PENTAVIA Proposed Redevelopment A Call to Action
Please Read and Act Now Share this with your friends and family in our Mill Hill Community
JANUARY 2019
Proposed Redevelopment of Pentavia Retail Park, Mill Hill, London NW7 When we all moved to Mill Hill, the big factors in our decision process were low-rise homes built for families, large open green spaces, its proximity to Central London and that it offered a safe environment with good schools etc.
Your solicitor will have done a “search” on your behalf and the LOCAL Plan adopted 11th September 2012 (The Core Strategy is a Development Plan Document (DPD) setting out the long-term spatial vision and strategic objectives for the Local Planning Authority area,) will have informed you of Barnet’s “Suburban Character”. This
document at 10.2.15 goes on to say that “In order to protect and enhance Barnet’s distinctive character the
Development Management Policies DPD provides policy to clarify the key considerations that new design should adhere to. This policy framework for our residential suburbs is supported by our Residential Design Guidance SPD23 which, within the context of the six secondary typologies identified in the Characterisation Study, provides design guidelines for those places with a consistent and coherent architectural character, and design guidance for places where further flatted development will not detract from prevailing character.” Map 8 of the Local Plan, registers existing “tall buildings” (8 storeys or 26 metres high) and important “local views”. One such view is from the Mill Field on the Ridgeway, noted as view A on Map 8 – The proposed development at Pentavia is right in this view line and would destroy it. The Local plan goes on to state where Barnet may permit further tall buildings, and the site at Pentavia is definitely not included in the list of appropriate locations.
We should all be able to rely on this statutory and strategic planning guidance to safeguard us from unwanted developments that alter the very fabric of our neighbourhood!
Further there was a site specific “Design Brief” prepared by the Council in 2016 and it states that “this site is elevated above the surrounding area, it is visible from a number of locations including Mill Hill Village and the Watling Estate, as well as a number of parks and recreation areas. For this reason, any proposed redevelopment incorporating blocks of 4 to 7 storeys is likely to be quite visible. The design must not appear overbearing on the Barnet skyline nor to adjoining residential areas, and as noted previously must give full and due consideration.”
The Colindale Area Action Plan and subsequently the Grahame Park Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), provided very specific guidance on building design over the Motorway and Railway tracks from Pentavia, which site as noted is considerably higher anyway, than for example the ground level along Grahame Park Way.
The proposed developments at Pentavia will tower over these new homes and the surrounding areas of Mill Hill. If we generously suggest that the current building is the equivalent of 3 storeys, then the new building as proposed would reach up to the very top of the picture on the right above. The new properties at Trinity Square NW9(bottom right) have been correctly built as set out in the SPD and range from 3 to 5 storey in height.
https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/g9541/Public%20reports%20 pack%2025th-Jul-2018%2019.00%20Planning%20Committee.pdf?T=10
SUGGESTED REASONS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR LETTER
When writing to the Mayor of London to object to this scheme, you might “pick & mix” from the points tabled below in no particular order, in your “own words”, please
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The air quality assessment is sparse in respect of actual data of on-site conditions and relies on modelling. The noise and air quality mitigating measures are not enough to ensure quality residential provision. Keeping windows locked shut is untenable. An assessment of the Air Quality issues that will result from this development for surrounding communities has not been provided. Over 25% of habitable rooms within the proposal would not meet BRE target light values Noise levels were monitored over 5 days in July 2015 – this is unlikely to be the appropriate timing due to summer holidays. The amenity space on roofs will have significant noise and air quality issues, so not usable. The very limited number of parking spaces will apparently be charged at £75 per month on top of the rent for each flat. This will encourage residents to park off-site in already highly congested residential side roads, rather than paying this additional charge. Vehicles (including cycles) exiting the development must travel north along the A1/A41 to the already heavily congested Mill Hill Circus, that was deemed to urgently need redesigning to improve traffic flow; but this scheme due to have been implemented by now, has been cancelled by the Mayor of London/TfL Barnet Council’s Local Plan specifically states where “tall buildings” (8 storeys & above) can be built across the Borough. This is not one of those designated sites and therefore the scheme is not policy compliant. The Council’s Design Brief for how the site should be developed, has been totally ignored. “Truly affordable housing” is not being provided by the scheme. There are 598 flats currently available to rent in NW7 and the immediate surrounding area, according to Zoopla – clearly there is not the demand for this development. Mill Hill is already expected to increase in population terms between 2011 and 2030 by 50%, without the addition of this development. The supporting infrastructure (medical facilities, schooling, road, bus, rail links) cannot cope now. Local roads including Bunns Lane & Grahame Park Way are heavily used today and often gridlocked at peak times. They simply cannot cope with any more traffic. The density of dwellings per hectare is equivalent to a site with excellent public transport links in a Central London Urban setting. This site is in a PTAL 1b location where the density recommended is 1/3rd of that proposed. The Height, Massing and Density of dwellings proposed in this scheme is not policy compliant. The scheme fails to provide the required sensitivity to local context where all properties are for families in low-rise buildings. The impact of the height scale and mass of the proposed scheme would wreck designated site-lines from the Mill Field on the Ridgeway Mill Hill, and from Sunnyfields Park across to Harrow.
Please write now to the Mayor of London giving your views on this planning application. Email: mayor@london.gov.uk with copies to jules.pipe@london.gov.uk lisa.price@london.gov.uk and please cc millhill_nf@btinternet.com You can alternatively write a letter addressed to the : Mayor of London, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/MillHillForum/ WEBSITE : http://millhillforum.org.uk “Produced in conjunction with Mill Hill Residents’ Association and Mill Hill Preservation Society” Published on behalf of Mill Hill Neighbourhood Forum by :Arc Media Group NW7 Jan 2019