Agenda item

Alterations to the tower building facade and reconfiguration of the existing tower building; partial demolition and redevelopment of the existing rear ballroom podium to provide a new podium building on ground to third floors; all to provide between 350 and 448 hotel bedrooms with ancillary bars, lounges, restaurants, meeting rooms, leisure facilities and gardens (Class C1), up to 28 residential units (Class C3) on levels 23-30 and a restaurant (Class A3) on level 21; excavation to provide a total of 3 additional basement levels (7 basement levels in total) for hotel ballrooms, meeting rooms and leisure facilities (Class C1), residential leisure facilities (Class C3) and replacement casino use (Class Sui Generis) and basement car and cycle parking; erection of a new building on ground and first to fourth floors with roof top plant on Stanhope Row to provide up to 29 serviced apartments (Class C1); plant at basement and roof levels; alterations to existing accesses on Pitt's Head Mews [including access to replacement service yard], Hertford Street and to the hotel from Park Lane and associated highway works; new hard and soft landscaping around the site; and all ancillary and associated works.

An additional representation was received from Pamplona Capital Management LLP (08.09.16). An additional Summary of Proposals was also received from Hopkins Architects and DP9 Planning Consultants (08.09.16).

RESOLVED:

1.          That the Committee agreed to accept the applicant's request that the affordable housing payment is phased (a third on commencement, a third after 18 months and a third on first occupation of any part of the development) rather than the normal policy requirement of full payment on commencement.

2.          That conditional permission be granted subject to a legal agreement to secure the following:

i)            A financial contribution of £20,444,000 towards the Council's affordable housing fund, index linked and payable as phased payments (a third on commencement, a third after 18 months and a third on first occupation of any part of the development);

ii)           Unallocated residential parking available for use by the occupiers of all residential units;

iii)          Lifetime [25 years] car club membership for the residential occupiers (one membership per residential unit);

iv)         All associated costs for the highway works immediately surrounding the site required for the development to occur, including reinstatement of existing vehicle crossovers on Pitt's Head Mews and Hertford Street and associated work (to be implemented prior to the occupation of any part of the development);

v)          Provision of cycle parking spaces in Pitt's Head Mews (14), Park Lane (22) and Hamilton Place (18);

vi)         Dedication of the highway where the building line has been set back from the existing line in Pitt's Head Mews (subject to minor alterations agreed by the Council), prior to occupation of the development and at full cost to the applicant;

(vii)   Stopping up of the highway on the Stanhope Row and Pitt's Head Mews frontages as required to implement the development, at full cost to the applicant;

(viii)  All costs associated with the replacement of the three trees in Stanhope Row (to be planted prior to the occupation of any part of the development);

(ix)   Payments towards Crossrail of £325,450, subject to the Mayoral CIL payment;

(x)    Monitoring costs of £500 for each of the above clauses.

3.       If the S106 legal agreement has not been completed within six weeks of the date of this resolution, then:

a)     The Director of Planning shall consider whether the permission can be issued with additional conditions attached to secure the benefits listed above. If this is possible and appropriate, the Director of Planning is authorised to determine and issue such a decision under Delegated Powers; however, if not

b)     The Director of Planning shall consider whether permission should be refused on the grounds that it has not proved possible to complete an agreement within an appropriate timescale, and that the proposals are unacceptable in the absence of the benefits that would have been secured; if so, the Director of Planning is authorised to determine the application and agree appropriate reasons for refusal under Delegated Powers.

4.       That the Committee authorises the making of a draft order pursuant to S247 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for the stopping up of parts of the public highway to enable this development to take place.

5.       That the City Transport Adviser (or other such proper officer of the City Council responsible for highway functions) be authorised to take all necessary procedural steps in conjunction with the making of the stopping up order and to make the order as proposed if there are no unresolved objections to the draft order.  The applicant will be required to cover all costs of the Council in progressing the stopping up order.

6.       That approval of the design of balconies and their enclosure will be reserved for subsequent approval in order to permit the applicants to further explore the health and safety implications of open balconies.

7.       That Condition 4 be revised to read:

          “You must not put any telecommunications or similar equipment on the roof without permission, or put any machinery or associated equipment, ducts, tanks, satellite or radio aerials on the roof, except those shown on the approved drawings.

          Reason:

          Because these would harm the appearance of the building, and would not meet S25 or S28, or both, of Westminster’s City Plan (July 2016) and DES 1 and DES 5 of our Unitary Development Plan that we adopted in January 2007.”

8.       That Condition 26 be revised to read:

“Before any of the approved uses commence, you must submit for approval a car par parking strategy (including detailed drawings) providing the following details:

a) Location of no less than 42 unallocated residential (Class C3) car parking spaces, and no more than 28 other car parking for the non-residential uses, within the basement;

b) Disabled access car parking spaces (for the residential and other uses within the development;

c) Electrical vehicle charging points (minimum of 20% active and 20% passive);

d) Access arrangements to the car parking area;

e) a strategy for managing the car parking for the different uses within the development.

You must provide each of the 42 residential car parking spaces shown on the approved drawings, which shall only be used by the parking of vehicles of people living in the residential part of this development, on an unallocated basis without restriction for all of the residential occupiers of the building and these shall be maintained for such use for the lifetime of the development in accordance with the car parking strategy approved pursuant to this condition. You must ensure that the residents’ parking is communal and not used by the hotel.

Reason:

To provide parking spaces for people living in the residential part of the development as set out in STRA 25 and TRANS 23 of our Unitary Development Plan that we adopted in January 2007.”