Planning Appraisal Group - TrustNews September 07
Most of the developments mentioned previously have been decided, though two still await their final verdict. These are the 19 dwellings to replace the Greenacres Special School, Andover Road, and the proposed replacement garages at Garage Court, Fivefields Road, where we felt residential use would be preferable on a city-owned site, being more sustainable than garages.
On Stockbridge Road the proposal to demolish 3-5 Burnett Close for 35 sheltered housing apartments has been refused, and the Waitrose store on the site of the Alan Honda garage has been permitted. Following the dismissal of their appeal to build a store on the sites of Chimneys & 1 Burnett Close, Aldi have come back with a slightly reduced scheme, to which we have objected, as we had also done to the Waitrose store. Much as Waitrose in Winchester is welcomed, the Trust still considers these are not suitable sites for stores that will attract more vehicles onto the streets of an already traffic-burdened historic town.
There is another proposal for Lang House, Chilbolton Avenue. Following the refusal to demolish the house for a block of 14 apartments, the applicants have gone to appeal (we have written in support of WCC’s refusal), and have put in a scheme for a similarly-sized and bulky structure with a few minor amendments, to which we have again objected. It is one of the original houses in the road, contributes to the street scene and is structurally sound and we feel it should be retained on both historic and sustainability grounds; also the proposed replacement is too large and cumbersome to be characteristic of the area.
The proposed demolition of the Stanmore Hotel, Stanmore Lan, for a 65-bed nursing home has been withdrawn, following planning concerns that there is insufficient proof that its continued use as a hotel/public house would not be economically viable, and that the proposed development could appear over-dominant and out of keeping with the area.
An application reported in the last TrustNews as causing local concern was the proposal to convert 40 Cheriton Road into four 2- bedroom apartments and to build a new 2-storey building to accommodate four 2- bedroom apartments. This has been refused because the planners felt the scale, design and layout would detract from the house and its setting, as well as from the street scene.
The application to convert Chestnut Mead, Kingsgate Road, into three houses, with two new houses at the rear, has been refused because it was felt the height, scale, massing and position of the new dwellings would be visually intrusive and out of character with the Conservation Area.
Two other applications have been permitted: the demolition of the listed Royal Observer Corps HQ, Worthy Road (to which we had no objection for the reasons given in the November 2006 TrustNews), and the conversion of the Prince of Wales, 26 Hyde Street (see our last TrustNews).
A decision has also been reached on a building that has been causing concern to local residents: the October 2006 proposal to change 7 St Cross Road from commercial to residential use, with the building being converted into two maisonettes, has been granted. When commenting, the Trust had welcomed that attention was being given to this much neglected building, but since then nothing has happened - apart from the general deterioration of the building that is all too apparent. It seems that the delay was caused by the need to provide valid reasons for not continuing commercial use of the property and the question whether it should be listed, together with a lack of interest by the owner, who no doubt felt a property that had been empty for about six years was reason enough for the change of use.
We objected to an ill-considered proposal to demolish The Croft, 3 Badger Farm Road, for four 2-bedroom and four 3-bedroom houses in two blocks, apparently designed without any thought being given to how the unimaginative layout would be landscaped or how the residents could drive into or out of the site safely from this busy road. This scheme has been refused.
We also objected to the proposal to build five 2-bed and five 3-bed dwellings at 10A Stoney Lane, a difficult site with what appears to be inadequate access. Two parking spaces per dwelling seemed high for the area, and we felt that something more sympathetic than the over-fussy design proposed was needed. A decision on this proposal has still to be made.
Another objection was to the demolition of 17 Bereweeke Road, a substantial Victorian house set in generous garden surroundings, for five 2-bedroom flats, one 2-bedroom house, one 3-bedroom house, two 4-bedroom houses and three 5-bedroom houses. Given present Government guidelines the Trust has to accept that this site is ripe for development but not that a structurally sound building should be demolished without supporting evidence. No such evidence was given in the Design Statement, although it was said that later additions (some made in the 1920s, which might perhaps have historic value) have detracted from its character. The Trust feels most strongly that it is not sustainable to demolish structures capable of conversion, as was not apparently considered in this instance. It also considered the ‘pick-&-mix’ flavour of the styles of the new dwellings would not be in sympathy with the character of the neighbourhood and that the proposed density of 40 dwellings per hectare would be inappropriate for the area.
40 King’s Avenue, a site with a long planning history (see our November 2006 TrustNews), seems to have had another change of ownership. Following the many application refusals and appeal dismissals for extensions and new dwellings on this sensitive site, another proposal for a single storey side and rear extension has been made. Although more sympathetic than previous schemes, we were still concerned that a very undesirable precedent would be set and objected.
Members will no doubt be glad to know that skating in the Inner Close of the Cathedral has again been granted over the Christmas period.