Through the work of the sub-committee, the Society has been instrumental in saving many buildings of note including Addington Square, Denmark Hill Station and part of Windsor Walk. The Society has also been instrumental in influencing new development to make a positive contribution to the area, and works with local residents and tenants groups where there are common issues. The current composition of the Planning sub-committee is: Tim Gaymer, Anthony Kyrke-Smith, Elizabeth Borowiecka, Jason Leech, Robert Potz, Jonathan Hunt, Paul Cohoon, Somayya Yaqub, Michael Galt and Tom Harvey. Potential new members are welcome to attend a meeting as an observer initially. The Society is currently under represented by members from the Myatt Fields and Brunswick Park areas.
23/AP/2786 Camberwell Green Magistrates Court
- The changes made to this scheme between the consultation stage and the application stage are a disappointment. The old magistrates court building has potential as a centre for community activity which had been reflected in the consultation stage plans: co-working spaces, studios, a gym and changing rooms, a recording studio and a café.
- The application plans have exchanged most what would have made the building a local centre for work and recreation for a 150 room Zedwell hotel with no windows, no restaurant or function rooms and no visible presence on the street.
- This constitutes a serious missed opportunity in the development of this prominent site and, although hotel rooms may be in demand locally from, for example, visitors to the Camberwell hospitals, it is not clear that the accommodation proposed would prove attractive.
The residential element of both proposals (144/152 flats and maisonettes, 35% of which are to be affordable) is to be welcomed, as is the 4.1 Urban Greening Factor and the re-use of the existing concrete frame. The scale of the building is also considered appropriate.
The activities proposed for the open space at the front of the building do not inspire confidence as thought through options: market stalls, outdoor café seating, exhibitions, performance facilities and skateboarding jumps.
The consultation scheme proposed lines of trees with benches around them seems a more compelling idea for a communal outdoor space.
For these reasons the Camberwell Society objects to this application.
23/AP/1661 & 1662 Camberwell Police Station Section House, London SE5 8QU
Proposed extensions, alterations and change of use of the former Camberwell Police Station Section House ‘rear building’ (sui generis) to Nursery (Use Class E f)
The Camberwell Society has no objection to the conversion of this building to a nursery for pre-school children and the basic strategy of removing internal partitions to create spacious rooms seems a good one.
There are some aspects of the design that might be improved:
The form and position of the new first floor extension suggests a glass belvedere, opening up the room behind to views of the outdoors. It was a surprise therefore to find that its proposed use was for WCs. We suggest that the these would be better positioned below the second floor WCs, so that the extension can achieve its potential as a feature which enhances the building and improves the experience of those using it.
The room with no windows on the ground floor, between Rooms 1 and 8, would benefit from having some windows or glazed doors, and the lantern in the corner of that room would perhaps make more impact in the reception area.
The plans for the outdoor play space for the children lack conviction. We think that the application requires a landscape scheme which would change the existing bleak hard surfaced outdoor space to a play garden with trees, shrubs, flowers, soft surfaces and dedicated age appropriate play equipment.
For these reasons the Camberwell Society objects to this application.
23/AP/0330 10 Love Walk SE5 8AE
Demolition of all existing buildings on site and comprehensive redevelopment to provide a part-three and part-four storey new care home (Class C2 - Residential Institutions), including up to 63 bedrooms each with wet room, plus cycle parking, refuse/recycling storage, mechanical and electrical plant, new sub-station, landscaping and green/living walls, amenity areas, perimeter treatment and associated ancillary works. | 10 Love Walk London Southwark SE5 8AE
The Camberwell Society’s view is that the applicant’s account of their design intentions to meet the requirements of the proposed elderly residents did not correspond to the design that they have submitted for planning. The applicant’s stated mission is:
“Personalised care is provided in “households” where care rooms are arranged in small social groupings with their own lounge, dining area and ancillary spaces including support facilities”.
This is not what the drawings show: the building consists of two slab blocks of 3-4 storeys, the elevations characterised by repetitive arrangements of window openings and masonry.
The bedrooms are arranged along corridors, two thirds of which have no natural lighting. The communal rooms also lead off these corridors, and are mostly barely bigger than the bedrooms they are intended to serve. The only dining room is on the ground floor.
There is extremely limited access for the residents to outdoor space, most of which is on the Love Walk and Kerfield Place ground floor street frontages, and probably beyond the unassisted reach of residents suffering from dementure. More use could be made of roof gardens, which could provide amenity space close to the bedrooms.
The applicant’s stated objective to provide a series domestic scale groupings of bedrooms and communal facilities, each with its own recognisable character, where the residents could feel at home, is a worthy one. This is not the design to achieve such an objective.
The likely impact of the proposal on this prominent site adjacent to the Conservation Area was thought to be damaging. The immediate surroundings of the care home is characterised by two storey detached houses, pavilions in a landscape, in which environment this three and four storey block would be an unsympathetic addition.
The Camberwell Society objects to this application.
22/04096/FUL - 61 Lilford Road London SE5 9HY - Demolition of the existing buildings and redevelopment of the site to provide a multi let industrial estate comprising Use Classes E (g) (ii) and (iii), B2, B8 and Sui Generis with cycle parking, hard and s
Camberwell Society objects to this planning application for several reasons.
Unfortunately, Camberwell Society were not engaged as part of the applicant's community engagement, so were not able to comment on this proposal before an application was submitted.
The height of the proposed building is out of keeping with the surrounding context. The proposed ‘landmark’ element of the building will be overbearing towards residential properties to the south. The western elevation is significantly taller than the existing building, and will be overbearing towards the residential gardens to the west of the site.
The proposed industrial use and employment increase is supported, however the vehicular trips generated by ‘dark kitchens’ would have a significant detrimental effect on neighbours, including increased noise and traffic. The significant increase in vehicle movements to support dark kitchens will have a negative impact on air quality, to the detriment of neighbouring residential properties and local residents.
The scheme does not adequately improve biodiversity. The proposed UGF factor of 0.21 is insufficient. A factor of 0.3 at minimum should be required.The scheme could be improved by incorporating green SUDs, which would act to improve biodiversity on the site.
The architectural resolution of the building is poor. The scheme lacks reference to its context, including the adjacent Minet conservation area. The scheme proposes a poor, inactive frontage to Lilford Road, with minimal and poor quality landscaping. There is a lost opportunity here to provide a public benefit, through meaningful landscaping or public art.
For these reasons, the Camberwell Society objects to this application.