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Agenda item

43-53 Brewery Road, N7 9QH

Minutes:

Replacement and extension of rear portion of building at ground and first floors, creation of larger loading ay at ground floor facing Brandon Road, extension of building at second, third and partial fourth and fifth floors, re-cladding of front and rear elevations and provision of lift run and plant on roof, in association with use of building for Class B8 (self-storage) purposes.

 

(Planning application number: P2018/0136/FUL)

 

In the discussion the following points were made:

·         Members noted the addendum report setting out further details in relation to the daylight/sunlight assessment of Simla Court on the North side of Brewery Road.

·         It was noted that there were three daylight/sunlight tests; the vertical sky component (VSL), the no skyline/daylight distribution test (NSL) and the annual probable sunlight hours. All tests were equally important.

·         The test for annual sunlight hours had shown no failures. The VSC and NSL assessment results were detailed in full in the addendum report.

·         The BRE guidelines suggested that reductions should be kept to less than 20%.  The planning officer stated that some transgressions of up to 30% had been accepted on occasion reflecting the dense urban area.

·         It was noted that some rooms would be facing a reduction of over 30% however, as the applicant had been unable to gain access to the properties, it was not known whether or not these rooms were habitable or how large they were.

·         There had been a leaflet drop to all residents regarding the testing and a letter sent but no response had been obtained.  Plans of the properties had not been sourced.

·         Members noted that the applicant had taken the worst case scenario and the assumption had been made that all rooms were habitable, were deep and had only one window.

·         It was noted that the reduction in daylight distribution for the second floor level at Simla Court, in some cases was over 50% and the remaining daylight distribution level was to 6.3 sq of the room. This was comparable to the existing daylight distribution levels in the ground floor rooms, where the rooms complied or nearly, with BRE guidance in terms of having reductions in daylight distribution of being less than 20%.

·         The proposal was considered to be acceptable in land use terms although it was noted that, as the unit would primarily be used for storage it would not involve high numbers of employees.

·         Members raised concern that a decision would be made on assumptions regarding the room use and size rather than actual knowledge and it was considered that the applicant needed to make further efforts to obtain accurate information about the internal layouts of Simla Court, possibly by contacting the Housing Association directly.   

 

Councillor Graham proposed a motion to defer the application in order for the applicant to obtain further details on room size and uses at Simla Court in order that the Committee could consider more accurate daylight/sunlight measurements. This was seconded by Councillor Picknell and carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That consideration of the application be deferred for the reasons outlined above.

Supporting documents: