South Ashford Community Forum (SACF) have prepared draft comments on the planning applications for redevelopment of land at the junction of Beaver Road and Victoria Road.
SACF’s Comments
16/01157/AS, 16/01164/AS, 16/01167/AS
Former Pledges Mill and South Kent College Site and land south of junction of Beaver Road and, Victoria Road
South Ashford Community Forum has examined the documents relating to the above applications.
Whilst we are aware that some residents of Victoria Crescent are against these developments, most people that we have spoken to, including several living close to the sites, are pleased to see proposals come forward for redevelopment of these long derelict sites. We are supportive of mixed use development on the sites.
We do have the following comments:
General comment:
We note that although the traffic assessment concludes that the impact of traffic from these developments will be modest, residents remain concerned regarding the impact on congestion at the busy Beaver Road / Victoria Road Junction and issues this could create with egress from George Street.
16/01157/AS
Brewery, with shop, bar and restaurant, three commercial units and 216 residential units with associated parking, substations, landscaping and access works.
We note the application allocates the ground floor of the Victoria Road residential block for retail use. We believe that small craft workshops, with sale of goods produced on-site, should be included in any permission granted for this location.
We are pleased that the open space bounded by the Built to Rent is to be public and believe the arrangement will reduce the visual impact of the block from the riverside walk.
Whilst it is appreciated that there are no remaining heritage assets on the site, we would like a reference to the heritage of the site provided. The Brewery site was the location of a school that was destroyed by a German bomb in the Second World War. Although there were no injuries to occupants of the school, elsewhere in Ashford, 50 people were killed and 77 seriously injured in that raid. Adjacent to the school stood a flour mill, one of two large mills in Ashford, owned by H.S. Pledge & Sons. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1984. We believe that the proposed visitors centre offers the opportunity to mark this history.
16/01164/AS
120 bedroom hotel and associated parking, landscaping, substation and access works
Whilst we note that application complies with Kent County Council Supplementary Planning guidance that refers to maximum parking provision, and that as a town centre hotel, close to the station, the intention is to attract customers using public transport, residents are concerned that the low parking provision, of 0.5 spaces per room, could be inadequate, leading to overflow of parking to local streets. This is of particular concern as the residential parking restrictions do not apply during late evening and night time.
We are generally pleased with the finishes proposed but have concerns regarding the appearance of the render proposed for the ground floor exterior walls.
As a pdf
You can download the comments as a pdf document here
Make your views known
SACF welcome any suggestions, from those who live or work in South Ashford, for amendments or additional comments before they submit them at the end of this month.
Make your suggestions by commenting on this post.
Application details
Three applications have been submitted:
U+I exhibited their initial proposals in March this year. South Ashford Community Forum’s comments on the consultation documents can be viewed from the Publications page on the South Ashford websitehttps://southashford.org.uk/index.php/about-us/publications/
We have reproduced the application details on our Planning Notices page. The developers website for the proposals is http://victoriawayashford.com/
The M20 will be closed between junction four and junction two in both directions on Friday, September 2 at 8pm until Monday, September 5 at 6am.
Ashford Borough Council have refused to issue a ‘Certificate of Lawful Use’ for another House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) in South Ashford. This follows a similar refusal in July of this year. These applications claim that the use as an HMO has exceeded the four year period within which the Local Planning Authority must start enforcement action. Again the Council have stated that “The evidence submitted in the application does not establish that, on the balance of probabilities, the building has been used as a large HMO for up to 7 people continuously since 2006″.
