On 25th March I attended the Planning Committee to object to plans to build a four storey block of flats at 219 Farley Road. The site currently has a detached bungalow and the proposal for the block of flats is totally out of character for the area. The Chair of Croham Valley Residents’ Association, and I, spoke on behalf of the 104 Selsdon residents who object to the development. Here is the speech I gave:
I have reviewed many planning applications in my 15 years as a Councillor but this application wins the prize for the most breaches of planning regulations and guidelines.
Six of the nine flats are for 3 or more people and are likely to be the homes of families, quite possibly with young children. The PTAL rating is very low so each household would need a car. This development breaches the guidelines and has spaces for only half the households to have a car so the remaining families would have to park elsewhere. The assertion in the paper that the residents could park in The Ruffetts is frankly laughable. Imagine you are a parent with a young child. You have done the weekly shop and you are unloading the car. It would take a few journeys from the car to home to unpack 4-6 shopping bags, a child, pushchair, and if you had been away for the weekend, you could add a travel cot and parents’ overnight bags. Each trip would mean a 500 metre round trip which involves crossing Farley Road, a main road that is an accident blackspot, then uphill to Croham Valley Road which you also need to cross before getting to The Ruffetts.
Once the family has finally got themselves and their shopping into the flat, they might want to have a sit down in their living room. I fear this might not be the life enhancing experience envisaged by the developer. The design of the flats, with the outdoor balconies being inset, will mean the flats have very little light. This is because the design has had to reduce overlooking of neighbours.
But they don’t even achieve this because there is overlooking of neighbours. This is another area where the development breaches the Local Plan. It extends too far at the back and therefore oversteps, by a considerable degree, the 45 degree sightline. But this is airily waived aside in the paper.
Lets look at some of the other areas the development lies outside of planning rules:
It does not have the required percentage of family units. The paper even states “the proportion of 3 bed units does not meet the strategic target”.
The Local Plan states the development should respect and enhance Croydon’s varied local character and contribute positively to public realm, landscape and townscape to create sustainable communities. I would argue this development does none of these things.
Item 8.8 is disingenuous. By saying the property is surrounded by detached houses, it justifies a four storey development. In fact on one side there are semi detached houses, next door, and for a long way up the road. This means four storeys can’t actually be justified.
The lack of pedestrian access is a concern and so is the lack of space for recycling and landfill bins.
As I mentioned at the start, this application flouts more planning regulations than I have seen in my career as a councillor. I believe this is not because the applicant simply doesn’t like rules. It is because the applicant is trying to fit a flatted development on a site that is just not suited to it, and that is the only way to make it fit. I ask the Committee to face facts and accept that this development is inappropriate. It is too big, poor quality, insensitive to its surroundings and planning permission be refused.
