A Central London site could soon be demolished to make way for 144 new homes and a new adult social care housing.
Westminster City Council has applied to turn 291 Harrow Road and 1-2 Elmfield Way into an “exemplary residential led mixed use development” offering a range of affordable and market-rate flats as well as “state-of-the-art” adult social care accommodation.
The proposal, which is before the council’s Planning Committee, could boost the number of adult social care homes on that site from the current five to 24. It also includes 48 affordable homes and 72 units at market rate.
The council wants to construct these flats in three separating buildings varying from 5 to 15 storeys and include an indoor sports facility and commercial space, the application shows.
Architects Carter Gregson Gray said the redevelopment “provides a significant opportunity for community regeneration and place making in the borough, and to create much needed high-quality homes for an ever growing population”.
They added: “The brief also includes the delivery of a new state-of-the-art adult social care building to replace the existing provision on the site.”
The development will be car-free but there will be some parking provision for adult social care users.
Critics say the plans amount to an “overdevelopment” of residential land and warn it could lead to a loss of daylight for neighbouring properties. They said the tall buildings will create a “wind tunnelling impact” and claim they weren’t properly consulted by Westminster City Council.
They also shared concerns about the impact on the future redevelopment of the local medical centre.
Westminster City said it had no plans to redevelop the Woodfield Road medical practice. It said though the development would be tall and bulky, it would result in “relationships to neighbouring properties seen elsewhere in the Carlton Gate development and Westminster”.
They wrote: “While these percentage losses to daylight and sunlight are significant and will be noticeable to neighbouring residents, this is acceptable in this urban context.
“Officers consider that the design, siting and orientation of the buildings, which has responded to good urban design, has sought to break up the mass as far as reasonably practicable, to limit the harm to neighbouring property.”
They said the development offers a number of “very substantial” public benefits such as a new community space, a roof garden, cycle parking and as well as a modern sports facility.
There will also be an increase in affordable and adult social care homes. Building A will extend to 15 storeys and reach a height of 46m, containing 72 residential units at market rate.
Building B would run five storeys high with a height of 18m and provide 24 adult social care flats a roof garden only accessible to residents. Building C will extend to 10 storeys at a height of 34m and provide 48 residential units for social rent and “intermediate” prices.
The proposal includes 75 two-bedroom homes, which makes up the majority (53per cent) of the development. There are also plans for 26 three-bedroom (18pc) flats and 42 one-bed flats (29pc).
The site currently consists of five adult social care flats and an outdoor play court. Westminster City Council owns much of the site being proposed for redevelopment.
The Westminster Planning Committee will consider the application on Tuesday, July 8.
Adrian Zorzut is a Senior Local Democracy Reporter covering Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and the City of London. A contributor to Harrow Online, his reporting focuses on local government, housing, planning, transport and public policy, helping residents understand the decisions and issues affecting their communities.
