The planning application to build a six story block of 30 flats on the derelict Prince Regent site is likely to come to the Planning Committee on 7 October.  The meeting will start at 7.30pm, and is being held online.  You will be able to view it on the Council’s You Tube Channel.

The plans include a café at ground floor level; the currently vacant ground floor unit in Sovereign Apartments would be a new supermarket, with customer parking at the back of the Prince Regent development. 

This is the third such application for this site.  The most recent planning application was refused by Sutton Council, supported by the Planning Inspector, because of poor design and over-provision of parking.

The new application has a much improved design.  It now includes chamfered corners at the front, with a set-back colonnade in front of the proposed café, to partly compensate for the narrow pavement in front.  The frontage uses a range of brick and stonework to balance the mass of the blocks of flats in the area with the smaller scale Victorian buildings nearby. 

We have raised concern with the developers about the access to the retail car park, which would be between the two buildings, and the risk of shoppers’ traffic backing up and blocking the narrow High St.

In response to these concerns, the developer has confirmed that there will be camera/ barrier control of the retail car park, which will feed two screens at the entrance, visible from the road, telling drivers how many spaces there are in the car park.  This should prevent queuing. They have also agreed to zebra style markings on the pavement across the access way, to ensure pedestrians are kept safe. 

Residents in the flats would not be entitled to residents parking permits in the CPZ, and this would be made clear at time of purchase and when the flats are resold.

Do have a look at the plans on the Council’s Planning web site – an easy way is to put ‘Regent’ into the search bar at the bottom of the page.  The site is in much need of development, and the only kind of developments coming forward in the town centre are for apartments.  The scale and design of this scheme is much better than that recently rejected by planners for neighbouring Helena House – is this scheme what the area needs?  Do let us know.