St Andrews Road development - URGENT responses needed by noon this Tues 22 April

[jacqui]

Hi all

The garage sites on St Andrews Road have been attracting lots of interest from developers. While the majority view is that introducing new housing is a good idea there is opposition to overdevelopment (overbearing buildings that don't contribute to the area and cause detriment to existing homes).

EACH PLAN APPROVED WILL SET A PRECEDENT FOR THE REST OF THE STREET AND SO COULD HAVE WIDE REACHING IMPLICATIONS

The latest plans are for a 3 storey block of bedsits at the back of 111 Cromwell Road (between 85 and 89 St Andrews Road).

This proposal will be considered as a borderline case at the Council Planning Committee Meeting on WEDNESDAY 23rd APRIL. For your comments to be considered they must be submitted BY NOON ON TUESDAY! Take them in to council houses or email to [e-mail]. You can also attend the meeting to show your support or make a statement (again this has to be passed to the planning office by tues lunchtime)
PLEASE FORWARD THIS ON TO OTHER CONCERNED LOCALS

Here are some points you might consider including in your objections:

1. Excessive provision of new flats in the area (who will buy them?). Estate agents are clear that in this area demand exceeds supply for 3 bed houses with gardens, whereas there are plenty of small apartments.
2. Excessive Mass: Height and Depth are overbearing and over shadowing
3. Cumulative precedent set for similar developments on numerous garage sites along the road – refusal would be close to impossible for similar applications in the future
4. Adjoining 2 storey house was refused at 3 storeys in 2003 due to height being ‘incongruous feature in the streetscene’ and ‘would create an undesirable precedent detrimental to the residential amenity and character of the area’
5. Loss of plum orchard as outdoor amenity space and wildlife habitat.
6. Questions of legal access to proposed parking space.
7. Poor quality of living space in bedsits suggests transient or commuter population, not people with investment in community
8. Insufficient plans and information supplied with application: no drawings of frontage or relation to adjacent 2 storey house
9. Developer backing out of consultation with neighbours on two occasions

Please put comments in your own words as this has more powerful effect.

On a broader point, there are likely to be a stack of future applications for other sites on this road. The planning system doesn't seem to allow for a co-ordinated approach - any ideas on how we can make the best of this significant development opportunity in Montpelier???

[jacqui]

UPDATE: This went to planning committe yesterday (23/4) and was rejected as being an overdevelopment of the site. Thanks to everyone who took the time to put in their objections to the planning office and HURRAH for a sensible planning decision!

We're still left with the bigger issue of the inevitability of future planning applications being put forward for the garage sites on this road - ANY IDEAS ON HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THIS WHOLE ISSUE - at the mo it's a case of responding to each application as it comes up

cheers

jacqui