Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
Planning Report
Last year the CGCA, in conjunction with the Charlotte Street Association (CSA), took Camden Council to the High Court in order to quash Camden's decision to adopt their statutory plan for the borough - the Unitary Development Plan (UDP).
The reason was simple: having spent years being 'consulted', given written and verbal evidence at the public enquiry, and been supported by the independent inspector, Camden failed to identify where and how more affordable housing should be provided within the next 10 years within the borough.
The inspector recommended that the Council, as a matter of priority, should identify housing sites within the borough and incorporate this information in their UDP. For three years, and despite many prompts from the CGCA and CSA, Camden did nothing and ignored this recommendation and so we were obliged to resort to law.
The necessary papers were served at the High Court in June, and Camden's politicians and officers then appeared to take us seriously. Following protracted correspondence, a settlement was agreed before Christmas; we withdrew the legal challenge and Camden agreed to carry out a detailed housing site search throughout the borough and prepare a number of detailed housing feasibility studies on sites identified, concentrating initially south of the Euston Road. A report on this study will be presented to committee in June 2001. As a consequence of us withdrawing the legal action Camden adopted their UDP, which had taken 10 years to prepare and is already out of date.
For a Council that purports to be so concerned about providing better and more affordable housing, the lack of action and imagination by the politicians and the relevant officers was somewhat depressing. If the CGCA and CSA had not taken legal action, the Council would undoubtedly have taken no proactive initiative to procure more housing. The Chair of Housing and senior officers within Camden's Housing Department thanked the Associations for taking on the Planning Department, as they claim they have been trying to get the department to use their planning powers to procure more housing for many years, to no avail.
While Camden were struggling to get their UDP finally adopted, Westminster, this past year, have been completing a five year review of their UDP, which has attracted the wrath of a large number of commercial entertainment developers who have immediately resorted to law. The CGCA generally applaud Westminster in their efforts to call a halt to further late-night bars in the Covent Garden/Soho areas to control the number of new late night venues. The problem, however, is almost entirely of Westminster's own making, for they have largely ignored local representation over the past decade and granted permission for new bars and late night venues, irrespective of their proximity to residential accommodation.
Ken Livingstone's Greater London Authority planning committee takes the view that local authorities (Camden & Westminster) should encourage more "24-hour" entertainment facilities in the centre of London! They also want the residential population in Central London to increase in order to provide more housing for key workers (nurses, police, etc). This is at variance with planning policies that favour yet more entertainment related commercial development that further inflates land prices and produces an environment where a good night's sleep is impossible. Efforts to meet with the GLA's planning committee and officers have to date been unsuccessful.
During the year, much time has been spent trying to ensure that planning undertakings attached to planning approvals are enforced. The ROH's public information shop is still to materialise on the corner of Russell Street and Bow Street, and we understand that the ROH is now contemplating opening its doors on Sundays for pop star attractions. The ROH disbanded the local consultative committee during the year, now that their building is complete. The construction of the Royal Ballet School, a scheme the CGCA welcomed, if not in all aspects of its design, commenced on site in Long Acre. Taylor Woodrow's luxury housing in Wild Street/Drury Lane was completed, though not one affordable home has been provided, contrary to Westminster's stated policies. The St Martins Lane Hotel have been cajoled to stand by a variety of conditions which they agreed to, two years ago, once planning permission and licences were granted, deliveries, servicing, car parking and similar conditions. The CGCA continue to monitor the Hospital Group's development of a Music Centre in Endell Street on the ex St Paul's Hospital site.
The Hospital Group's undertaking to double or secondary glaze adjacent homes prior to demolition works commencing came to nothing, although installation has now commenced to some flats in Betterton Street. There are residents in Endell Street, directly opposite the development, who still have no sound insulation and are likely to suffer the most, both during the construction and when the premises are operating, as the main entrance of the new entertainment venue is in Endell Street. The Hospital Group have, belatedly, acknowledged the CGCA's observation that their scheme to create a Music Centre with a sound recording studio in the basement above the future Cross Rail route is not practical. They now propose to place much more emphasis on TV and film activities within the building's studio, which is at variance with the impression they carefully nurtured during the planning application process. Despite the Development Control sub-committee previously indicating the scheme was entirely inappropriate for this heavily residential quarter of Covent Garden, the application was nonetheless granted permission.
The CGCA's efforts have, on occasions, been successful in improving prospective developments. Schroders proposals to extend the Seven Dials Warehouse in Earlham Street have been substantially revised and they have now abandoned the idea of converting the ground floor into a 5000 sq ft restaurant/bar. There are still outstanding issues to resolve, however their proposals are taking on more cognisance of local concerns. Similarly, proposals for the redevelopment of Bow Street Police Station have improved in comparison with the initial proposals. The applicants have agreed to resite all plant and ventilation equipment well away from the Martlett Court flats. The scheme consists of a police museum, to reflect the fact that this was the first police station in the UK (The Peelers), and an office development. However, there is as yet no public benefit resulting from the proposed development.
Redevelopment proposals for 25 Shelton Street through to Earlham Street have slowed down following the withdrawal of Allied London's proposals submitted to Camden in January, and opposite, Shaftesbury plc (ex Stock Conversions) have sensitive proposals to remove the clutter attached to the street elevations of their Thomas Neal's shopping centre. Work under this scheme is likely to commence in 2002.
