The Hoddesdon Society
Charity No 234800
Application made for in principle permission for 39 unit block and approval of plans for four 3-bed on existing car park
Plans were originally submitted in June 2021 for in principle permission to build five residential units on the car parking area behind the former Police station. A full submission has now been made for permission to build four units in the same location and asking for outline permission for the demolition of the existing Police Station building and the erection of 39 residental flats.
The amended proposal for the smaller block seems to be for four three bedroom units (see links below to PDFs of the application and drawings showing what the building will look like) - although the Design and Access Statement is full of references to 2-bed properties (which seem to be left over from the original submission). The building will have a white render finish and grey roof tiles, and is more in the style of a town house than the previous design (as a third floor "attic style" bedroom with dormer windows is added). The first design seemed more elegant a building, but there is nothing particularly objectionable about the changes.
There are no drawings or proposals of what the large building will be - all we know is that it will be a block containing 39 units, and access is to be from the High Street. We would say that in principle permission should not be given where there is no information about what the building might look like (and where it will be such a significant size for the area and its position).
Policy HOD3 (relating specifically to the former Hoddesdon Police Station site) specifies that "Development proposals should conserve and enhance the Conservation Area and the setting of the nearby listed buildings, and make a positive contribution to the street scene appropriate to this prominent site on the approach to Hoddesdon Town Centre" - we cannot comment either way as to whether the larger block will achieve this.
We note also that these proposals have more units than anticipated. The Local Plan anticipated the whole site to accommodate 30 new dwellings in total.
There are fewer car parking spaces than the Local Plan guidelines suggest. There are 4 spaces proposed for the 4-unit block.
The guidelines in the Local Plan for parking provision says that new residential developments should have 2 car parking spaces per 2-bedroom dwelling. However, there is flexibility, and the Council is also able to seek a sensible balance of car and cycle places - the Local Plan notes that too much parking provision promotes car usage at the expense of sustainable transport. The proximity of this location to Broxbourne Station and Hoddesdon High Street generally may mean that the Council will be prepared to accept fewer than the 8 spaces suggested by the Guidelines.
Provision for electric vehicle charging should also be made (Policy TM4) and 1 cycle space per unit should also be provided for if there is no garage or shed. It is not clear if either has been catered for.
Please get in touch if you have any comments.
Key documents:
25 May 2021