No to Kenmure Manisions Development.

Locals have received a brochure which invites you on plans to redevelop Kenmure Mansions.

All the illustrations in the brochure and on the website are based on the same plans submitted last year to the Council in July 2019 and which were subsequently withdrawn in November 2019.  

Our very strong advice is do not complete the feedback form. No where in the feedback form are people asked if they are happy with the construction of an extra two storeys and a doubling of the apartments in Kenmure Mansion.  We consider that the form is biased: it asks people about detailed points of the project whilst not asking them explicitly whether they agree with the aim of the project, which is to add a further two storeys to the mansion block and double the number of apartments.

But if people don’t say anything, silence may be taken as consent to what is proposed. We therefore advise you to send you comments in an email to kenmuremansions@cicero-group.com.   If you would like to please copy it to PCA@pitshanger.org.uk

We objected to the original set of proposals last year.  Then our planning consultants and a planning QC advised us that our objections must be based on specific planning policy set out in the Mayor’s London Plan and Ealing’s equivalent, its Development Plan.  Our 2019 objection letter will be shortly up on our Facebook group and website.  

The PCA’s view in a nutshell is that we are not opposed to new housing in the area, but we consider strongly that:

·       the designs are contrary to both London’s and Ealing’s planning policy;

·       the development would lead to a vast overdevelopment of the site; and

·       result in a significant and permanent detrimental impact on the character of the area and the amenities available both to the proposed site, the businesses in the lane and to residents in neighbouring properties

We have other concerns – notably how can any developer thinks it can get away with asking people if they want more family homes, when the stairs in the existing building are already difficult for families and disabled people to use.  There is no facility for installing lifts thanks to the internal layout of the building.  We also think that the inclusion of

A meeting was held between Council’s Planning Officers and the applicant’s planning agent on 15 November 2019 to discuss the proposed additions to the Kenmure Mansions building.  At this meeting both the Council’s and residents’ concerns with the proposal were raised. After that meeting, the applicant formally requested withdrawal of the planning application.

If you want to email Cicero about this at kenmuremansions@cicero-group.com feel free to draw from this following outline.

The points to focus on are: 

·       Design and layout

·       Loss of daylight, sunlight and privacy of neighbours – see comment below

·       Long term viability of Pitshanger Lane

·       Concerns about installing cycle hangers in front of the building which will provide additional cycle storage for the local community – how this means that the cycle hangers are on the Pitshanger Lane high street. .

And keep your email short. 

For example:

·       Design/Layout: is the proposal in or out of keeping with the surrounding area – views on whether it overbears the surrounding area due to its height, scale and massing, would it unbalance the street scene, being hugely taller than the buildings on the north side of Pitshanger Lane, and with several of the frontages to the north of the Lane being locally listed

·       Your views on whether it would have an unnecessarily permanent negative impact on an important local asset, Pitshanger Lane.

·       There may be 2/3 bed homes proposed but how does this compare with there being no lifts and amenity space : would this make such a proposal unsuitable housing for families, which is the type of housing this borough needs;

·       Daylight/Sunlight: Additional two storeys would affect the lives of surrounding residents, ie those in Glencairn Drive, the ends of Queens Walk/Albert Terrace and on the North side of Pitshanger Lane. It will also affect adversely all the businesses in the Lane – thanks to reduced sunlight and a large shadow cast on the Lane

·       Construction Period: apparently the construction period will be a year, maybe two.

o   Question this – as there too many examples of major refurbishment exercises taking far longer than estimated.

o   Cicero has stated that the developers can demonstrate in the Building Management Plan that local businesses can continue to operate during the construction work and residents won’t be affected that adversely.  Ask them to put it up on the website for scrutiny.