Cllr Jill Whitehead says: It is now a year since the Planning Inspectorate overturned Sutton Council’s rejection of Java Capital’s application to build a 74 bed care home for elderly dementia patients on the site of Westmead House (also known as 123 Westmead Road), with integral ground floor convenience store. A site notice has recently gone up on Westmead Business Centre giving notice of a Licensing Application (26508/1729/171213103726) by Sainsbury’s in respect of the store, to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm, seven days a week, which also states that the store will be open 24 hours per day, every day of the week. Residents are invited to send in their comments to the Council’s Licensing Department at the Civic Offices, Sutton by 15th January 2014.
Cllr Hamish Pollock adds: “As residents will be aware, your local councillors fought the planning application partly on the basis of lack of parking in narrow roads of terraced housing, and in increase in traffic congestion. The entrance to the store is given as Cowper Avenue on the plans. Long opening hours (there does not yet seem to be a planning application for these) and licensing hours will encourage more traffic and an increase in anti- social behaviour. There are already a number of outlets selling alcohol in this shopping parade. This store is right on the edge of the residential area, abutting the popular Poets’ Estate, and to date anti-social behaviour has been low but this may not remain the case.”
Cllr Alan Salter says: A planning application has been submitted for a non-material amendment to a scheme already approved by the council (C2011/64032 and C2012/66531). This is for the rear of Westmead House where approval was given in November 2011, amended in December 2012 for:
- Four 4-bedroom semi–detached homes on Kingsley Avenue with integral parking spaces,
- Four 3-bedroom semi-detached homes in Cowper Avenue with insetted parking spaces away from the road in Byron Avenue East,
- One four-bedroom detached house with integral parking space at the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Byron Avenue East.
The planning amendment is to adjust the roof of the detached house planned for the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Byron Avenue East, as per the drawings supplied to the council. It will be decided by officers as it is a minor amendment. This activity would imply that the construction of these homes could be imminent, and may take place in 2014. Building has to take place within three years of planning permission being granted or the permission falls. Planning permission can of course be renewed. More in a future posting/FOCUS leaflet!
Westmead House, 123 Westmead Road
Double standards. Why do you give much effort into objecting against this application? Let’s compare it Wentworth Hall. Maybe the underlying current in your objection is driven by the fact that one of your group lives in close proximity to the site. Outrageous.
Dear Bob
It is very easy for you to make a cheap remark at a local councillor just because of her living near a site of a major planning application.
Far from so-called double standards, the three Lib Dem Carshalton Central ward councillors have been consistently supporting local residents for very many years, and in so doing we are ensuring that residents’ views are fully known to the council’s development control committee when decisions are made in that forum. We always encourage residents, through our web site and numerous Special Local FOCUS leaflets, to give us their views. We have ensured through our own efforts that extra strict planning conditions were imposed on the Wentworth Hall scheme (as built) thus supporting the views of residents.
You should also consider that the religious use of the hall is no different from that of other religious buildings in Carshalton or anywhere else for that matter and should be treated with respect and with similar considerations. People do often park all over Carshalton Village when they go to Church on Sunday mornings for instance, often clogging up roads for instance.
Happy New Year.
Best wishes
Carshalton Central Lib Dem Councillors
It was very naughty of Sainsbury’s to stick a branch on the end of the shopping parade rather than in the middle since potential clientele won’t even look at the independents, thus forcing them out of business. Given Tesco Express at the other end, this is probably the cheapest way of creating new housing I can think of.
Dear Thomas
Thanks for your message. Planning law is very largely dictated by central government – local government is not allowed very much free-rein at all. There is no planning reason in planning law to prevent Sainsburys or one of the other supermarket chains from setting up shops in shopping areas. “Market forces” determine the way of the world, I am afraid. I notice that the shops in Carshalton High Street are thriving with the 2 supermarkets there now. There was a widespread prediction of doom and gloom by some people for the various small independent traders there before the 2nd supermarket (Sainsbury’s) opened! Wallington now has 5 supermarkets and no other shops have closed as a result.
Best wishes
Hamish Pollock