News on Selsdon Road

Thank you to all those who have commented on the proposals for Selsdon Road. We have reviewed these and our responses to the main comments received to date are provided below:

Scale and size of development

Several residents raised concerns regarding the size of the development being proposed. At the consultation event we showed a 4 storey block sitting behind 279-289 Selsdon Road with a mixture of nine 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom flats. Taking the comments on board, we will be removing 1 storey from the block, reducing it to 3 storeys in height which is more in keeping with the existing block of flats. The proposal will also be reduced to 8 flats, all affordable rent.

Some residents raised concerns over the design of the block, the final proposal will include a series of drawings and reports which we are continuing to develop and will be included as part of the planning application. These designs will be in line with current housing standards and improved where possible, as well as Croydon’s Suburban Housing Design Guide.

Thanks

Requirement for new homes

We understand that a number of local residents feel there is no need for new homes in the area. However, there is a significant demand for homes across every part of Croydon and the new draft London Plan has identified that Croydon needs to build 2,949 homes a year. It is important that homes are delivered in different parts of the borough to meet the local need in any given area of Croydon. In response to this Brick By Brick are looking at sites across the borough to deliver around 500 new homes each year, including the proposal for Selsdon Road.

Overlooking

Several residents from the existing block on Selsdon Road, Sunny Nook Gardens and Selsdon Ave have raised concerns of overlooking to their homes. The comments have been taken into account and we have increased the distance of the existing block and our proposed development from 14m to 18m. In order to avoid overlooking, the design of the building will have no windows directly in front of the windows of the existing block or facing the gardens on Sunny Nook Gardens.

The impact of the new development will be subject to daylight and sunlight impact assessments on the neighbouring properties which will be submitted as part of the planning application.

Parking & Road Safety

Croydon Council and Transport for London planning policy dictates a restrained approach to the provision of new car parking spaces in area with high public transport accessibility. We appreciate that parking is a concern for many residents and having undertaken parking stress surveys, we identified that there are local parking issues. We would like to reiterate that the new residents would not be entitled to a parking permit or allocated a parking space on site, this includes having access to the existing gate.

Using census data of car ownership in the area for residents living in the areas our consultants are able to forecast the number of additional cars expected as a result of the development proposals. Our consultants have also studied the lessees of the 3 garages on the sites and those using the garages for parking cars. One of the garages will be re-provided as a parking space in addition to the current parking spaces, making a total of 6 which will be for the existing residents only. We are proposing to improve the parking by increasing the distance between the blocks to provide more comfortable turning circles than the current situation allows. Further details will be set out in the Transport Statement which will be submitted with the planning application. This will need to satisfactorily meet the relevant policy requirements for parking and sustainable transport, including details and tracking for emergency vehicle and refuse vehicle access.

Communal facilities

A number of residents within the existing blocks raised existing issues with regards to refuse & rubbish facilities. From the consultation and site visits, we understand there is limited storage for bins and these are often overflowing. To address this we have provided properly sized bin stores to serve both the existing and new flats.

Some residents are supportive of enhancing the communal outdoor amenity areas such as improved lighting and a more usable green space. We note that a number of the residents use the outdoor drying spaces, but that some are broken. We will look to improve upon the strategic landscape proposals, including the drying facilities which will then be put forward alongside the planning submission.

Drainage

We understand there are concerns with drainage on site. Our engineers are investigating this and as part of any future planning application we have to ensure that site run-off rates are managed through the inclusion of sustainable urban drainage systems and attenuation tanks as necessary. These will be designed to ensure the development proposal does not increase pressure on the existing drainage network.

Brick By Brick

We note that a number of concerns have been raised regarding Brick By Brick’s relationship to Croydon Council particularly in relation to the planning process. We would like to invite you to read our recent post which explains more about who we are and our process of building homes in Croydon:

https://wearebrickbybrick.com/bxb-news/brick-by-brick-who-we-are-what-we-do-and-why-its-a-great-thing-for-croydon/

Next Steps

Brick By Brick will continue to review all the comments received to date, and where appropriate, we will work with the project teams to make amendments to the development proposals where it is feasible to do so, before submitting a planning application. We will post a news update if we submit a planning application and there will then be a further opportunity to review the plans and formally comment to the council as the Local Planning Authority via the council’s website https://publicaccess3.croydon.gov.uk/online-applications