Just 79 days after Croydon Council received HUB’s planning application for the Taberner House site, its planning committee has granted consent for the major residential-led scheme.
Four towers of between 12 and 35 storeys are included which will provide a total of 514 residential units. The provision of 35% affordable housing would have helped both planning officers and their committee in coming to a decision in just 11 weeks.
The 35% affordable housing included in the plan and the speediness of the decision making process will be welcomed by the Greater London Authority, which published its Supplementary Planning Guidance on Affordable Housing in November 2016. The main premise was a two-tier system, with a fast-tracked process for schemes that met a 35% affordable housing requirement.
EG data reveals the average length between submission of plans and their eventual approval for schemes of more than 500 units currently stands at 40 weeks. This does not include those that have been submitted but are yet to be approved. That is another 12 schemes which average 43 weeks and running in the planning system, with still no decision.
Steve Sanham, managing director of HUB, said: “The key to success with moving Taberner House forward has been the extensive and very early engagement with the council’s planning team, which we have collaborated very closely with to agree the planning approach. Croydon has a very skilled and motivated planning and placemaking team on board that from the very start has been very available and proactive in their engagement.
“I think our approach of openness in all interactions with Croydon helped us to quickly established a relationship built on trust, which helped keep the momentum and made the decision process much easier.”
Heather Cheesbrough, director of planning and strategic transport at Croydon Council, said: “Croydon Council’s planning team recognises the importance of swift determinations and works in partnership with developers to facilitate high-quality and deliverable schemes through clear pre-application processes.
“HUB has been a responsive applicant demonstrating early acceptance of affordable housing requirements and the need to provide a quality design solution to address the challenging site context. Taberner House is a key development in the ongoing regeneration of Croydon.”
Although this particular proposal has been particularly quick through the planning process, the site itself has been a long time coming. A previous consent from 2014, submitted by the Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle, a 50:50 joint venture with John Laing, fell apart. Originally the scheme proposed 420 homes, with just 15% affordable. This was then doubled to 30% in revised plans.
To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette
