Planning Application: 9 Gaynesford Road

A planning application has been submitted to convert the Red House on Gaynesford Road into six flats. You can read the details of the application here, or search for DC/14/88509 at http://planning.lewisham.gov.uk/online-applications/


Below is the text of the response from the Forest Hill Society:

I would like to object to the above application on behalf of the Forest Hill Society.

This application is to make substantial changes to the main house built by Ted Christmas which is an important Heritage Asset in the local area.  We appreciate that this building needs an appropriate alternative use but we would wish that this is done in a way that is sensitive to the character and appearance of the existing building.

We understand that proposals are to be brought forward by the Council for a Conservation Area covering Gaynesford Road and the Christmas houses.  With this in mind it would be premature to give permission for changes to this building until this is confirmed OR the applicant should agree to treating the application as if it were in a Conservation Area already and submit an appropriate heritage assessment.

The changes will alter the property in a way that will harm its heritage significance.

In particular the replacement windows (it is not set out why these are required or whether they will be timber or another material), loss of key interior features and other elements of the proposals are unacceptable.

The internal circulation within the proposals does not respond to the character of the house with some flats not having access from the main entrance and needing to gain access by walking past the bedroom windows of other ground floor flats quite some way around the building.  This has an impact in terms of the rear garden not being private and for the use of residents and also being accessible by visitors.

The sizes of some of the units are below those set out in the London Plan Housing SPG.