Staines Town Society response on 18/01101/FUL, 17-51 London Road Staines
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Staines must be going up in the world to have a developer of this quality interested in the London Road site. Berkeley Homes set high standards in all aspects and at all stages of development, including involvement in management after completion.
This mixed-but-mostly-residential scheme is certainly preferable to the consented scheme which had much more office space. The design of the buildings and the space round them has many merits. The gardens are attractive and the placing of buildings will allow most of the gardens enough sunlight to thrive. The amount of play space is better than in other approved developments, and we are pleased to note that at least some of the seats have backs. There is level access to the residential blocks, and the main entrance from London Road is interesting.
We note the ingenious placing of gym, pool, etc in the section which backs closely on to the multi-storey car park and has no views. Fairfield Avenue is going to be a very busy road, so the pedestrian crossing to Birch Green is essential, and we hope the 20 mph speed limit will be agreed by SCC.
Berkeley claim that 317 car spaces for 474 flats will be sufficient and not cause a nuisance with overspill parking. We hope they are right. 484 cycle spaces are provided, but 474 of them are in double height racks which are only convenient for fit young men, so other people will not feel encouraged to cycle.
However, Staines Town Society’s position is to OBJECT to this scheme as overdevelopment and unsuitable for Staines. The attempt to reconcile the desired number of units with the provision of sufficient space for a decent landscape round them leads to excessive height, up to 16 storeys, contrary to Policy EN1 (a). The Design & Access Statement contains an elaborate justification for this in terms of the height and mass of other existing or planned buildings. The next developer will use the height of this scheme, if agreed, as justification for yet more high buildings, until the whole town centre becomes a jungle of tower blocks and the character and liveability of Staines is irretrievably lost.
The proposed flats are barely above the legal minimum size. It is particularly disappointing that 100 of the units, 21% of the total, are 1-bed flats of a miserable 42 sq. m. area. Tower blocks of shoebox flats in an area of particularly high air pollution, contrary to Policy EN3 (d), do not make a high quality scheme.
The promises of affordable housing are not yet backed up with any figures. Berkeley Homes have a long history of minimising the number of affordable homes built by underestimating the financial viability and profitability of developments. For example, Berkeley persuaded Hounslow Council to accept only 20% affordable housing rather than the required 40% in their Kew Bridge scheme, saying that house sales would generate £124m, but Land Registry data suggests the scheme actually generated about £250m. Berkeley made £2.9 bn profit in the last 7 years, and has paid its chairman £174m in the last decade.
It could well afford to provide a substantial proportion of affordable units, in line with Policy HO3, and/or to reduce the number of units by reducing the excessive height of the blocks. We urge Spelthorne BC to stand firm by its Local Plan policies.
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