Friday, 10 September 2021
A decision on a proposed tower block in New Malden will now be taken in in Bristol
Kingston Council had communicated its intention to turn down the Tudor Williams development in the High Street.
However, the authority was awaiting permission from the GLA because of the building’s “scale” before it could issue the decision.
But the council says Rocco Homes did not wish to wait 2 weeks for the GLA to look at the application and has appealed without waiting.
The appeal is being heard in Bristol, where the UK’s Planning Inspectorate is based.
Rocco Homes maintains it took its appeal to Bristol on the grounds of “non-determination” by the council.
Kingston Council says it will still be working to get plans for the proposed 9 storey block dismissed.
A Kingston council spokesperson says:
The council had significant concerns with the development and had communicated to the applicant its intention to refuse the planning application. However, due to the scale of the proposal the council needed to first seek permission from the GLA before it could issue a decision.
The applicant knew the council had significant concerns and they did not wish to wait for the GLA to look at the application, and instead decided to appeal without waiting.
The appeal has gone to a Planning Inspectorate, Council Officers will now mount a strong case for the Inspectorate to dismiss the appeal and refuse the development.
A spokesperson from developer Rocco Homes says;
"We have always sought to understand residents' views and have an open dialogue about the future of the Tudor Williams building. We listened to comments and made changes to the plans, such as reducing the proposed height from 13 to 9 storeys. We are seeking to bring forward the community's preferred ground floor use alongside new homes on the high street, whilst also balancing the requirements of local and London-wide planning policies.
The site has been vacant since 2019 and we are aiming to secure the future of this key town centre site as quickly as possible. Our decision to appeal on the grounds of non-determination is one of a number of options being considered for the site and we took this initial option to avoid further delay in reaching a decision.
We are exploring other options for making the best use of the site and at the appropriate time we will update residents on our plans going forward. We would like to thank you for your patience."
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 8:27 am
