Plans to add six flats above Mowbray House on Edgware Way, beside the A41 Watford bypass at the junction with Broadfields Avenue, have been turned down.
Barnet Council refused the application on 9 September. The scheme would have replaced the building’s shallow pitched roof with an extra floor containing six one-bedroom flats, each designed for one person.
The decision came down to missing evidence about how the building was being used on 5 March 2018. The applicant needed to establish this to show that the proposal qualified under the permitted development rules used for the application.
Why were the plans refused?
Council records showed that permission was granted in 2012 for part of the first floor to be used as offices and a Talmudical Research Centre with associated public worship.
Officers said the office use qualified under the relevant rules, but the religious research and worship element did not. They also stressed that the earlier permission did not prove what activities were actually taking place on the date that mattered.
The council asked for further evidence, but said no tenancy agreements, business rates records or other documents demonstrating a qualifying use had been submitted.
No neighbours responded during consultation, despite letters being sent to 56 nearby properties.
Officers found the proposed design acceptable. The additional floor would have been set back from the front, with grey zinc cladding and a flat roof. Parking at the rear would have been reduced from 19 spaces to 17 to make room for cycle parking and bin storage.
Environmental health officers raised concerns about noise and smells affecting future residents, including from existing commercial flues. These were not the formal reason for refusal.
The applicant argued in its supporting statement that providing six more homes would help address the housing shortage.
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