KINGSTON AND NORTH KINGSTON NEIGHBOURHOOD
Conservation Areas Advisory Committee

PLANNING APPLICATION COMMENT FORM
DATE: 8 May 2024

N/A
 RBK ref:

24/00928/FUL 		Address: Greencoat House 183 Clarence Street Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1AN

Planning Officer: William Flaherty

Description of proposed works:

Application under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to carry out development without compliance with Condition 1 (Drawings) for Application Reference Number: 22/03217/FUL (Recladding and internal reconfiguration of existing building with extensions (3 upper floors to Clarence Street and full height extensions up to 9 storeys to the rear) to create co-living units (sui generis) (in place of 64no. student rooms (sui generis)) with retention of a number of ground floor commercial units (Class E), creation of new café (Class E) and co-working areas (Class E) at ground floor with internal and external residential amenity spaces, bike storage, refuse, disabled car parking, service yard and new basement plant room) dated 27/04/2023. Variation to consist of the provision of a second means of escape in an emergency and associated changes including an increase of 2nos. residential units, reduction in Use Class E floorspace, reduction in residential amenity, and reduction in cycle storage.

APPRAISAL

By full committee on …… 8 May 2024 …… with …… 4 …… members present

Issued on 8 May 2024


1. Positive support
2. No objection
3. Objection
X
4. Objection unless revised as below
5. No comment/neutral
6. Lack of detail
7. Decision already issued



Reason for objection:

Objection. These amendments to the consented plans, which we objected to, would make this development even more objectionable. In particular:-
1) the additional roof-top massing to the southern elevation to accommodate x2 more residential units;
2) additional roof-top massing (including installation of an over-sized arched feature window completely at odds with the architectural typology of the area ) to the east elevation to accommodate a second staircase with the addition of two stories filing in the setback at Clarence Street and one storey at Fife road. Contrary to the applicants claim, the additional staircase does not reduce the rentable accommodation and therefore does not justify the harmful increase of height and mass. *

3) a reduction in residential amenity space & Class E (cafe) floor space should each carry substantial weight against the acceptability of these changes.

  • A new regulatory requirement in all new residential buildings over 18 metres wef Sept 2026. We do not sympathise as the Greencoat House development is too high - it should not be over 18 metres. That said, there are many better (more discreet, less visible) ways of incorporating the staircase.

The CAAC was strongly opposed to this development from the outset because of its excessive mass & scale (up to nine storeys), inferior design & inappropriate colour palette & finishes. In particular
1) the over-branding of the building (‘The Rex’) including cheap plastic internally lit signage;
2) garish double-height main entrance to the northern flank;
3) inappropriate blue-coloured tiling & other cladding to the ground & first floor elevations throughout;
4) insensitive patterned brickwork covering the northern facade.

As we have pointed out before, this is a landmark site at the northern gateway to the Town which demands a building of the highest quality & yet ‘The Rex’ development fails comprehensively to deliver. These latest amendments exacerbate our concerns & will increase harm to the numerous surrounding heritage assets such as the setting of neighbouring Castle Street.