I am pleased to report that a planning application for 3-4 storey building comprising of 30 flats at 100 Brighton Road (the former Co-Op Funeral Care building) has been refused by Council officers.
Both Chris Philp MP and I strongly objected to the application and supported residents living nearby who raised legitimate concerns.
The application has been refused on the following grounds:
- Failure to provide affordable housing
- Likely detrimental impact on the site, streetscene and character of the area
- Insufficient information to justify demolition of a heritage site
- No public realm improvements or commitment to a sustainable transport contribution
- Inadequate daylight, poor quality communal amenity space and no children’s play space
- Not accessible enough
- Likely overlooking to neighbouring properties
- Highway/pedestrian safety concerns
- Inaccessible bin storage
- Insufficient drainage and fire evacuation strategies
My thanks to officers who opted to refuse this inappropriate application, to Chris for his opposition and to residents/the Purley & Woodcote Residents' Association who submitted objections.
We do need more family homes, but decent amenity space and backed-up local infrastructure is key. I also believe developers with applications for large numbers of properties need to demonstrate that they will deliver meaningful improvements to the public realm, which is something that this applicant failed to demonstrate.
Full details of the application, including the officer’s report can be found here.
Cllr Samir Dwesar
