Sutton North Lib Dem Councillors

Cllr Sam Cumber, Cllr Ruth Dombey and Chris Hawton working hard for Sutton North all year round Learn more

Planning refused for Prince Regent site

by Sam, Ruth and Chris on 6 March, 2017

We are pleased to be able to report that planning application to develop the Prince Regent site has been turned down.  The proposal was for a 6 to 8 storey building with basement to provide 41 flats (9 x one-bed; 20 x two-bed; and 2 x three-bed).  The decision from the Council can be accessed here.

The Council refused the application as:

  • it fails to provide sufficient affordable housing;
  • its height, bulk, mass and design would have a detrimental impact on the area;
  • the lack of a retail or commercial frontage would impact on the vitality and viability of the High St; and
  • the excessive car parking would encourage car use.

On the last point, town centre flats are mainly designed for people without cars. The High St has very good public transport, and providing additional car parking would add to traffic congestion.   So the Mayor of London’s London Plan sets very strict limits on the number of car parking spaces that can be provided in town centre flats.

We need to remain vigilant on this issue.  The applicant may appeal against the decision, or may submit an amended application.  We will continue to keep you updated.

Asset of Community Value

The Burnell and Lewis Road Residents Association have submitted a nomination for the Prince Regent as an Asset of Community Value.   Further details of what this means are here.  This may prevent demolition and could give the local community to opportunity to buy and restore the pub if it comes on to the market.  We have supported this application.

Local listing

We are also supporting an application to have the pub ‘locally listed’.   This will be considered by the Housing, Economy and Business Committee on 21 March.  The Local List includes buildings and structures which may have had historic uses; may have a unique architectural feature or style and must be more than 20 years old.  The current Local Plan says the Council will ‘seek to preserve or enhance’ buildings on the Local List.

‘Local’ listing is not as strong as national listing, and residents will recall that the developer was successful in getting the pub removed from the National List last year

If you would like to support us in keeping the Prince Regent, then contact us:

 

 

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