The City Literary Institute proposes to relocate to a new building in Wild Court/Keeley Street and it has recently re-submitted a revised scheme for planning approval, which the CGCA generally supports. Its intentions for the Stukeley Street property remain unclear. It has made three applications: one to convert the Stukeley Street property (which was purpose-built for adult educational use in the 1930's and is a distinguished building) to speculative offices; the second for offices and 12 luxury flats and the third, entirely for residential accommodation. The CGCA objects to the first two proposals and supports the third, though Camden is reluctant to grant consent to a residential only scheme if none of the accommodation is affordable. Thus there is a ludicrous possibility that the City Lit, which originally favoured the residential only scheme, withdrawing this proposal and going for an office/residential scheme despite the fact that the Stukeley Street building has been identified as a potential new housing site within the borough as part of the housing site search.
Opposite the City Lit in Stukeley Street, the Post Office Property Holdings were granted a 15,000 sq ft office development by Camden, to the rear of Esavian House without any commensurate contribution to the area and with little concern as to the effect of the additional servicing that will be required (rubbish, etc) in Stukeley Street, which is extremely narrow at this location. The decision to grant consent was made by an officer and was never considered by the Development Control sub-committee. A building consisting of 15,000 sq ft of new offices in Covent Garden would, at current rental values, equate to a capital value of £3 million. It is extraordinary how one planning officer has the power to, in effect, give a private company a present of £3 million with absolutely no consequential public benefit and load more congestion and noise onto the neighbourhood.
Westminster failed to take any action in the past year to clear the extraordinary tacky collection of tables chairs and debris that clutter up the public right of way that exists in the arcade under Bedford Chambers in the Piazza. As this building is so prominent in the market square and is listed, this inaction is a very poor reflection on the City Council and, for that matter, the Covent Garden Area Trust, which has a long lease on the property and which owes its existence to dealing precisely with issues of this nature.
However, Westminster did persevere and succeeded in overturning an extraordinary ruling that permitted the retention of the 'shack', the servery outside the Central Market building at the south western end (The Creperie), by appealing to the High Court, where they succeeded in getting the permission quashed.
Welcome improvements to English National Opera's home in St Martin's Lane (Frank Matcham's magnificent Coliseum Theatre) have commenced and will, over a three year phased programme, result in a greatly improved theatre, especially the front of house facilities for use by patrons.
Westminster granted consent to a massive retail outlet on four floors with private residential over, replacing St Martin's School of Art's premises at 27-29 Long Acre. Not only did this scheme represent a huge loss of educational space (not valuable in real estate terms), it also ran contrary to their planning policies and procured absolutely no public benefit to the area. The Council failed to consider adequately any consequential problems due to the heavy servicing demands that a huge new retail outlet will cause. As soon as the scheme had approval, the new owners put in a further scheme to double the private residential accommodation, which is set to overlook adjacent properties.
Other large development sites in the Westminster part of the area have included the block bounded by Long Acre, Hanover Place, Floral Street and Bow Street; most of the original buildings will be retained and various new residential units will be constructed, whilst the commercial space will be taken up with offices and a restaurant. A perennial scheme that has featured for many years is the huge site between Mercer Street, Shelton Street and Upper St Martin's Lane; the latest scheme proposes flats in Mercer Street, some retail space along Shelton Street, an automated parking garage on 9 floors underground, and a very large office development - exactly the type of imaginative scheme that Covent Garden 'needs'!
During the year the planning subcommittee met 21 times and considered more than 350 applications. We considered 10 appeals and made detailed representations on some of these. In addition to applications for planning permission and listed building consent, we look at applications for new signage, for tables and chairs on the footway, traffic management proposals, parking matters and general environmental proposals. The Sub-committee also considers all licensing matters within the area - liquor licences, entertainment licences and night café licences (please see our separate Licensing report elsewhere in this Annual Report).
In addition to commenting on proposals and applications, the CGCA also attends a number of 'community liaison groups' that have been set up as part of planning permissions for large development sites. During the year we have regularly attended with developers, planners and nearby residents and businesses in connection with the Green Dragon House site, the Hospital site and the Holborn Town Hall site. These meetings seek to minimise the disruption from demolition and construction work, traffic, noise and dust on the neighbourhood.
Efforts to get some co-ordination between Westminster and Camden Councils with regard to development proposals, so that through traffic may be excluded and air quality in the neighbourhood improved have been extremely difficult. Westminster has, until very recently, been extremely unhelpful, whereas Camden, in some desperation, shared by many locals, have published proposals to implement new traffic management proposals around the Seven Dials area aimed at restricting through traffic. However, it is obvious that there should be a co-ordinated approach across the whole neighbourhood involving both Councils.
In summary, another year of unremitting commercial pressure that endeavours to take out as much profit from the area as possible at as small a cost as possible, whilst the local community has to pick up the pieces and live with the consequences. There is however, some reason to be cheerful. The new community facilities to the rear of Holborn Town Hall are at last under construction, and the CGCA is still here, striving to ensure that humanity, not just greed, has some say in the future of Covent Garden.
[The Planning & Licensing Sub-committee meets fortnightly to consider planning and licensing applications, and other planning and traffic related matters. These meetings generally take place at 6.30pm at the CGCA's offices and are open to the public - all are welcome]
Jim Monahan
Covent Garden Community Association Annual Report 2000-2001
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