– 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.