DD146 Assessing the Environmental Statement accompanying the planning application at 1 Portal Way, North Acton

Background and context

Imperial College London (ICL) have submitted a hybrid planning application (part full/part outline) for redevelopment of the site at 1 Portal Way for the construction of up to seven buildings to provide up to 1,325 residential units, 384 co-living units and c.30,000 sq.m of commercial floorspace in buildings of up to 56 storeys (227.75 metres). An Environmental Statement (ES) has been submitted with the application in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

The proposal and how it will be delivered

OPDC were engaged in pre-application discussions with ICL and the London Borough of Ealing (LBE) since March 2021. The planning application was submitted on 28 October 2021. Under the Scheme of Delegation agreed between OPDC and LBE, planning applications in North Acton have historically generally been delegated to LBE for determination. However, in this instance a decision was made on 10 November 2021 that OPDC should retain the submitted planning application for its own determination. The planning application was validated on the 18 November 2021 and the statutory determination target date is 9 March 2022.

As the decision for OPDC to determine this application was only made on submission of the planning application, there was no opportunity to procure environmental consultants ahead of the receipt, validation and start of consultation on the planning application. In the interests of ensuring value for money, officers have sought quotes from three sets of consultants and received two fee proposals. The third consultant is unable to act on OPDC’s behalf due to a conflict of interest.

The appointment of external consultants is required to assist OPDC in undertaking a robust assessment of the ES submitted in support of the planning application, which identifies a range of environmental impacts in relation to the proposed development, in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017. OPDC does not possesses the necessary expertise in-house to deal with all the technical environmental matters raised by a proposal of this scale and complexity.

The main duties of the appointed environmental consultants will be to:

• Undertake a technical assessment of the ES on OPDC’s behalf and produce a report on the robustness of the methodology and significance of the environmental effects including the appropriateness of any mitigation measures proposed by the Applicant.
• Advise on the compliance of the ES with the procedural requirements of the EIA Regulations 2017.
• Prepare a request for further information under Regulation 25 of the EIA Regulations 2017 (if necessary).
• Assist OPDC’s negotiations with the Applicant, liaise with the Applicant their consultant team, assist with the drafting of comments on the EIA for inclusion in the Planning Committee report and the drafting of conditions and the Section 106 legal agreement (as required).
  

The appointment of external consultants is required to assist OPDC in providing a robust assessment of the Environmental Statement submitted in support of the application, which identifies a range of environmental impacts in relation to the proposed development, in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

The use of external consultants provides the additional expertise necessary to ensure that the decisions issued by OPDC are robust and are less susceptible to legal challenge. Legal challenges could result in delays to the delivery of development on this key site with implications for the delivery of mixed-use development within the North Acton and Acton Wells area. The input would also help to expedite the assessment of the Environmental Statement and timely determination of the planning application.

Consultants with recent experience of these issues in the OPDC area are required to provide the necessary expertise and ensure OPDC meets its statutory duty to respond to requests in time. The expenditure on external consultants for this work is expected to be up to a maximum of £25,000. This cost will be funded by the applicant. A written undertaking to meet these costs will be secured from the applicant.

Strategic fit

OPDC’s Post Submission Modified Draft Local Plan (PSMDLP) Place Policy 7 (North Acton and Acton Wells) supports the delivery of 6,200 new jobs and minimum of 8,000 new homes in this part of the OPDC area. Early delivery of 5,250 new homes is identified within the first ten years of the plan period.

1 Portal Way is an allocated site within the PSMDLP and the proposed development of up to 1,325 residential units, 384 co-living units and c.30,000 sq.m of commercial floorspace represents a significant opportunity for delivery of PSMDLP objectives.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, OPDC must have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to the need to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. 

Securing appropriate environmental advice in relation to the 1 Portal Way planning application will contribute to the delivery of the regeneration objectives for Old Oak and Park Royal, as set out in the Opportunity Area Planning Framework and the draft OPDC Local Plan.

Project governance and assurance

This work will be overseen by the Principal Planner, who is also the Case Officer on the planning application. Duties will include instructing and liaising with the consultants, reviewing their draft findings, and issuing the final report to the applicant.

Risks and issues

The contract will be managed in accordance with OPDC standard contract management procedures. If consultants are not appointed to assist with the work, there is a risk that the environmental assessment would not be sufficiently robust owing to the wide range of technical environmental issues that need to be addressed. There may also be delays in undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the planning application whilst issues are resolved. Delays in appointing consultants, and consequential failure to determine the planning application in a timely manner, could lead to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on grounds of non-determination.

Other considerations

Consultations and impact assessments

The planning application and Environmental Statement will be subject to public consultation in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure Order) 2015.



Sustainability

The Environmental Statement includes detailed consideration of issues related to Climate Change.

Conflicts of interest

No one involved in the preparation or clearance of this Form, or its substantive proposal, has any conflict of interest

The expenditure of up to £25,000 will be incurred by OPDC in the first instance and recovered in full from the applicant.

Officer(s) should ensure an agreement to recover the costs is in place with the applicant prior to making contractual commitments with the supplier. The applicant should be invoiced in a timely manner to reduce the risk to the Corporation