The Local Development Committee was scheduled to meet on 7 April 2025, to discuss a planning application and confirm the minutes from a previous meeting. Councillor James Beckles, Local Development Committee Chair, was scheduled to chair the meeting.

Planning Application for Land At 116 To 122 Barking Road

The committee was scheduled to consider a report regarding a planning application for Land At 116 To 122 Barking Road in Canning Town North.

The application, submitted by Ms Naila Qureshi, requests permission for:

Demolition of existing building and erection of seven-storey mixed-use building comprising of commercial (Class E) at basement and ground floor level and residential (Class E) at first to sixth floor levels, to provide 15x residential units (10x one-bedroom and 5x three-bedroom units).

The Director of Planning and Development recommended approval subject to the completion of a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990¹ and conditions. The report pack details several planning constraints relating to the site. These include its location within the Canning Town District Centre and a designated Employment Hub. It is also within a Park Deficiency Area, an Archaeological Priority Area, a Controlled Parking Zone, and an Air Quality Management Area.

The proposed development includes 350sqm of commercial floorspace at ground floor and basement level. The report notes that this aligns with both London and Newham policy, contributing to the vitality of Canning Town Town Centre and supporting its evolution from a District Centre to a Major Centre. The report also notes a concern that the floorspace could be used as Class E(e) (medical/health services) and Class E(f) crèche, day nursery or day centre). To mitigate this, a condition may be imposed to prevent the ground floor commercial floorspace from being used as Class E(e) and Class E(f).

The basement level is proposed for a gym/indoor fitness use, which is considered appropriate due to its limited need for natural light and the buffering effect of the commercial use and building entrance at ground floor level on noise impacts to the residential units above.

The report notes that the initial loss of existing commercial units is supported because it would be replaced with commercial floorspace of a higher quantity and quality. It also notes that the existing commercial floorspace comprises a pawnbrokers and a betting shop, and that the loss of these sui generis² uses to accommodate Class E uses is welcomed. The report states that the proposed development would positively contribute to the borough’s housing stock. The overall acceptability of the housing provision is subject to the proposed dwelling mix, quality of accommodation, and provision of affordable housing.

The report notes that the proposal is for the erection of a seven-storey building, which is considered a tall building as defined in policy SP4, and is therefore subjected to the restrictions set out within it. The application site is immediately adjacent to the Canning Town Tall Building Area; however, it not located within it. The report notes that the PTAL score of the application site is 6A indicating excellent links to public transport, which is considered further justification for the erection of a tall building at this location, despite it being located outside of a designated Tall Buildings Area.

The report notes that 5x family sized units are proposed which fails to meet the Council’s target of 39%, therefore not complying with policy H1 of the Local Plan. However, officers have taken into account the site constraints and context together with the viability assessment submitted with the scheme and consider that taking into account the contained nature of the site, town centre location and overall viability position, the minor shortfall in this instance is considered acceptable.

The report notes that the provision of affordable housing would fail to meet the minimum targets set out for major scale development. The report notes that the applicant submitted a viability appraisal, prepared by S106 Management, and that the Local Planning Authority (LPA) appointed BNP Paribas to independently review the viability appraisal. BNP Paribas updated their appraisal results to conclude that the proposed development would result in a deficit of -£212,365 against the viability benchmark. From this conclusion, the Council consider that the initially proposed development would not be viably able to provide affordable housing in the form of units or a financial contribution.

The Councils viability assessors did recommend that the council include both early and late stage review mechanisms, as there is the potential for variance in construction costs together with potential real growth values achieved at the proposed development site.

The report notes that all of the proposed residential units would meet or exceed the minimum gross internal areas as required by policy D6, and that the dimensions of all bedrooms within these units would also comply with the required space standards as well as the requirements for external amenity space provisions.

The report notes that 5x of the 15x proposed units would be dual aspect whilst the remaining 10x would be single aspect. The single aspect units are justifiable in this instance considering the constrained nature of the site and given that the units are one-bedroom units, surpass the required space standards, and have the main habitable spaces/activities positioned by the windows and provide a good outlook to either Barking Road to the north or the townscape of Canning Town to the south.

The report notes that the applicant submitted a Fire Statement by IFD Fire Safety Engineering with the application which has been reviewed by the London Fire Brigade who queried the Finished Floor Level height which may impact on the fire strategy imposed and whether this is appropriate.

The report notes that given the nature, scale, and location of development, a condition would to be attached upon approval, requiring submission of details demonstrating how the principle and practices of the ‘Secured by Design’ scheme have been included within the development.

The report notes that a daylight and sunlight report has been submitted. In terms of daylight, the Vertical Sky Component (VSC) has been calculated for 24x windows at No. 124 and No. 126 Barking Road. The VSC results table highlights that all but 3x windows are BRE compliant in terms of daylight impacts.

The report notes that the site is located within a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 6a which indicates excellent access to public transport. No parking spaces are proposed within the development which is welcomed. To ensure that the proposal is wholly car-free, it is considered reasonable and proportionate to remove the eligibility of all future residents, other than those with disability, to obtain residential parking permits from the Council by way of planning obligation via a S106 agreement.

The report notes that the scheme proposes 32x spaces for the residential units, and that the quantum provided is in compliance with the London Plan requirements for both long-stay and short-stay cycle parking spaces.

The report notes that a Travel Plan was submitted with this application which has been reviewed by the Council’s Transport Officer, and that the submitted plan is considered to be acceptable and recommends a Travel Plan monitoring fee of £1,368 and measures contribution of £1,368 to be secured through a S106 agreement.

The report notes that 3x refuse rooms are proposed at ground floor level which is accessed from the rear car park/servicing area, and that in consultation with the Council’s Waste Management Team, officers consider the proposed waste storage acceptable.

The report notes that this application has been accompanied by an Energy Statement prepared by Vision Energy, and that the statement estimates that 19% and 55% of reduction is to be achieved on site through energy demand reduction and renewable energy respectively. Cumulatively, these energy savings measures would reduce the carbon emission from 20.1 tonnes to 5.3 tonnes per annum, resulting at 74% decrease.

The report notes that the applicant has submitted a Flood Risk Assessment with the application given the site’s location within Flood Zone 3, and that the Environment Agency were consulted and do not object to the scheme.

The report notes that the application has been accompanied by a Preliminary Roost Assessment and Ecological Walkover report prepared by Arbtech, and that the site overall is of low ecological value.

The report notes that the application site is located within the Archaeological Priority Area of Canning Town/Newham Way, and that as such, given the development’s intrusive groundworks, officers have consulted the Greater London Authority Archaeological Service (GLAAS) whom have made comment.

The report notes that Workplace have provided a requirement for 35% of construction phase jobs to be for residents of the London Borough of Newham through a financial contribution of £91,727 prior to implantation of the development which will be secured by S106 agreement along with various other local labour commitments.

Minutes from the Previous Meeting

The committee was scheduled to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2025³.