Publication from Siân Berry: Letter to Southwark Council objecting to Kingston Estate infill plan

Dear Ms McGovern

Re: Planning application for Richmond House, Kingston Estate, East Street, London SE17 2DU, Ref 21/AP/3140

Constituents from the Kingston Estate have contacted me to raise their many concerns about this planning application. In particular, they highlight the following issues:

1. Average Daylight Factor and Vertical Sky Component

The officer’s report for this application is clear that the proposed building will have a detrimental impact to the amount of daylight and sunlight the residents receive who live in Everett House. If approved, 28 per cent of the windows within Everett House will not comply with BRE guidance in terms of VSC as a result of the proposed development. Over half of those windows affected would experience loss of light of more 30 per cent.

Meanwhile, the new building itself does not comply with BRE guidance for Average Daylight Factor (ADF) with 14 per cent of the rooms being below the minimums required.

2. Loss of green space and trees

Residents informed me that the communal green space outside Everett House where this new building is proposed serves around 88 families. On my visit to the area I could see for myself how well used the space is, especially the allotments that currently grace this site – allotments that will be lost if this application is approved. As the coronavirus pandemic has made clear, the mental and physical benefits of green space are invaluable, particularly for residents like these who live in flats. Building over these this ‘front garden’ would have a negative impact on wellbeing.

Furthermore, the new homes being proposed would, as the officer report states: “benefit from both private front and rear gardens, with the rear gardens alone ranging from 12 to 19 sq. m. […] The development would not provide any new communal amenity space.”

3. Privacy and separation distance

The officer’s report for this application also states that the separation distances between Everett House and the proposed L-shaped building are too narrow, with the smallest gap being just 6.1m, rising to 10m and then to 18m (which is the distance between windows). Southwark Council’s own guidance on distances in the 2015 Technical Update to the Residential Design Standards SPD 2011 requires a minimum of 21m. The new building fails to achieve that from any angle.

For all the reasons outlined above, I urge you to not approve this application, along with those applications linked to it.

Yours sincerely,

Sian Berry

Green Party Member of the London Assembly

cc: Cllr Kath Whittam (Chair), Planning Sub-Committee A

Cllr Adele Morris (Vice-Chair), Planning Sub-Committee A

Cllr Maggie Browning, Planning Sub-Committee A

Cllr Sunil Chopra, Planning Sub-Committee A

Cllr Richard Leeming, Planning Sub-Committee

Cllr Martin Seaton, Planning Sub-Committee A

Cllr Jane Salmon, Planning Sub-Committee A