Developers facing battle to deliver new homes on sliver of Bloomsbury

Published: 19th May, 2011
PROPERTY NEWS by DAN CARRIER

IT was once a milk bottling factory and for a time was a pop-up art gallery, hosting shows by trendy New York graffiti types.

Now a small sliver of land squashed between historic Bloomsbury Square Gardens and a Georgian terrace could be turned into a housing and business complex.

Tonight (Thursday) councillors on the Town Hall’s planning committee will be asked to decide whether or not to approve the plans, put forward by developers WX Investments, which have been criticised for being too large. 

Previous applications for the site, including proposals for a hotel with an arts club and restaurant and five new homes, were withdrawn after council officers said the they were too bulky. 

The Friends of St George’s Gardens and Regent Square Residents Association groups have both submitted formal objections to the plan, which would mean eight new homes as well as space for businesses. They say the scheme is simply too large for the site.

In a letter to the planning committee, the Friends of St George’s Gardens, said: “This is an over-development of a modest sliver of land and results in a severe detrimental impact on the setting and enjoyment of St George’s Gardens.” 

They added that they fear balconies on the flats would mean the Gardens would suffer from noise disturbance.

The Regent Square Residents Association believe the five proposed blocks, which will sit in space at the end of gardens in the Georgian Square, would “loom large” in views from their homes, block their sight of the Gardens, and be “excessively dominant”. 

They say there are a  number of other design issues with the scheme that must be resolved and that a promised Section 106 agreement was not strong enough. 

The group added: “There are too may disadvantages from this proposal and only vague unquantified offers for affordable housing with no other community benefits for local residents.”

And English Heritage say that if a new basement is built beneath the land – which would be used for businesses – there must be a thorough archaeological survey first. 

Planning expert Michael Fox, who works for design firm Tibbalds who have put the scheme together, said they had worked closely with Camden Council’s planning officers. 

Mr Fox said: “This is a difficult site to work with but it is also unique. One of the key issues is to make more efficient use of the space.”

The homes will sit on top of office space and also bookend it.

Mr Fox said that the site was surrounded by listed buildings and minimising the impact that any new homes or offices had on St George's Gardens was paramount in their design. 

He added: “We have spoken at length to both planning officers and residents associations and while there is no getting away from the fact it will be bigger than what is there now, it meets all planning standards. It will provide jobs and housing in a contemporary design.”