Planning St Albans Community Centre
We need your help stopping the planning application for the church on Acton Green to be converted into 10 flats and a house. Try as we might to get a million signatures on the petition (we have over 5,000!), it doesn't count as an objection! Ealing Council has received only 178 objections so far. We think they will look upon the objections more seriously if there were 500.Please send your objection to planning@ealing.gov.uk reference P/2010/5108.There are a number of issues other objectors are making, including:The application was written in 2010 and is light on substance. There is no Planning Statement. There is no Highways report, though it is the first time vehicle access has been proposed to the property, albeit disabled only. The tree reports are extensive but there’s no Noise report, significant to a change of use within common land and common practice where new residential units are proposed. Specific points on the application:1. Pedestrian and Vehicle accessThe application says there is no new pedestrian access proposed. Surely Fire and Health & Safety regulations demand that there are two methods of access for habitable properties? In the case of fire at one end, exit must be possible through the other end of the site, particularly with such an over-crowded site?2. MaterialsBoundary Treatments: The trellises round the proposed car park are not featured here. 3. ParkingThere are no existing places on the site, not 10 as specified in the application, now reduced to a few disabled parking places and a Car Club.4. Foul SewageAny proposal to increase human access to the property will require development of the existing drainage system. A 10-fold increase in the number of users of the property will have a dramatic effect on the drainage system. The Developer is quite wrong not to specify how they will develop the drainage.5. Assessment of Flood RiskThe site is in a flood risk area. The Developer should change their response and produce plans that recognise this fact. They need to produce a Flood Risk Assessment, particularly focussing on the basement parking and other facilities. Residential use is more at risk from flood than a church.6. Biodiversity and Geological ConservationThe arboriculture reports dominate the application but betray the absence of other natural diversity reports. There is no Sustainability report. This should form a part of all planning applications of this size and nature.7. Trade EffluentThe Developer says the proposal does not need to dispose of trade effluents or waste. This denies the enormous task of removing spoil from the site, including the redundant outer buildings and the fetching onto the site substantial cranes and building materials, joists, lifts, stairs, concrete and bricks to build the interior of the church and the two new outbuildings and car park.8. Residential UnitsThe proposal includes 11 new residential units. This entry must be changed from zero.9. Hours of openingProposal shows the nursery opening for half an hour only every day from 09:00. The Developer must show the correct time.10. Notice RecipientProposal shows the “Westminster Diocese” as the Notice Recipient at the St Albans church address. The Westminster Diocese is of the Roman Catholic Church; the “Diocese of London” is the correct regional level of the Church of England. Their correct address is: London Diocesan House, 36 Causton Street, London SW1P 4AU.11. Consecrated landNeighbours of mine have remains of relatives buried to the East of the church and a memorial garden. Has this been deconsecrated? My neighbours and members of the public need to be informed.The website was only updated in October. Until then it showed a closure date for the planning consultation of 15 July. The Planning Committee is due to make it's decision on Wednesday 09 November in the Council Chamber at 7. The officers are recommending acceptance. The Councillors and developers visited the site today and were met by about a 100 objectors.With your help we can stop the planning application and start discussing what sort of community centre we want for Acton Green.Colin BastinChair, St Albans W4 Community Centre Committeecolinbastin@btinternet.com
Colin Bastin ● 5430d5 Comments ● 5427d