®Planning appeal decision
529 Finchley Road, LONDON, NW3 7BG
extension of existing building to provide 5 No. x 1 bedroom flats and alteration of existing A1 retail space
- Authority
- London Borough of Camden
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Minor Dwellings
- Inspector
- Clowes M
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The effect of the proposed development upon the character and appearance of the area, including the impact on trees
- The living conditions of neighbouring occupiers at 529a and 529b Finchley Road with particular regard to light and outlook
- Whether the proposal would provide suitable living conditions for the future occupiers of the proposed dwellings with regard to internal space for Units 3 and 5, and adequate light and outlook in respect of unit 5
- Whether the proposal would result in an unacceptable loss of a family sized dwelling and provision of an appropriate housing mix to meet the needs of the Borough
- Whether the loss of commercial floorspace and service yard would be harmful to the functionality of an existing employment use
- Whether the proposal would make adequate provision towards affordable housing
- Whether the proposal would secure a car-free housing scheme
What decided it
The cumulative conflict with development plan policies regarding living conditions for future and neighbouring occupiers, impact on trees, loss of family-sized housing, inadequate housing mix, and harm to employment use functionality outweighed the modest benefits of housing delivery.
The adverse impacts of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the modest benefits of the development (delivery of 4 net dwellings, improvement to service yard appearance, and modest affordable housing contribution), such that the proposal would not benefit from the presumption in favour of sustainable development.
Framework references: 11, 64
Plan policies cited: Policy D1, Policy A1, Policy A3, Policy H6, Policy H7, Policy TC2, Policy T1, Policy T2, Policy H4, Policy DM1, Policy CC1, Policy CC2, Policy D6 of the London Plan 2021
The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.