®Planning appeal decision
The Trafalgar, 23 High Path, Colliers Wood, Merton, London, SW19 2JY
‘demolition of the existing building and erection of a new 4 storey building (including basement) to re-provide a public house (sui generis) at ground floor level and residential units (C3) at floors 1-3 including refuse storage provision, cycle parking and associated works.’
- Authority
- London Borough of Merton
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- residential · Change of use
- Inspector
- Shearing C
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The acceptability of the loss of the existing building, with particular regard to the use and heritage effects
- Whether the proposal would be acceptable in terms of drainage and flood risk
- Effects on highway safety, with particular regard to on-street parking pressure
What decided it
The substantial loss of the non-designated heritage asset, which attracted significant weight and was not outweighed by the moderate benefits of housing delivery and the replacement public house.
The substantial harm to the non-designated heritage asset, given its significance and the scale of total loss, was not outweighed by the moderate benefits of six new residential units on a brownfield site with good accessibility, economic benefits from construction and occupation, and the potential for an enlarged replacement public house with increased capacity and functions.
Framework references: 11, 216
Plan policies cited: Policy HC7 of the London Plan, Policy TC13.8 of the Merton Local Plan 2024, Policy F15.8 of the Merton Local Plan 2024, Policy F15.9 of the Merton Local Plan 2024
Judgments cited: Ashley, R (on the application of) v SSCLG & Ors [2012] EWCA Civ 559; Akhtar v SSCLG & LB Barking and Dagenham
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.