Author: Cyril Richert
The Council has just published the documents for the redevelopment of the site along Grant Road (Griffon House & Lanner House 6 Grant Road SW11) involving demolition of existing buildings and construction of new building between 6-11 storeys to provide 452 self-contained studio rooms for use as student accommodation (for use of post-graduate students of Imperial College London) together with associated car and cycle parking, landscape treatment, amenity space, access and servicing facilities.
Documentation is available on the Council’s website (link here) and you can submit a comment using the form here, or write to the Council (addresses here with reference 2009/2279).
A report has been published by Berkeley First (the specialist division within the Berkeley Group providing student accommodation and low cost housing), on the community involvement. As usual we regret that there is no greater consultation for such schemes which are going to impact more than a few hundred people. However the document holds good information, in perspective with the fact that a planning permission was already granted last year for the redevelopment of the area, and the new application has no more (rather less) footprint on the area.
The new impact on the vicinity seems more to be with the level of occupation and the specificity of residents (students rather than families and professionals). Concerns have been expressed on the parking issues (with only 6 on-site parking space, it is likely than more postgraduates will have vehicles/visitors even if Imperial College is 3 miles away from CJ). Furthermore, photo-montages and colour photos/drawings should be provided for the residents to assess the aesthetic impact on the neighbourhood (apparently a model of the proposed scheme and surrounding buildings was also on display at their exhibition).
A total of 186 invitation ‘flyers’ were sent out on 21 May to local residents, residents’ groups and civic organisations and the public exhibitions were held near the site at the Battersea Chapel on 3rd and 6th June 2009 and were attended by 4 local residents and 2 representatives of the Battersea Society.
A planning permission was approved last year for the previous owner (St James Home) to build 160 one and two bedroom apartments.
[Click on the pictures to see bigger]
It will be difficult for the Planning Applications Committee to go against the precedent it set for itself last year by allowing the previous application BUT it is nevertheless the case that local residents are concerned about the impact of having 452 units on this site. I have been collecting signatures for a petition in the three blocks most directly affected, namely Sendall, Shaw and Clark-Lawrence where the two major objections have been about the possible traffic and parking implications and the sheer size of the buildings and hence the impact on day lighting, views, etc.
The residents think that the developers are trying to get too much on the site and I agree with them.
I’m a local resident (of SW11) and believe this propsal is fine – there are not traffic problems on the north side of Clapham Junction and there is no reason to object to medium height buildings on an estate that has the self same medium height buildings.
The developers are propsosing to chop down a number of mature trees to make way for this development. This green space in this already very dense urban area is extremely precious, the developers should be made to develop the area in such a way as to preserve the trees and to be in keeping with the current buildings which it will replace. There is now saturation high rise development within the Wandsworth Borough and no more should be encouraged or allowed, especially as this proposal is to house students outside the borough.