The consultation on this local plan ended on 24 March. WBRA has made representations on the following aspects
- Beckenham needs a strong policy on Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). There have been several applications for HMOs over the last year or so, several in the High Street and one in Thayers Farm Road. The draft plan makes no mention of housing standards for HMOs and the plans we have seen submitted would subject the tenants to severe overcrowding, insufficient sanitary facilities and no communal amenity space. This is not good for the tenants or for any neighbours. In contrast Croydon has very strong planning and licensing policies for HMOs.
- We need stronger policies on the conversion of offices to flats in the town centre. There are several applications for conversions including Duncan House in Burnhill Road and those above Prezzos on the corner of that road and the High Street. The local plan’s section on employment says there will be significant increase in demand for offices but at present we are losing office space hand over fist as they are converted to flats.
- The sections on tall buildings and skyline need substantial strengthening. There should be additional points about not adding to height of existing buildings where they are already, or would become, out of keeping with their surroundings. This is of course of special interest to WBRA because of the Maunsell’s building on Elmers End Green which stuck out for miles around even before another two floors were added. It is a clear obstruction on the Skyline from the two so called protected views from Crystal Palace to Beckenham and from Village Way to Croydon.
- WBRAwould like to see a general condition on all planning applications in High Streets and parades of shops that the “party wall” must be dealt with in any refurbishment and not left as a “no man’s land” that is dirty, falling to bits and strewn with hanging cables. Also where shops are converted into flats with open “vestibules” for utility meters they should be designed not to be an eyesore. Many areas around our local parades look like a back street in Marrakesh because of this.