In September we reported refusal of permissionn to knock down a terraced house at 91 Annandale Street (Ref. 13//02489/FUL; Breaking news, 11.9.13).
Now, Joseph Thurrott Architects have returned to the fray with a fresh application proposing a similar Passive House standard design but one which takes careful note of officials' previous reservations.
The new proposal (Ref. 13/04984/FUL) is at pains to stress that its roof ridge, underside of new fascia, and dado course match those of the adjacent building. There is now no proposal for a dormer window facing the front.
It remains to be seen whether amendments to the rear extension, and eye-catching, modern windows on 4 levels there, will have done enough to allay officials' concerns regarding over-conspicuousness, loss of amenity and compromised privacy for neighbours.
Spurtle's guarded admiration for the last application did not please everybody. Unfortunately we were not granted permission to publish the fruitiest responses which mostly boiled down to describing our approach as evidence of social snobbery and/or historical insensitivity and/or architectural philistinism.
We pled innocent on two charges and extenuating ignorance on the third.
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The work would entail some infilling on the lower ground floor (at the level of York Lane), an additional new build element of approximately 900 sq.m., and changing the entire car park at the rear into an external garden (with the loss of 30 spaces).
There is no detail evident online about recladding of the 'external envelope'.
With the exception of the garden, which we find surprising and potentially welcome, there is little to excite anyone about the plan. It looks, for the most part, like a battery hen farm.
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The redundant foyer of the former Gateway Theatre at 40–44 Elm Row will be converted to a Class 3 retail unit if Susan Stephen Architects' application for London Cornwall Property Partners is successful (Ref. 13/04965/LBC).
The job would also involve 'capping... The now exposed existing basement and infill of existing openings to the rear elevation'.
A new shop door and windows form part of the proposal.
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A dance studio on the ground floor at 19 Beaverbank Place sounded like a good idea to us (Ref. 13/04167/FUL; Breaking news, 12.11.13), but its charms fell on deaf ears at the Council.
'The principle of the proposal is acceptable and complies with local plan policies,' reads the planning officer's report. 'However the applicant has failed to demonstrate the proposal will not have an unacceptable effect on the living conditions of nearby residents. The findings of the Noise Impact Assessment provide little degree of certainty that the proposal will not adversely affect neighbouring residents. This is a material consideration that outweighs the development plan polices that otherwise support the proposed change of use and justifies refusal.'
