Controversial Roof Extension Plans Look Set to Be Approved
Consent recommended for extra floor to be added to Churchdale Court
Churchdale Court, Chiswick
A campaign by residents of a block of flats in Chiswick to stop the conversion of their roofspace into more flats may have been in vain.
Hounslow Council planners are recommending that permission be given to Stoll Construction to add four residential units on top of the existing building at Churchdale Court on Harvard Road.
They conclude in their report to be presented to the borough planning committee on 6 August, “The proposal provides a good standard of accommodation which would preserve the character and appearance of the Wellesley Road Conservation Area and the locally listed buildings, and would not harm neighbours’ living conditions.”
They also noted that the scheme would halve site-wide carbon dioxide emissions reduction against the building regulations baseline.
Residents launched a petition against the proposal and 42 objections were lodged against the application including one from the West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society which stated, “Our objections relate to quality of accommodation, impact on residents of existing flats and impact
on the Locally Listed building and the Wellesley Road Conservation Area.”
The building is located within the Wellesley Road Conservation Area contains two, three storey rectangular shaped blocks. One block fronts onto Grosvenor Road and the other onto Harvard Road. The two blocks are brick built with red clay tile hung front bays.
There have been a series of previous attempts to add more flats to Churchdale Court dating back to 2013. These were either refused or withdrawn.
The petition against the plan stated, “Stoll Construction have, yet again, applied for planning permission to put another floor on our homes at Churchdale Court, Harvard Road W4 4EE They are using the cover of a Global pandemic to try and slip through unnoticed. This building is Locally Listed building by Hounslow Council and in a Conservation Area. The work proposed directly contravenes both of these local aspects, Previous Planning appeals have eventually been refused for many reasons, Conservation and aesthetics amongst them but also the considerable disruption to the current residents.”
Members of the council planning committee will vote on the scheme at the meeting and it is unusual for an officer’s recommendation to be ignored.
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August 2, 2020