant posts on the sub committee.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b)  Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)   Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or  your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)   Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)   Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f)    Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g)   Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

Councillor North declared a personal interest in item B3, Sports Pavilion, Wray Crescent Open Space as his wife is the ward councillor where this subject is located.

The order of business would be B3, B1 and B2.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Demolition of the redundant three-storey caretakers house (plus associated garage) to create a sensory garden; hard/soft landscaping across the site; replacement of front entrance gate and all associated works

(Planning application number: P2024/0325/FUL

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       The proposed development site relates to Vittoria Primary School, a part single storey, part three storey brick building located on the eastern side of Treaty Street, Islington. A school building has existed at the site since 1886 and was previously known as Copenhagen Primary School until mid-2023. The surrounding vicinity is primarily residential.

·       The site does not form part of a conservation area, but the main school building (three storey element) is identified as a locally listed building from the Council’s Local list (Grade B). No parts of the curtilage are statutory listed.

·       The primary aspect of the proposal relates to the demolition of an existing three-storey ancillary dwellinghouse located towards the eastern boundary of the site. The house, which was a later addition to a historic terrace (previously demolished) has been redundant for approx. 8-10 years and was most recently used as accommodation for the school’s caretaker.

·       The dwellinghouse is confined to the boundaries of the school only and does not present an example of self-contained residential accommodation being only accessible through the existing school grounds and not with a separate self contained access from the street.

·       Meeting was advised that the dwellinghouse has been identified as being ancillary to the school premises, that the principle of the dwellinghouse’s demolition has therefore been deemed acceptable. Local Plan Policy H2 specifically resists the loss of existing self contained residential units which thus unit is not.

·       In addition to the development being acceptable in principle, officers are minded to support the proposed landscaping and general refurbishment works in design and appearance terms, with the long-term benefits created for the school being evident.

·       The three-storey freestanding caretaker’s house has historically been used as accommodation for the school’s caretaker, the dwellinghouse has been vacant for several years and has recently been identified as being in poor structural condition.

·       Planning Officer advised that the house forms part of the red line boundary of the school and is accessed from within the grounds of the school only.

·       Meeting was advised that in place of the caretaker’s house and associated yard area, it is proposed to introduce a new ‘sensory garden’ space for use by the school’s pupils. Additional hard and soft landscaping works are proposed to the Central Playground area and KS1 (Phase 2). The specific areas are identified as part of the annotated map, below. Works to ‘Phase 1’ of the project which have included refurbishment to the early years area have already been completed. 

·       The sensory garden space (to replace the site of the caretaker’s house) offers an opportunity for nature-based activities including food growing, ecological areas sensory and elements for children to immerse themselves within nature.

·       Planning Officer advised that the proposal would also introduce various hard/soft landscaping features to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

Extension and refurbishment of the existing King Square Community Nursery building to create a new Family Hub facility and internal space for the Toffee Park Adventure Playground. Demolition of existing playground shed. Associated landscape improvements to surrounding external spaces also proposed.

(Planning application number: P2024/1331/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       The application site relates to Toffee Park, within the Radnor Street Open Space. The site is currently occupied by two users, the Kings Square Nursery and the Toffee Park Adventure Playground.

·       The nursery is located on the northern half of the site. It is housed in a 2 storey, 1960s, brick and concrete building with sculptural sloping roof form. The adventure play area inhabits the southern end of the site. Along with outdoor play space, it has a single storey timber shed with indoor accommodation.

·       The site is surrounded by a high-level, mesh fence which results in the site having very little active frontage. This creates a hostile environment around the site and entrances into both facilities are difficult to locate and in poor quality. Neither facility feels welcoming, and it is not clear whether they are in public or private use.

·       There is a MUGA to the rear of the nursery building that is used as a play space during the nursery’s operating hours. The MUGA is accessible to the public outside of these hours via a secondary entrance in the park. There is a difference in levels between the nursery and the MUGA and the two spaces have an awkward relationship.

·       Radnor Street Open Space, located to the rear of the site, is a constrained and awkward space. It is split into two by a diagonal footpath that connects Lizard Street to Ironmonger Row. The eastern edge of the park is segregated from the main body of the space by thick planting. This blocks views into the park along this edge and creates a dark, uninviting space. Radnor Street Open Space is a designated Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and the Toffee Park Adventure Playground is protected through policy and through the Fields in Trust scheme.

·       Whilst the application site is adjacent to a number of residential properties, the surrounding area is mixed in character, sitting within the Central Activities Zone. The Whitecross Street and Old Street Local Shopping Areas are also located nearby.

·       The site lies partially within the St Luke’s Conservation Area (CA16), an important surviving part of historic Finsbury, with a special character and appearance which is desirable to preserve and enhance. The area in the designation is currently occupied by the adventure playground, however the remainder of the site is considered to form part of the Conservation Area’s setting.

·       The site does not contain any listed or locally listed buildings, however it lies in close proximity to St Lukes Church, which is Grade I Listed and a Local Landmark, as well as Ironmonger Row Baths which is Grade II listed. The site is also located within the Civil  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Demolition of existing brick pavilion building and erection of a new single storey building for sport and community uses with associated landscaping works.

(Planning application number: P2024/0369/FUL)

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       Planning Officer advised that since the publication of the agenda local planning authority received comments from Sport England a statutory consultee for developments related and impacting sports facilities.

·       It was noted that Sports England supports the replacement of the pavilion and does not raise a statutory objection to the application because it broadly accords with exception 2 of Council’s Playing Fields Policy and paragraph 103 of the NPPF.

·       In addition Sport England on behalf of ECB and football foundations stated that as a general principle, it supports the design which is largely consistent with its technical specification and involves no loss of green space on a boundary limited site.

·       Meeting was informed of a number of required changes to note is that there is preference towards team changing rooms providing padding up area but no direct sightline to the pitch- a small window being proposed whilst maintaining privacy.

·       It was noted that Sports England had a preference towards officials changing having benching outside of the shower area for minimum two people.

·       England Cricket Board (ECB) supports the replacement of the pavilion with a design that is fully compliant with Council’s technical specification.

·       Planning Officer advised that all these have been discussed with applicants who have no objections to the changes.

·       Meeting was advised that the application site is an open space which is bounded by Turlewray Close to the north-east and Wray Crescent to the south-west. A central path through the park links the two streets with another park providing access from Thorpedale Road. The scale of the park is 2.13 hectares. The park is configured into a main open area to the south which is used for cricket and ac children’s play area to the north. There is an existing single storey brick building which facilities the use of the cricket pitch. The existing building has a footprint of 226sqm.

·       The site is neither statutorily nor locally listed, nor is it located within a designated conservation area; however, it does immediately adjoin the Tollington Park Conservation Area.

·       It was stated that the building has formerly served the existing sports facility of the Open Space (cricket) facility but was deemed structurally unsound in 2018 and as a result has been vacant since. It serves a building footprint of 226sqm and primarily contains changing and shower facilities.

·       The proposed building would be finished in a varied tone grey (Rinko Falls) brickwork with a grey zinc sloping roof and light grey window frames. It would incorporate a podium deck and associated landscaping to the north, east and south. The building would incorporate a shallow-pitched green roof and associated security measures throughout. It would be accessible via the Open Space facing elevation and would incorporate the necessary accessibility measures where necessary.

·       Planning Officer informed Committee that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.