11 August (Part 1) - 16 New Road - “Wholly out of keeping”
It
is not often that Bonkers covers planning issues; if you want that sort of thing
then it would be best to nip across to
From The Murky Depths;
so why is the relatively small development in New Road featured here?
It began in the middle of June when I was sitting with friends in the Wrong ’Un
(Wetherspoons) having taken a bus to the Lion Road stop which Councillor Davey,
for no sensible reason whatsoever, thinks would
benefit from being bypassed by
the SL3. A lady approached me, checked who I was and asked if I went to Planning meetings.
Her question was simple; can the public go, can they speak etc. and she went on
to tell me where she lived and why she was interested. It is from her that
everything written here so far about 16 New Road has come.
But she is not the only objector;
very few will be supporting Bexley Council on
this one. Below is a message from another neighbour who has watched developments closely…
The original application included a bungalow to the rear, replacing the
existing garage. This followed the refusal and some
bullying of adjacent neighbours to give up some of their land for car parking.
(Ref. No: 23/01192/FUL - Received: Thursday 25 May 2023.)
This was rejected by Bexley Council mainly because the large block would be wholly
out of keeping with the existing pattern of development along New Road
and out of character in relation to the existing buildings in New Road.
The proposed detached bungalow to the rear would be visually intrusive to
all surrounding properties in view of the development and would fail to complement the locality.
The proposed development to the rear, by virtue of its siting and proximity
to Metropolitan Open Land, would negatively impact its amenity value and
openness and therefore would be contrary to Policy SP8 of Bexley’s Local Plan (2023).
An appeal was made by the owner but it was rejected. A further
appeal was made to the Planning Directorate in Bristol. This was also rejected.
The second application removed the provision of the bungalow, but retained
the garage. The new scheme actually increased the accommodation space.
This application is materially no different to the first, but it was passed by the Planning Committee.
I suspect that in the future, when the block is built, an application will be made to convert the the garage into a habitable space.
Residents have been let down but only three storeys in an area which Sadiq Khan
and his obedient servants in Greenwich wants to fill with skyscrapers is
probably the best deal available.
Note: There are two buses in the picture. An SL3 waiting to exit into Abbey Road and a 301 climbing the hill. The tower blocks in the background are in the
borough of Greenwich.