Agenda item

1/03, Garden House, 5 St Johns Road P/3066/20

Minutes:

PROPOSAL:  redevelopment to provide hotel accommodation (Use Class C1) and construction of basement level; ancillary restaurant and conference rooms (Use class E); bin store; landscaping; parking (demolition of existing building).

 

The Committee resolved to accept officer recommendations.

 

RECOMMENDATION A

 

The Committee was asked to:

 

1)              agree the reasons for approval as set out in the report; and

 

2)              grant planning permission subject to conditions in Appendix 1 as varied by the Addendum  and the completion of the Section 106 Legal Agreement and authority being delegated to the Interim Chief Planning Officer in consultation with the Director of Legal and Governance Services for the completion of the legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling legislation and issue of the planning permission, subject to amendments to the conditions, and no objection from HSE regarding fire details, including the insertion or deletion of conditions as deemed fit and appropriate to the development or the amendments to the legal agreement as required. The S106 agreement Heads of Terms would cover the following matters:

 

1.              Carbon Offset

·         Payment of a total financial contribution of £498,750 towards carbon offset which should be payable prior to commencement and verified at the completion of development with a top-up payment required for any shortfall in on-site carbon reductions compared to those proposed at application stage.

·         Recalculation of the contribution to take into account any revised energy statement approved by the LPA.

·         Provision of commitment that the development will be designed to enable post construction monitoring and that the information set out in the ‘be seen’ guidance is submitted to the GLA’s portal at the appropriate reporting stages.

 

2.              Energy Centre

·         Provision of a safeguarding route to a connection to any future wider District Heat Network.

 

3.              Highways and Parking

·         A revised Guest and Staff Travel Plan to be submitted to the Council prior to the first occupation of the building.  A travel plan bond (to be agreed with the Council) will be required to secure the implementation of all measures specified in the revised Travel Plan.  The developer to ensure the effective implementation, monitoring and management of the travel plan for the site.  Appointment of Travel Plan Coordinator. Travel Plan monitoring fee of £5,000.

·         Section 50 works to include widening of the existing vehicle crossing and the relocation of a loading plate sign and hydrant sign.

 

4.              Employment and Training Plan

·         Payment of local Employment Contribution to the Council upon commencement of development and to be used towards employment and training initiatives within the Council’s administrative area.

·         Submission of an employment, training and recruitment plan to the Council for its approval

·         S106 agreement will include penalty clauses for non-compliance with the above. Non-compliance is failure to deliver the obligations in the section 106 Agreement, irrespective of whether:

I.                the Agreement states that it will discharge the obligation

II.              the Developer has paid the council (Xcite) to employ a training and employment co-ordinator and beneficiary funds to discharge the obligations, but the developer’s contractors fail to work with Xcite to provide skill, apprenticeship and employment opportunities. HB Law has been working on relevant clauses.

·         15% of spend during the construction of the development is with suppliers in the council’s administrative area.

 

5. Legal Costs and Monitoring Fee

·         Payment of section 106 monitoring fee upon completion of section 106 agreement (amount TBC)

·         Payment of all reasonable legal fees upon completion of section 106 agreement.

 

RECOMMENDATION B

 

That if, by 27th October 2022 or such extended period as may be agreed in writing by the Interim Chief Planning Officer, the section 106 Planning Obligation is not completed, then delegate the decision to the Chief Planning Officer to REFUSE planning permission for the following reason:

 

1)              The proposed development, in the absence of a Legal Agreement to provide appropriate improvements, benefits and monitoring that directly relate to the development, would fail to adequately mitigate the impact of the development on the wider area and provide for necessary social, environmental and physical infrastructural improvements arising directly from the development, contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework (2021), policies D2, E10, SI2, SI3, and DF1 of The London Plan (2021), policy CS1 of the Core Strategy (2012), AAP9 of the Harrow and Wealdstone Area Action Plan (2013), policies DM1, DM13, DM34, and DM50 of the Harrow Development Management Polices Local Plan and the Supplementary Planning Document: Planning Obligations & Affordable Housing (2013).

 

DECISION:  GRANT

 

The Committee wished it to be recorded that the decision to grant the application was unanimous.

Supporting documents: