London Borough of Waltham Forest Waltham Forest Council London

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Our ref. TE/B0100/20

05 November 2020

London Borough of Waltham Forest

Environment and Regeneration

Waltham Forest Council

London

E17 4JF

Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for planning permission for the conversion of the property to a single dwelling

35 Forest Drive West, London E11 1JZ

Planning Portal ref. PP-09175892

Planning Statement, including Design & Access Statement

An application for planning permission for the conversion of 35 Forest Drive West from 4 flats into a

single family dwelling has been submitted today via the Planning Portal.

This application comprises the following documents:

• Application form

• This covering letter (the planning, design and access statement)

• Site location plan

• Existing and proposed plans and elevations

A fee for the sum of £462 has been paid electronically.

Context

Originally built as a single family home, for a number of decades the property has been subdivided into

multiple flats. My client – the applicants – have recently purchased the building following a pre-

application enquiry with the Council, and wish to convert the building back into use as a single family

home.

The existing property is currently arranged as 4 flats, all under one title, however there is uncertainty

as to whether the lawful use of the building is 3 or 4 flats. Nevertheless, the enclosed ‘existing’ plans

show the building laid out as 4 flats because that is the current arrangement.




However, in May 2019 a Certificate of Existing Lawful Use or Development application was refused

which sought to confirm the building’s lawful use as 4 flats instead of 3.

The building is not listed and does not lie in a Conservation Area.

A number of Borough-wide Article 4 Directions cover the property which restrict the following

changes of use:

• B1(c) light industrial to C3 dwellinghouses

• A1 shops to A2 financial and professional services, A3 restaurants, C3 dwellinghouses, or D2

assembly and leisure uses

• B1(a) offices to C3 dwellinghouses

• C3 dwellinghouses to C4 HMOs

It should be noted that following the recent changes to the Use Classes Order the new Class E use

subsumes a number of these uses.

35 Forest Drive West (Copyright: Google)

Planning History

As mentioned above, in May 2019 a Certificate of Existing Lawful Use or Development application was

refused (ref. 190972) which sought to confirm the building’s lawful use as 4 flats instead of 3.

In May 1966 planning permission was granted (ref. 610335) for alterations and additions.

Permission was approved (ref. 540136) in August 1954 for the conversion of two flats into three flats.

The Proposal

It is proposed to convert the property back into use as a single family dwelling, amalgamating 4 units

(3 of them lawful) into a house in the process. Internally the property will be remodelled and

refurbished throughout.




Externally at the rear of the property at ground floor level it is proposed to install new bifold doors

and new French doors. To facilitate this a small outbuilding, which is physically joined to the main

building, will be demolished.

No changes are proposed at the front. Existing vehicular access and hardstanding is retained.

Discussion

Principle of conversion

Core Strategy Policy CS2 states:

“The Council will facilitate sustainable housing growth by maximising the number of quality homes in

the Borough by resisting the unjustified net loss of residential accommodation.”

However, the supporting text goes on to state at paragraphs 5.13 and 5.14 (my emphasis):

“Whilst the Council recognises the importance of creating new homes to meet the housing target, it

is also important to protect against the loss of existing homes to other uses. The loss of housing in the

Borough would worsen the Borough's housing shortfall and homes lost through redevelopment, change

of use or conversion would further widen the gap between supply and demand. Therefore, the Council

will seek to ensure that existing homes remain in residential use and any further loss is resisted.

The net loss of residential accommodation is justified where a) smaller units are combined to create

a larger home(s) b) where residential use is no longer compatible with the surrounding environment

c) an overriding need for an alternative use can be demonstrated and d) a loss of housing is necessary

to ensure better quality homes and facilitate housing regeneration. Therefore, other than when the

above criteria apply, the net loss of housing is unjustified.”

Development Management Policy DM2 expands, stating:

“The Council will only permit the redevelopment, conversion or changes of use of land or buildings

involving the net loss of residential accommodation where … proposals seek to combine separate

units within the original house in order to create a larger family (3 bed or more) home(s) which meet

the space standards set out in table 8.1;

At the same time, Development Plan policies do not permit the conversion of a larger home into

smaller units. This is because larger family-sized homes are in demand in the Borough and need to be

retained.

Whilst planning permission is required, Policies CS2 and DM2 permit the amalgamation of flats into a

single family dwelling under certain conditions, especially where the building was originally built for

that purpose.

In this instance the building was originally built as a single dwelling and would be well suited to that

purpose. The building is large, architecturally well-suited to the conversion, and is located on a

residential street that is suburban in character. It is ideally suited to be converted back to a family

home.




With regards to the Policy, the proposal would create a 5-bedroom family-sized home – a type of

dwelling that is specifically encouraged by Policy and a type of stock which seeks to be retained.

It is also noted that the policies in the emerging draft Local Plan continue with the same broad content

as the current adopted Development Plan policies in allowing smaller units to be amalgamated to form

larger 3+ bedroom family homes, and to protect family-sized dwellings from conversion and

subdivision.

Finally, the principle of conversion of this property back into use as a single family-sized dwelling has

been confirmed by the Council at the pre-application stage. The advice states:

“The proposal is to convert the existing one-bedroom flats back into a single family dwelling, being the

original use of the dwelling. As such, in accordance with Policies CS2 and DM2, the net loss of

residential accommodation would be justified in this instance. To ensure compliance with Policy DM2,

the space standards set out in Policy DM7 (Table 8.1) must be achieved.

The conversion of four flats into one single family dwelling would constitute a material change of use

and would therefore require planning permission.”

Standard of accommodation

As a single family-sized home, the accommodation comfortably exceeds the minimum standards for a

5-bedroom house as set out at the national level by the ‘Technical housing standards – nationally

described space standards’, the Mayor’s ‘London Housing Design Guide’, and at the Local Level by

Policy DM7.

It should also be noted that this application proposes a conversion only and no extensions are

proposed, the scheme is working with the existing built form of the property including staircases and

supporting walls.

The proposal exceeds the Mayor’s and the Council’s minimum sizes for bedrooms as shown on the

proposed plan: the 4 double bedrooms are significantly larger than the 12sqm minimum, and bedroom

5 (the smallest, a single) is 8.8sqm again exceeding the minimum of 8sqm set out by Policy DM7 and

table 8.1 and 8.2.

The pre-application advice letter sought clarification on how the loft space and cellar space would be

used. As shown on the proposed plans, these existing spaces will be used as a study and as the cellar,

respectively.

The proposed accommodation is in accordance with policy and adopted standards.

Design – external changes

Alterations are proposed at the rear at ground floor level to install new bifold doors and new French

doors, in association with the use of the property being a family-sized dwelling and the need to have

a open plan kitchen/dining space which leads out to the garden.

Visually the rear elevation will be improved and tidied up, with the levels of windows and doors aligned

and using high quality uniform materials in terms of their colour and appearance. The rear ground

floor elevation will be improved as a result of the proposals, and the function of the new dwelling

significantly improved and enhanced.




Access Statement

No changes to the existing access arrangements to the application site is proposed.

Amended access from the property to the rear garden is proposed in the form of newly installed bifold

doors and French doors.

Summary

The proposed amalgamation of 4 flats (3 of them lawful) at 35 Forest Drive West into a single family

home accords with Core Strategy Policy CS2 and Development Management Policy DM2 on the basis

that the property was originally built as a single dwelling and the building is well suited to this new use.

A good standard of accommodation and internal residential amenity can be easily achieved in

accordance with the Government’s, the Mayor’s, and the Council’s prescribed space standards.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any further information.

Yours faithfully,

Tom Edmunds MPlan MRTPI

Consultant

[email protected]

FOREST DRIVE WEST

JAMES LANE

FOREST ROAD

LYNDHURST DRIVE

35

Reproduced with permission of Ordnance Survey.

Crown Copyright 2020

0 100 metres

SCALE

50

SITE LOCATION PLAN

1:1250

LIPINSKI PATESCHARTERED ARCHITECTS

151a, Battersea Rise, LONDON SW11 1HPTel: 020 7738 9127

E-mail: [email protected]

Scale:Date:

N

OCTOBER 2020

1616/05A

35, FOREST DRIVE WEST,LONDON E11 1JZ.

This drawing is prepared solely for design and planningsubmission purposes . It is not intended or suitable for either Building Regulations or Construction purposes and should not be used for such.All dimensions to be checked on site before work commences .Copyright reserved .

REV A14.11.2020

Notes regarding scale amended.

garage

35

FOREST DRIVE W

EST

JAMES LANE

37

29

60

0 10 20 30 40 50 metersSCALE

Date:Scale:

This drawing is prepared solely for design and planningsubmission purposes. It is not intended or suitable for either Building Regulations or Construction purposes and should not be used for such.All dimensions to be checked on site before work commences.Copyright reserved.

LIPINSKI PATESCHARTERED ARCHITECTS,

151a, Battersea Rise, London SW11 1HPTel: 020 7738 9127

e-mail: [email protected]


BLOCK PLAN

1:250 @ A3OCTOBER 2020

1616/04B

N

REV B14.11.2020





Scale:Date:

1616/01B

EXISTING FLOOR PLANS

1:50@A1 & 1:100@A3OCTOBER 2020


REV A03.11.2020

North point added.


REV B14.11.2020


0 1 5 metres

SCALE

CELLAR

CELLAR PLAN

KITCHEN

BATHROOM BATHROOM

KITCHEN

LIVING ROOM LIVING ROOM

BEDROOM BEDROOM

50.7 46

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

POOL

GARDEN

TERRACE

WC

FLAT 1FLAT 2

KITCHEN KITCHEN

LIVING ROOM

LIVING ROOM

BEDROOM

BEDROOM BATHROOM BATHROOM

DINING ROOM

69.736.2

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

loft acceshatch

DRESSING ROOM

FLAT 3

FLAT 4

STUDY

LOFT/ROOF PLAN

velux roofwindow

loft acces hatch &drop down ladder

N




Scale:Date:

1616/02D

EXISTING FLOOR PLANS

1:50@A1 & 1:100@A3OCTOBER 2020


REV A29.190.2020

Bathrooms option 2 omittedand minor revisions added.

REV B03.11.2020

Bedroom areas and north point added.

Drawing number correctedin title block.

REV C012.11.2020

Notes regarding scale amended.REV D14.11.2020


0 1 5 metres

SCALE

CELLAR

CELLAR PLAN

BEDROOM 5

8.8m2

BEDROOM 2

18.6m2

BEDROOM 3

17.4m2

BEDROOM 1

22m2

BATHROOM

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

loft acceshatch

BEDROOM 4

18.3m2

BATHROOM

KITCHEN DINER

35m2

SITTING ROOM

26m2

HOME OFFICE

9.7m2

50.7 46

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

POOL

GARDEN

TERRACE

UTILITY CLOAKROOM

new window new bifolding doors

new french doors

POOLTERRACE

STUDY

LOFT/ROOF PLAN

velux roofwindow

loft acces hatch &drop down ladder

N




Scale:Date:

1616/03A

EXISTING & PROPOSED REAR ELEVATION

1:50@A1 & 1:100@A3OCTOBER 2020


REV A14.11.2020


Notes regarding scale amended.Adjoining properties indicated.

0 1 5 metres

SCALE

MATERIALS:New doors: Aluminium grey powder coated.New window: Aluminium grey powder coated

EXISTING REAR ELEVATION

PROPOSED REAR ELEVATIONnew french doors new bifolding doors new window

No 35No 33 No 37

No 35No 33 No 37

London Borough of Waltham Forest Waltham Forest Council London

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