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Agenda item

Judd House, 18-29 Mora Street, London, EC1V 8BT

Minutes:

Use of the property as Office (Class B1a) and associated external alterations to the front and rear façade, including the creation of a new office entrance, installation of new external metal staircase within the existing lightwell, replacement of existing windows and doors with new steel framed windows and doors and installation of new full height curtain wall screen to provide access to the new external stair.

 

(Planning application number: P2017/4339/FUL)

 

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         The planning officer advised that the employment and training contribution in Appendix A of the officer report should be £16,930 and not £18,425 as stated.

·         A member raised concern about the statement that said that Paddington Church’s Housing Association and the Housing Corporation no longer existed. He said Paddington Church’s Association was now under Genesis Housing and the Housing Corporation was now Homes England. He was concerned that the premise for the application was that these organisations being non-existent extinguished the current use. He raised concern that the committee was being asked to abandon a building that was used for homeless people and there was a need for this type of accommodation. It was hard to find accommodation for homeless people and if the application was granted, the building would not be used as a hostel again.

·         Policy DM3.9 was considered and there was discussion was to whether this application met at least one of the required points in this policy. The planning officer stated that she considered that it did.

·         A member stated that the building had been designed as an office block and had been empty for a number of years. It had been sold in 2009 by Paddington Churches Housing Association. The applicant stated that for the last four years the building had been a hostel it was vacant and there had been no demand.

·         The Chair stated that the requirement to provide replacement accommodation presumed occupancy but in this case there were no occupants to consider as the hostel was no longer in use. There would be challenges in making the building suitable for hostel use and if the application was refused the chance of getting all the right circumstances in place to reopen the hostel was minimal.

·         Discussion took place on whether there would be any benefit in deferring the item, to allow for the statements made by the applicant in terms of Paddington Church’s Housing Association and the Housing Corporation to be checked, to undertake theoretical viability, to reconsider the valuation and/or to make enquiries to see if any homeless provider might be interested. The planning officer advised that there was a risk of appeal for non-determination and the NPPF guided against holding sites vacant.

 

RESOLVED:

That planning permission be granted subject to the conditions and informatives set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report and subject to the prior completion of a Deed of Planning Obligation made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 securing the heads of terms as set out in Appendix 1 of the officer report.

Supporting documents: