Councillors ignore planning advice and reject controversial Roupell Street proposals
South London councillors have flown in the face of professional advice and refused planning permission for a controversial extension to a language school near Waterloo station.
Tony Fretton Architects鈥� proposals would have introduced a new building on to Roupell Street, where the Education First language school is based in a grade II-listed former primary school, providing a canteen on the site of an infants hall destroyed during World War II.
However Roupell Street is a conservation area famed for scores of 鈥渂utterfly鈥� roofed artisan houses that date back to the 1830s, and objectors said the Fretton scheme颅 鈥� inspired by the neo-gothic school buildings where EF is based 鈥� would have a detrimental impact.
Lambeth council planning officers said the proposals were 鈥渨ell considered鈥� and , arguing that they would cause 鈥渓ess than substantial harm鈥� to the school and its surroundings that would be outweighed by public benefits.
But after a two-hour discussion of the proposals鈥� merits this week, councillors on the authority鈥檚 planning applications committee disagreed and refused the scheme by three votes to two.
They had heard local residents and councillors dispute planning officers鈥� assessment of the harm-to-benefits ratio of the scheme, and argued that earlier advice to EF had indicated that plans for a new building on the infants hall site would be opposed in principle because of the loss of open space that the new building would entail.
Local councillor Kevin Craig said the proposals were 鈥渙verly assertive鈥� and 鈥渨ould harm the setting, character, appearance of a conservation area that we as a council have bust a gut over years to protect鈥�.
Fretton told the session that his design had sought to reference the style of the existing school buildings and preserve visibility to the courtyard area that the new canteen would effectively re-enclose.
鈥淚鈥檓 emphasising neo-gothic,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n Victorian times the reintroduction of the gothic style embraced new materials and it embraced other styles. In this building it tends to match the function with the style, which is evidently neo-gothic.鈥�
Among their reasons for refusing the proposals, planning committee members cited the loss of open space and trees, the impact on visual amenity, and their impact on the local conservation areas. The vote also effectively disagreed that the level of harm anticipated to be caused to the surrounding area by the proposals was outweighed by their public benefits.
Listed-building consent for the scheme, which would have required the demolition of a wall, a gateway and railings, was also refused.
The Victorian Society and the Georgian Group had opposed the scheme. Government heritage advisor Historic England stopped short of objecting to the plans, but voiced reservations that they may 鈥渄ominate鈥� the remaining listed school buildings and 鈥渃ommand a potentially unwelcome degree of visual primacy鈥� within the Roupell Street Conservation Area.
Lambeth said around 490 consultation responses had been received from residents opposing the scheme, with just a handful supporting it.
好色先生TV Design sought a response to the result from EF, but one had not arrived at the time of publication.
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