Objections to St. Vincent’s Planning application
31/03/2017
Objections to
Application 17/1222/FUL: St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1EJ
and
Application 17/1204/FUL: St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1EJ
I am writing to object to the above applications in my capacity as Member of the London Assembly, representing Barnet and Camden for the following reasons. I also request to speak at the committee.
Green Belt
This application involves inappropriate development in the Green Belt. The extension of the car park in application17/1222/FUL would lead to an unacceptable loss of green space.
Great damage to the Green Belt would also be caused by the scheme to dump large quantities of builder’s rubble onto the fields in application 17/1204/FUL, levelling up and raising the height of the proposed playing field, and thus fundamentally altering the appearance of this ancient Green Belt landscape.
This scheme would not enhance the beneficial use of the Green Belt by filling in a natural valley with rubble, making a natural field uninhabitable for the existing wildlife, and limiting enjoyment of the fields and their aspect by local residents.
Surface Water Drainage
The most serious impact of application 17/1204/FUL would be to surface water drainage. The applicant’s flood risk assessment and drainage strategy does not take into account factors that are obvious on a site visit. It fails to identify the impact of the valley infill on neighbouring properties.
The topography of the Drivers Hill site includes a steep slope that leads down to Woodcote Avenue. There is already a flood risk from surface water run-off. The southern border of the land is muddy and wet even after a mild precipitation. The houses on Woodcote Avenue have faced flooding in the recent past
The effect of the development would be to increase the volume of groundwater run-off into the Woodcote Avenue properties and road adjacent to the site, as the infilled sports field’s bank would create a steep decline very close to the houses. The existing flood risk will be seriously exacerbated. There is insufficient capacity for the existing street drains to carry the volume of water that would follow from this scheme, if approved.
During my visit to the site, I saw the narrow, shallow ditch into which the run-off water from the site is expected to drain. It cannot cope at times of heavy rainfall now. The owner of the neighbouring property, which has flooded previously, has already had to take measures to keep it from being blocked. This will not be possible after the application is built. Under a previous application, an undertaking was given by the applicants to install a pump to remove excess water. No such undertaking is apparent in this application.
Impact on natural environment
The scheme has serious implications for the natural habitat and wildlife currently living on the land. I have seen evidence of deer, foxes, badgers, owls and many more animals and birds. These would all be displaced if this scheme is allowed. The ecological assessment, although it acknowledges an impact on hedgehogs, badgers and reptiles, does not identify the full range of wildlife and no viable mitigation is possible.
A number of trees would be lost, both flowering and fruit trees on the land and, through root damage, important mature trees in neighbouring properties. The plans imply excavation and removal of a large section of its roots, endangering one of the oldest oak trees in the area which lies on the perimeter in the cemetery grounds, for example.
Impact of development on neighbouring properties
The proposed height of the new field is well above the properties on Woodcote Avenue, depriving them of outlook and light. Instead of a naturally sloping valley, the steep banking close to the houses would lead residents to feel enclosed and constricted. This affects the habitability and value of properties on the road. The conversion of the site from open natural land to enclosed sports pitches also mean local residents lose the amenity of open space next door to their homes.
Other landfill implications
To deliver the amount of landfill proposed, there would be thousands of lorry movements and no doubt lorry stacking on the only access road, the Ridgeway. This is a narrow road with the aspect and width of little more than a country lane and is congested at the best of times. The road would not be able to cope with this volume of construction traffic.
When this scheme was last subject to informal consultation two or three years ago, alternative suggestions were proposed by local people to turn the plans round, so that the proposed nature area, pond, etc. would be on the valley land, and the sports pitch on the flatter land nearer the school. This would avoid the need for landfill. This idea has not been considered and leads to the suspicion that part of the motivation behind the scheme is to generate substantial funds from the significant volume of valuable and income generating land fill, rather than to produce an alternative scheme that is sympathetic to the Green Belt environment.
Conclusion
The principle of this form of development on the Green Belt is unacceptable.
It has already been established through this Committee’s correct refusal of the proposed Edgwarebury Golf Course, that dumping vast volumes of rubble drastically altering the landscape is harmful to the environment and against the principles of Green Belt conservation.
The impact of this scheme on the natural environment would be extreme. The application has failed to identify the full range of threatened flora and fauna.
The impact on neighbouring properties would be to make them less habitable through loss of outlook and sense of enclosure.
The impact on the wider area and along the valley would be to increase the risk of severe flooding, making an existing problem significantly worse.
I urge officers to recommend refusal and members of the Planning Committee to reject the applications.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Dismore
Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
London
SE1 2AA
