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Stroud Green Conservation Area Advisory Committee - annual report to AGM
Stroud Green Conservation Area Advisory Committee (SGCAAC)<br><br>Annual report to the AGM (11 April 2014)<br>To some extent, we have had to shift our focus this year, away from planning applications, in order to spend time on the raft of new planning policies being introduced mainly by the Government, and usually involving both the Greater London Authority and the local council.<br><br>New Planning documents<br>These new documents generally supersede existing London-wide & Borough Plans, and are often very complicated and lengthy. Haringey’s Development Management Policy was published for consultation in May 2013, and we made a number of comments. We understand that a second draft should be published soon. Many of the supplementary planning documents are being updated to comply with the new plans, but in the meantime it is often difficult to know if the planners are having regard to these, or whether they are withdrawn.<br><br>In particular, we commented that<br>• Conservation areas are only briefly referred to (1 page)<br>• There is no reference to CAACs<br>• There is reference to ‘the borough’s heritage assets’, but these need to be properly described and protected<br>• Reference is made to the need for high quality design, without any attempt to clarify the meaning of ‘good design’.<br><br>Finsbury Park Town Centre (FPTC SPD)<br>Last summer, the three boroughs of Islington, Haringey & Hackney launched a consultation document setting out a possible planning scenario for the area around Finsbury Park station. Officially called a draft SPD (Supplementary Planning Document), it forms part of the London Plan. Unfortunately, it was unclear how this SPD coordinated with the other new planning documents also released this year. Additionally, the consultation period was in July and August – hardly the best time for public consultation. We submitted our comments, which essentially stated that:<br><br>• we believe the proposals do not meet the requirements of the London Plan and other planning policies<br>• much greater coordination was needed, particularly with Transport for London<br>• a detailed planning brief is essential <br>• we are not convinced by the ‘town centre’ concept<br>• the ‘Rowans’ site and the link into Finsbury Park itself is crucial<br>• we expressed out concern about the inadequate period for consultation<br><br>We understand that a final version was due to be published in early 2014, but this does not yet seem to have appeared.<br><br>Site Allocations DPD<br>The Government has required all local authorities to prepare a consultation document to identify potential development sites in their boroughs. Haringey has produced a comprehensive 140 page document (Site Allocations Development Plan Document) on which consultation was sought up to March 2014. A revised document will be published in due course.<br><br>Two sites had relevance to this CAAC, although both are in fact outside the CA boundary, but we felt it was important to comment on both - ‘Finsbury Park Bowling Alley (S5) (Rowans), and ‘Finsbury Park & Stroud Green Road (S6)’ (the Network Rail Stoneyard site). On both sites we said that in principle we had no objection to residential development, but the planning brief needs thorough preparation to take account of local issues (for instance, the relationship with the park itself)<br><br>Walkabouts<br>John Hinshelwood kindly agreed to lead another of his ‘Stroud Green walks’ in September. This time, we concentrated on looking at the post-war buildings in Stroud Green, of which there are a surprising number. In particular, those built by Hornsey Council soon after World War Two are architecturally interesting and have lasted well. Those adjacent to Stroud Green Road were designed by Riches & Blythin in association with the Borough Engineer. We are looking at the possibility of including these buildings in the Conservation Area – surprisingly, the boundary of the CA along Stroud Green Road excludes Charter Court, Wall Court, Brackenbury and similar blocks (although on the eastern side, Churchill Court and Carlton Lodge are included – the architect here was I.B.Hamilton). There are also numerous examples of small infill developments.<br><br>Rowans visit<br>In November, we organised a visit to Rowans (the bowling alley) on Stroud Green Road. The manager and his planning consultant kindly spent some time showing us around. This site has a complex history (having been both a tram shed and two separate cinemas) and it was fascinating to be able to look around the whole building; unfortunately, there is little of architectural value now remaining, although some areas of plasterwork and decoration are of interest. The owner wants to redevelop the site and we think it is particularly important that the council prepares a detailed planning brief for the site – especially bearing in mind the FPTC and Site Allocations proposals.<br><br>Basements<br>The number of planning applications concerning basements is worrying. Our attitude is that new or extended basements are unwise and unwelcome. We remain concerned not only about structural considerations, but also about possible effects on properties that may be some way away. Haringey’s policy appears to be to ask for a hydrology report, but we believe that a proper planning policy is essential.<br><br>New house in Oakfield Road<br>I mention this because it is a good example of some of the current difficulties. A planning application was submitted last May for a new house in a back garden. We felt that residential building in back gardens should be resisted as a matter of principle, irrespective of the quality of the design. The applicants have negotiated at great length with the planners, and the application is still pending. We have asked for the application to be decided by the full Planning Committee (rather than being delegated to officers, which happens in the majority of cases) and we have asked if we can address the committee. <br><br>There are now over 70 entries on the planning web-site about this application (including 28 consultation comments), which gives a good indication of how complex these applications can be.<br><br>We are particularly concerned that this may be the first of many such applications in this area, and indeed another application has just been made in Stapleton Hall Road. We think it is essential that the council adopts an adequate planning policy for such situations.<br><br><br>Satellite Dishes<br>I mentioned in my previous report (February 2013) that our survey on satellite dishes had been sent to the council, at their request, and that the enforcement officer appeared to be prepared to take some action. In October 2013, the enforcement officer stated that action was being taken against 3 cases in Stroud Green, but indicated that they did not have the capacity to take on further cases. Since then, we have heard nothing further.<br><br>Reorganisation of the Planning Service<br>There was a significant reorganisation in summer 2013, and many of the staff left and have been replaced with new planners. A new conservation officer has been appointed. We expressed our regret that the CAAC was not updated or notified in any way about the changes.<br><br>The Committee<br>I would like to thank all committee members for their time and hard work over the last year. The fairly recent revival of economic activity has resulted in a considerable increase in planning applications over the last few months. We would be delighted to see new members on the committee. <br><br>Contact with councillors<br>We are in regular contact with our three councillors for Stroud Green ward.<br><br>Holy Trinity Church<br>Finally, I would like to thank father Patrick Henderson and Holy Trinity Church for allowing us to use their room for our AGM.<br><br>Quentin Pickard BA, RIBA, SGCAAC chair<br>
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