Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
In this Discussion
Top Posters
- Arkady 5356
- miss annie 5139
- andy 4506
- Ali 3405
- krappyrubsnif 3208
- tosscat 2291
- David 2179
- ADGS 1875
- kreuzkav 1733
- Mirandola 1618
Development of John Jones Site / Sketch House
We are working with a developer called Spiritbond - come along to John Jones between 5-8pm on the 15th to find out more about the plans for the site.
http://www.johnjones.co.uk/john-jones-news/john-jones-redevelopment-.aspx
http://www.johnjones.co.uk/john-jones-news/john-jones-redevelopment-.aspx
Comments
Can you tell us who Spiritbond are (no website..)
Thanks
By the way we had an amusing (although scary incident) at John Jones the other evening - a piece of art in our latest exhibition was mistaken for a dead body... have a look at www.theartnewspaper.com for more info.
This is a pretty major development being proposed. Ground + 5 floors makes it at least twice as high as any neighbouring building. Student accomodation for approx 450 will likely change the look and feel of local establishments for better or for worse - this is a big hall of residence being proposed. Also there will be fifteen 'affordable housing' flats managed by a "registered social landlord". Commercial space on ground floor on the Stroud Green road side.
This will certainly change the look of this area.
Sustainability bit: This boiled down to a bio-mass fulled heating for the student accomodation. Air-sourced heat-pumps for the affordable housing, and green roofs. When quizzed about ground-source heat pumps for the main student accomodation, the counter argument seemed to be that PV (electricity generating solar panels) were not particularly 'proven' in terms of payback, and something about under-floor heating pipes requiring another level of flooring. Couldn't help but think it was simply due to PV + ground source costing more. The commercial units could also benefit from ground-source heat pumps? The student housing has proposed bio-mass heating to keep a general background level of heat, with electric time-limited supplemental heating.
Planning application likely to be made shortly in Janurary 2010
Am sure the shops/restaurants in the area won't have a problem with 450 studes moving in, though a big tower would significantly change the look of the place - SG is *almost* villagey. Does it look architecturally interesting? Or just a big block of concrete?
I wonder if previous failed developments on that block (for clarification, I mean the street block that's already been 'under development' for a year with Vista housing thing) will have an impact on whether permission is granted - residents close to that area must be getting well hacked off with building works restricting access/causing upheavel/mess/disturbance for literally years.
Is there a University involved with this? Can't find list of the stakeholders involved.
I wouldn't mind an influx of students. I think it can be great for an area. Camberwell I think is a much better place for all it's art's students, and I quite like Holloway Road because of that studenty vibe too. Stroud Green can be really dead in the daytime. I wonder how some of the traders scrape a living, at least students might help the local daytime economy, as well as evening. To me that building does look big and boring though.
>> Am sure the shops/restaurants in the area won't have a problem with 450 studes moving in
I agree, but talking from a residential viewpoint that is most definitely a mixed issue. After all, businesses are usually primarily focused on making money, otherwise they wouldn't exist right? Not against it, but what I'm to make clear is that local businesses *and* the property developer will have a common business imperative. One arguably short term, one longer term. Residents, on the other hand, have to live with this indefinitely and may not agree.
>> SG is *almost* villagey
Yep, and IMHO that's a very important point because slapping a big 6-storey block on that area will at the very least redefine the immediate area very significantly indeed. Next time you walk past the Worlds End pub, consider looking upwards twice as high to find the roof-line of this proposed development If planning is approved as-is, it will potentially pave the way for further neighbouring developments of a similar sort. So, on one hand this is an isolated re-development, on the other hand, this could be the first brick in that wall of creating a 'high street' shopping president, whereby other planning application are compared to this one. Fast-forward 3 years - say, the neighbouring block is bought and submits a planning application thus : "Our 6-storey flats development is in-keeping with the neighbouring John-Jones development". IMHO, this is how planning applications can, and do, roll.
>> Does it look architecturally interesting?
To be honest, no.
>> dorothy : It looks huge, on the plan.
Yep, and In my view, it *is* huge. The neighbouring buildings will be dwarfed - remember its x2 the height of neighbouring buildings i.e. the Worlds End pub which is ground + 2 floors.
>> dorothy : To me that building does look big and boring though.
Me too - why not make this is a genuinely interesting building with good sustainability credentials to boot. I'm in for that. I'm not in for a block of uber-bland commercial/student development on my doorstep with potentially iffy 'developer' motives.
Your main influence in this will be during "consultation" i.e. the past exhibition, and, more importantly, upon the impeding planning application. This forum appears to be the only public space where the 'public exhibition' was posted?
ie, put it somewhere neraby that's already got similar buildings. T
You’re right. I guess I was just trying to point out that developers aren't necessarily driven by what's best for the area.
I live right opposite the World's End so reading this fills me with dread. I love the current view from my bedroom window but I can't see myself loving it with a massive ugly building blocking my view :o(
g-unit - this is the first time we have come close to a planning application, I'm not sure which 'previous failed developments' you are referring to - perhaps on the neighbouring site to us? We have bided our time to get it right and not to waste time.
I must stress that John Jones are staying on site and its important to us that the scheme improves the local area. As well as working here ourselves (as we have done for 20 years), we want to ensure the building is appealing and welcoming to our clients too. Its been really tough to get art collectors from South London to visit us as Finsbury Park has such a bad name for itself...
We really don't want to create something large and ugly, so we've really taken our time in finding a developer who we believe is empathic to the area and will deliver a scheme that is visually and socially appealing. We've been to visit other schemes that the architect David Gallagher has done and were impressed.
Like it or not, there are significant other changes afoot in F Park - the CIL site being one of them. The height of our proposed building has been led by the planning approval that was granted to the neighbouring site (six stories) - this half built development is going to go ahead at some point and it has set the benchmark for future developments.
We also don't want to end up with a building that is empty - as is the case with so many 'commercial' developments. Spiritbond's proposal presents the opportunity to develop a vibrant student community that will integrate with the area and support local business.
What we have now is hardly benefitting the local area - at night its a large empty car park which is often the site of drug dealing and other salubrious activity. We really want to make things better for everyone. I realise that any change is going to be debated, but I hope that I can reassure local residents that we are not selling out and we genuinely want to benefit the area.
"..the CIL site being one of them. The height of our proposed building has been led by the planning approval that was granted to the neighbouring site (six stories) ...."
Confused - what's CIL? Is this the next block along towards the station?
However 'salubrious' means healthy - I suspect that you meant unsalubrious. Although perhaps it was Freudian.
B
Never find the fact a huge development is going up on our doorsteps, and we'll never get a table in the Jai Krishna again or a drink in the World's End, it's so important to get the grammar right.
http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/content/islington/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=ISLGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsislg&itemid=WeED23%20Dec%202009%2010%3A32%3A52%3A487
There is a massive local need for more social housing and more 'intermediate' housing to help people get onto the housing ladder. Both of these forms of housing actually really do contribute to creating more sustainable local communities. I hope the developers will considered these options instead.
FP / SG appears to have many studio/one-bed flats - surely these are first-step/intermediate housing. Planning Dept seem to have allowed too many houses to be converted into flats, so families need to leave the area, doing nothing to help the transient atmosphere. Perhaps stopping conversions/private landlords in FP/SG would be an idea?