Plans approved for a three to four storey development with 24 flats in Croydon

Croydon Council has approved plans for a 3/4 storey development of 24 new flats opposite Whitgift School.

This development, which will occupy the site of a former car dealership, will provide the neighborhood with four new affordable homes.

According to the developers, the development will bring “sustainable and energy efficient homes” to busy Brighton Road.

They added that the “quality architectural design will significantly enhance the street scene”, which has been occupied by billboards for several years.

(credit: Cambria Property Investments LTD)

Development of the brownfield site has been in the planning stages for nearly four years.

However, during that period, issues related to the adequate provision of affordable housing became a particular point of contention.

In 2020, Cambria Property Investments Ltd (the developers) submitted initial plans for 32 flats with no provision for affordable housing.

The subsequent approval of the four new accessible apartments on the ground floor of the development was therefore welcomed and formed part of the reason for its approval.

However, during the planning committee on May 16, a number of councilors in the house criticized the plans.

Labour’s Clive Fraser was particularly scathing about the council’s approval of the scheme, which he saw as inadequate for a borough with a clear need for housing.

Speaking to the commission, Fraser said: “Not enough affordable housing and I find that very, very hard to accept.

He went on to say: “We could have done better here by getting our act together and making sure that when a scheme like this comes along there is a proper corporate discussion between housing and planning and not just relying on the evidence provided by the developer who has an interest in denying that affordable housing is viable on this and other sites.”

It was a sentiment shared by fellow Labor councilor Leila Ben-Hassel, who reminded her fellow councilors that the borough currently has 7,000 people on a housing waiting list.

She added that this deal was just “better than nothing” and urged the committee to work to ensure a greater supply of affordable housing from any future development.

The developers insisted that four was the most they could offer in terms of affordable housing in the development and that any more would “not be financially viable” for them.

While the London Design Plan stipulates that 30 per cent of housing in new developments must be affordable, the 15 per cent offered by the developer was accepted as the most they could offer while remaining profitable.

Councilor Danielle Denton, who represented the objecting residents of South Croydon, warned the chamber: “Just think of the ramifications of not providing enough affordable accommodation for our young people and those on low to middle incomes right now and in future”.

The development plans will also include “developments in the public domain” in the form of increased greenery around the site, as well as the promise of two new pavements around Brighton and Hailing Roads.

The mood in the room was largely supportive of the plans and appreciated that the building’s three- to four-story height did not allow for a possible overlook to neighboring properties.

However, Tory councilor Denton claimed the plans did not take into account the Victorian-style blocks of flats in the immediate vicinity.

She also argued that the gables and pitched roof of the previous unit were more in keeping with the aesthetics of the road than the current design.

Across the board, Norbury and Pollards Hill councilor Ben-Hassel said such plans “look good on CGI but when you roll it out it just looks like a Poundland version”.

Resident parking, or the lack of it, was another sticking point for councillors. The plans provide no parking spaces for residents, with only one disabled space and another space for the car club.

The plans also do not provide any loading area for delivery vehicles. Although the developers have said they have been accepted by TfL and adhere to the Mayor of London’s plan, councilors have expressed concern that this will only increase traffic on the already congested thoroughfare.

According to Denton, parking in the local area is currently at 85% capacity in the afternoon, sometimes reaching maximum capacity in the evening.

She added: “Developments like this can facilitate controlled parking zones (CPZs) on quiet residential roads, greatly affecting the parking provision previously enjoyed by residents who are disproportionately affected by this development.”

Residents in the local area have previously voted against proposals to introduce a CPZ in the local area, but councilors have warned that new developments like this could lead to an “increased likelihood of adopting parking zones by stealth”.

The developers insisted that was not the case and that the plans did not propose a new CPZ.

Additional concerns have been raised about the impact the building will have on air quality in the area.

Councilor Ellily Ponnuthurai suggested the 10 new trees promised by the developer would not do enough to improve air quality on the busy road, while local resident Nicholas Caprianu said the development would bring more dust and particles into the air in the area.

After heated debate, the plans were approved by five votes to four.

A construction start date will follow.