There was a change of membership for this meeting: Councillor Watkin replaced Councillor Sharpe.

There were none.

The minutes of the Development Management Committee held on 27 August 2015 to be submitted and signed.

Copies of the minutes of this meeting are usually available seven working days following the meeting.

All minutes are available on the Council’s website.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 August 2015 were submitted and signed.

Application to demolish existing buildings, originally three detached dwellings, now linked and used as offices.  Erection of two blocks of flats comprising 40 residential units.

The Committee received the report of the Senior Planning Officer including the relevant planning history of the site and details of responses to the application.

The Senior Planning Officer introduced the application, explaining that the application was for the demolition of three existing buildings occupying the site and the erection of two blocks of flats comprising 40 residential units.

The contemporary design would comprise 40 units, 14 of which would be affordable to ensure that the level of affordable housing provision met the Council’s minimum 35% threshold.

The Chair invited Mrs Kim Gauld-Clark, a local resident, to speak to the Committee in objection to the application.  

Mrs Gauld-Clark advised that whilst residents understood the need for housing in the town and were not opposed to some redevelopment of the three properties, which were not of sufficiently high quality to retain, they remained opposed to the current application on two critical grounds. 

First, the design was considered inappropriate.  St John’s Road, although close to Watford’s employment area, retained its own distinct and attractive character.  Indeed, residents believed that a case could be made for it to be designated a conservation area.  The application involved the demolition of three Edwardian villas to be replaced with a building which was unsympathetic in style and detracted from the overall character of the area.

Second, there was concern that the new development was out of scale and would overlook properties on Albert Road, resulting in a loss of privacy.  The buildings were a storey too high in each case and, whilst they might be sited a correct distance away from surrounding properties to comply with planning regulations, would overlook the rear gardens of Albert Road residents.

In addition, Mrs Gauld-Clark outlined briefly residents’ concerns about security along the back fences of the new development and hygiene issues surrounding the siting of the bins.

Residents noted that new and future owners of the flats would not be eligible for parking permits, which it was hoped would not exacerbate existing parking pressures in the area.

The Chair invited Mrs Jane Duncan, the architect for the proposed development and current president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), to speak to the Committee on behalf of the applicant.

Mrs Duncan advised that her client, the Seventh Day Adventist Association Ltd, had outgrown the current premises and, as a charitable organisation, had wanted to maximise value from the redevelopment of the St John’s Road site in order to continue its activities.  In addition, there was a desire to leave a legacy of fine architecture.

The current application was in line with planning guidance and had been reached during a positive and collaborative process between the client and Watford Borough Council planning officers.  The proposed development exceeded the standards stated in the Council’s design guidance and had sought to address a variety of concerns including: the loss of space in the employment zone; the need to provide a transition in the streetscape between the modern  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.