Following the statutory 8 week consultation on the StQW Draft Neighbourhood Plan, a further public meeting was held at St Helens Church hall on February 5th.  Around 80 people attended  (including Dalgarno ward councillors Pat Healy and Robert Thompson) to discuss the outcome of the consultation.

Consultation responses were received from 90 residents and businesses.  Some commented on many aspects of the Draft Plan, others on a few.  The only negative responses received from local residents were on the proposal to encourage redevelopment of Units 1-14 in Latimer Road, with housing above commercial space at ground floor/mezzanine levels.  There were worries about increased building heights on the western side of the road, and the idea of a 14m ‘maximum height guideline’.

The meeting saw a presentation on how the present light industrial units could be sensitively redeveloped with two storeys (the second set back) above commercial space.  A revised draft policy on building heights, dropping the 14m figure, was discussed and agreed by a large majority of those attending.

The StQW Consultation Statement

This is one of the documents which will shortly be submitted to the Council, along with the ‘Submission Version’ of the StQW Neighbourhood Plan.  You can see the final draft at this link Consultation Statement.V2.  The Annexe containing all the consultation comments (and the StQW response to each) is at this link Consultation statement annexe.V6 .

We are expecting the Council to start taking this material into consideration when deciding planning applications in the StQW area, from now on.   The StQW Draft Plan and these responses will gather increasing ‘material weight’ in planning decisions, during the stage of independent examination of the Draft Plan and the lead-in to a local referendum.

Latest on the land at Nursery Lane

Many of the StQW consultation responses supported the proposal that the remaining backland sites on the St Quintin Estate, including Nursery Lane, should be designated as Local Green Space.   Planning officers at the Council have recently advised that the RBKC policy statement protecting these backland sites from housing development (as set out in the Oxford Gardens CAPS document) now carries ‘very little material weight‘ when planning applications are decided.

Given this context, the Forum’s open meeting on the 5th also decided that an extra Open Space policy should be added to the StQW Draft Plan.  This will re-iterate that these 3 pieces of backland should not be developed for housing.

No planning application has yet been submitted by London Realty/Metropolis Property Ltd, following the December 2014 exhibition of proposals for a housing development at Nursery Lane.  It appears that the developers are still negotiating with the Council’s Planning Department.  London Realty are not answering our emails asking who are now the owners of the land.  Clifton Nurseries have advised that they will do a further clear-up before leaving the site.

RBKC response to the StQW Draft Plan

The present position is that the only opponents to the proposals in the StQW Draft Plan are the Council’s Planning Department and two sets of planning consultants.  CgMs Consulting, acting for the Legard family, are opposed to the Plan’s policies for the land at Nursery Lane.  Rolfe Judd Planning, acting for Metropolis Property Ltd, have submitted very similar objections.  This comes as no surprise.  Their representations, and our responses, can be read in the StQW Consultation Annexe at the link above.

The continued objections from RBKC are more surprising.  The StQW Draft Plan proposes more new housing than would be achieved though the Metropolis scheme for 21 houses on Nursery Lane.  And the Plan’s draft policies for a wider range of activities and uses in Latimer Road are well supported by local businesses and residents alike.  The Council continues to object to what it perceives as ‘conflicts’ with 2010 RBKC policies on employment and ‘enterprise’ — but does not explain why it believes these polices have worked well in Latimer Road and need no change?

The independent examination of the StQW Draft Plan

This is the next stage of getting the StQW Neighbourhood Plan into place as part the the statutory planning framework for the Royal Borough.  The task of the independent examiner is to make sure the Draft Plan meets the ‘basic conditions’ for neighbourhood plans, as set out in the 2011 Localism Act.

It is the Council’s responsibility to appoint the Examiner, with the agreement of the Forum.  The Council’s Director of Planning has made very clear his own objections to the Draft Plan (see his views at J Bore email 5th Feb 2015).  We have responded with two letters, the first of which asks the Director to stand aside from the next stages on the StQW Draft Plan, and for another Council Department to work with the Forum on the choice of Examiner.  Our second letter responds to the Director’s views (including his view that Nursery Lane is an appropriate site for a housing development) and can be seen at this link StQW to RBKC. JB re Feb 6th email part 2.

The Examination needs to be visibly ‘independent’ and this will not be possible if the Planning Department choose the Examiner, given their history of antipathy to the preparation of the StQW Plan.

The attitude of the Planning Department towards the work of the StQW Forum has been very disappointing over the last 9 months.   RBKC officers do not appear to understand the intentions of Parliament in creating this opportunity for local people to prepare neighbourhood plans, not the detail of the legislation and guidance which supports the process.

We hope that these latest issues with the Planning Department can be resolved swiftly, enabling us to submit formally to the Council the StQW Draft Plan and accompanying documents.  The Council is then required to publicise the Plan on the RBKC website for 6 weeks, allowing a further and final opportunity for comments prior to the Examination.

We will be continuing to press the Council to progress efficiently these last stages of of their statutory responsibilities towards the StQW Neighbourhood Plan, so that a local referendum can be arranged before the Council’s summer recess.