Our local area remains under attack by developers knocking down houses and building blocks of flats. Whilst some of them aren't ugly they are also not in keeping with the Riddlesdown area of predominantly family homes.
One of the worst schemes has been the plans to replace 88 Riddlesdown Road with a block of 21 flats. This was quite rightly refused by the Planning Department so the developers submitted another revised application reducing the scheme to 'only' 19 flats. This was also a gross overdevelopment of a single site and refused once again by the planners.
Instead of taking the hint the developers though appealed the first scheme for 21 flats and the Planning Inspector has been receiving comments from the Council and the public to review the scheme.
As both a local Councillor and a local resident I submitted my own comments to the Planning Inspector to oppose the scheme and have it rejected once and for all. The text of my submission is below.
'As an elected ward councillor for Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown (and as a local resident) I have objected to this scheme as a gross overdevelopment of the site at each of the applications that have been made. Many local residents have done the same as have the Riddlesdown Residents Association.
My primary reasons for objection are;
1. Overdevelopment of site
2. Insufficient parking and negative impact on traffic on Riddlesdown Road
3. Loss of neighbour privacy
4. Inappropriate back land development
5. Out of keeping with the existing area
Overdevelopment of the site - this is a significant intensification of development in terms of its size, bulk, scale and massing, which will have a detrimental impact upon the surrounding residential area. Where is the evidence to support such a substantial increase in the size of development? The design of this 4/5 storey development is cramped and would be a gross over-development of this difficult multi-level site with a density level above that recommended for a suburban site with low PTAL rating (1b).
Insufficient parking and negative impact on traffic - the PTAL rating is extremely low at 1b given the hilly topography and the distance from bus routes and Riddlesdown and Purley train stations. Bus stops in either direction is over 800m away with a steep hill in between so non-car usage is impractical and unlikely given the location, especially as TfL have reduced the frequency of the 412 bus trough Riddlesdown to three per hour rather than four die to under usage. Therefore, the limited about of parking at less than one per one unit is grossly inappropriate given the location. Even one for one would be too low given the geographical nature of the area and the lack of local public transport.
Loss of neighbour privacy - The neighbouring houses will be significantly overlooked. Even those windows with obscured glass will be easily changeable in the future for clear glass, causing additional overlooking and loss of privacy with little or no practical chance of remedy against such intrusions.
Inappropriate back land development and out of keeping with the existing area - Riddlesdown is characterised by family housing. Much of it is either side of the second world war but even where there has been more recent infill development, that housing has been houses rather than large blocks of flats. The extent on the level of inappropriateness that this scheme brings is such that even other flatted developments recently permitted in the area are all 7,8 or 9 units in buildings not much larger than the original houses on those sites. Certainly not ideal or warranted but in comparison to this proposal almost modest. In contrast, this proposal is significant in size and scale and significantly larger than what is currently on site or on surrounding plots, covering a large proportion of the plot currently used as green space.
Overall, this scheme is out of keeping with the area, detrimental to the locale, detrimental to the exiting neighbours, is damaging to the local highways and a gross overdevelopment of the site that should be refused once and for all.'
