In response to our message urging the Council to refuse permission to rebuild the waste site in Shakespeare Road, the Councillor responsible for planning has written a detailed and carefully worded explanation (below) which is worth reading in full. My emphases, in bold.
In effect Lambeth needs to allow legal applications for waste sites, and this one cannot be permanently closed without some alternative being made available. But there will be consultations.
Thank you for your email to Cllr Holland regarding the Shakespeare Road site, which I am responding to as Deputy Leader with responsibility for planning policy.
In respect of land use planning matters, the site is one of a number of designated waste sites within Lambeth. These waste sites are safeguarded for waste uses through Lambeth’s Local Plan and are identified in Lambeth’s Policies Map and the Waste Evidence Base.
As required by Lambeth Local Plan policy EN7 (Sustainable waste management), redevelopment of safeguarded waste sites for other uses will only be supported if compensatory waste capacity is provided elsewhere within the borough or if waste capacity is re-provided on-site. This is to ensure that Lambeth is able to continue meeting its waste needs.
As you note in your correspondence, planning permission exists for the redevelopment of the site for residential use . This planning permission was granted on 21st December 2021 for ‘Demolition of existing waste transfer station and re-development of the site to provide a residential development comprising of three blocks ranging from 5 -11 storeys in height to provide 218 residential units (class C3) with associated landscaping’.
This permission was granted subject to a planning obligation requiring the applicant to provide replacement waste capacity elsewhere in the borough, with a potential location being another safeguarded waste site at Windsor Grove in West Norwood, as noted in your correspondence.
Notwithstanding the recent fire damage, the Shakespeare Road site remains a safeguarded waste site in land use planning terms and the obligation referred to above is still binding and runs with the land.
Planning officers have confirmed to me that a number of pre-commencement planning conditions require discharge before works can begin on the Windsor Grove site. At the time of writing no application submissions have been received seeking discharge of these conditions.
I can advise you that there is no right to re-build the premises and the erection of any replacement building at the site would require planning permission. Any such application for planning permission would be assessed against the planning policies of the Council’s Development Plan and other material considerations.
The proposed use of any new building and its environmental impacts would be considered as part of the assessment of a planning application seeking permission for new development. Considerations would include matters relating to air quality, noise, transport and fire safety amongst other matters. The former lawful use and operation of the site for waste transfer would be a material consideration when assessing a planning application.
Importantly, were a planning application to be received, there would be consultation of adjoining and nearby residents and businesses in accordance with statutory requirements and the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement.
Therefore the council, as the Local Planning Authority, would need to consider the acceptability of any proposed development, including any replacement waste transfer facility, by assessing a planning application once submitted, meaning that it is not possible to pre-emptively outrightly prohibit such a use.
I hope that this response is helpful but please don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s anything further I can be of assistance with.
Best regards,
Danny
Councillor Danny Adilypour
Streatham Common & Vale
Deputy Leader for Sustainable Growth and New Homes
The rising costs of rent, services and energy have made it uneconomic to keep going in their present premises. They aren’t the first, and won’t be the last to walk away from the arches, which for generations have provided unglamorous but functional and affordable accommodation for small businesses which often operate on narrow margins. A recent visit showed several repossession notices from landlords The Arch Company ( a joint venture between Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners), who bought the UK’s huge estate of railway arches from Network Rail in 2019.
