®Planning appeal decision
36 Lancaster Grove, LONDON, NW3 4PB
the conversion of a former fire station tower (sui generis) to a one-bedroom residential unit (Use Class C3) on second to fifth floors plus creation of roof terrace including installation of balustrade and removal of chimneys
- Authority
- London Borough of Camden
- Appeal type
- other · Listed Building Consent & Conservation Area Consent Appeal
- Procedure
- Hearing
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Chamberlain G
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Whether the proposed development would make adequate provision for affordable housing (Appeal A).
- The effect of the proposed development and works on the significance of 36 Lancaster Grove (listed as the Belsize Fire Station), which is a Grade II* listed building (Appeals A and B).
- Whether the proposed development would provide adequate living conditions for future occupants (Appeal A).
What decided it
The absence of any mechanism to secure the required affordable housing contribution under Policy H4 caused Appeal A to conflict with the development plan and tipped the tilted balance against the scheme, while the same heritage harm alone was outweighed by public benefits in Appeal B.
For Appeal A, the public benefits (new home, brownfield reuse, optimum viable use) outweighed the less-than-substantial heritage harm, but combined with the unresolved affordable housing shortfall the total adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits; for Appeal B, the public benefits alone outweighed the less-than-substantial heritage harm.
Framework references: 64, 11, 152, 120
Plan policies cited: Policy H4, Policy T2, Policy D2, Policy H6, Policy A1, Policy D6, Policy HC1
Judgments cited: R (Westminster City Council) v First Secretary of State and Brandlord Limited [2003] J.P.L 1066; New Dawn Homes Ltd v SSCLG [2016] EWHC 3314 (Admin)
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.