MEET TWO LAMBETH COUNCIL PLANNING OFFICERS FOR ONE HOUR? THAT’S £169.45 PLEASE
A Crystal Palace businesswoman who met two Lambeth council officers to discuss why two planning applications were refused has paid a bill of almost £170 for doing so.
Shinali McCusker, co-owner of Sefgrove chemists on Westow Hill, says she was “surprised” at the £169.45 fee – plus 1.5 per cent credit card payment – which comes on top of £195 for the two planning applications which have been made for the shop.
At the meeting she was told by one of the planning officers that conservation laws changed last year.
“The reason permission was refused was because the back of the property was not in keeping with the building.”
Mrs McCusker, who intends to appeal against the planning refusals, now believes officers misread the application.
The first application was for demolition of existing rear extension at basement level; erection of replacement rear extension in the location of demolished extension at basement level constructed to the ground floor level; erection of additional rear new extension to raise the existing basement construction to ground floor level.
Permission for a similar application was granted in 2011 but work never began and that permission has now lapsed – so a fresh application was submitted.
Lambeth refused planning permission for the latest application on the grounds that:1 The proposed rear extensions by virtue of their design, siting and size would fail to harmonise with the plan form of the original building and erodes the visual superiority of the existing rear elevation and would cause substantial harm to the setting of the Westow Hill (North Side) Conservation Area contrary to policies Q11 and Q22 of the Local Plan (2015).
The second application was to remove the existing render to the front elevation at 1st and 2nd floors levels and to re-render the elevations to match the existing including re-placing all the existing architectural features..
Lambeth refused planning permission on the grounds that 1 The existing render which has been applied to the elevations of the building is not a true representation of the original building, which was constructed using traditional construction methods and materials, including brick stock and timber framed windows in keeping with neighbouring properties. The proposal to remove and replace the render to the front elevation at 1st and 2nd floors levels to match the existing including re-placing all the existing architectural features as the existing would, therefore fail to re-instate, preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the property and the wider Westow Hill (north) Conservation Area and as such is contrary to the objectives of Policy Q22 of the Lambeth Local Plan (2015)
But when Mrs McClusker asked about rendering being removed from the outside of another building on the same side of Westow Hill without any planning permission apparently being given she was told they did not know anything about that – and that they couldn’t comment.
And she has since had it confirmed that underneath the rendering is just brick. “It shows we were right all along and this building was rendered.” she added.