Controversial apartment block in Heathfield Road must be remodelled
Wandsworth Council has rejected plans to alter the roof of an apartment block which is in breach of planning regulations.Members of the planning application committee said the Skydec building on Heathfield Road must be remodelled but the changes put forward by the site's owner do not go far enough.
Committee chairman Cllr Nick Cuff said: "If we approved these plans we would be stuck with an over-bearing development out of keeping with the Wandsworth Common Conservation Area.
"The owner must come back with an acceptable design in the near future or will have no choice but to prosecute."
The five storey Skydec apartment block was completed in 2008. However it soon became evident that the development had not been built in accordance with the approved plans.
The main variations were that the block was too high and the distinctive roof design had been significantly altered. A separate garage structure and the site's boundary walls were also different to the drawings submitted to the council.
The council issued an enforcement notice instructing the developer to resolve the unauthorised changes or to demolish the development altogether.
The site's owner made an appeal against the council's enforcement action which was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate.
Soon after the developer produced a new set of plans which involved altering the roof, garage building and landscaped areas. Last Thursday (June 16th) councillors rejected the amended proposals on the grounds that they were inferior to the original designs and unsuitable within the conservation area.
Revised proposals for the adjoining garage building were approved by the same committee.
Cllr Cuff continues: "The developer has been unable to sell any of these flats since we issued the enforcement notice so their failure to resolve these issues is costing them dearly as well as blighting the conservation area.
"The new landscaping plan and alterations to the garage building are a step in the right direction but time is rapidly running out."
To view the original planning applications approved by the committee visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning - application reference number 2003/4246.
The latest planning applications for alterations to the development are 2011/0459 and 2011/0458.
June 23, 2011