Category: Uncategorized

We have just over a month to organise opposition to the renewed Sainsbury’s /Wilmer Place development. The application is anticipated to go to the planning committee on Wednesday 31 July.

Hackney Unties and Stokey Local are therefore calling a campaign planning meeting on Wednesday 26 June, at 6.30 – 8pm, at the Methodist Church 106, Stoke Newington High Street, N16 (next door to the existing Sainsbury’s Local). Please come along and let us know your views about how we can alert our community to this planning application and publicise the opposition. If you can attend, please register here.

Activity proposed so far includes:
Starting an on-line petition (to supplement the letters of objection that have already gone in). We would really like this to be done through our existing (Word Press) website (as this allows us to ‘capture’ the contact details of supporters and inform them of future events; if an appropriate statement in included in the sign up, this is compliant with data protection requirements. 3,000 people signed our last on-line petition, but we do not know who they are. Does anyone have the technical know how to set this up?

Undertaking a door to door leafleting of the whole area (we already have 30 volunteers to do this, so it should not be too difficult to arrange, but needs to be done speedily.

A bug parade: one of the key (but far from the only) issues is the impact of the development on Abney Park and its habitat. It has been suggested that after the success of our previous ‘Zombie Parade’ that we undertake a ‘bug parade’ with people dressed as bats, and other wildlife which could be affected by the development. For this to work we need real numbers, and some advice on how to make effective costumes cheaply (particularly for children). We also need a soundtrack and some great posters. I would love a simple ‘blue peter’ style guide to how to make a bat/tree/bug costume for example. I am already in contact with the police over this.

A presence at the planning committee meeting. There is no doubt that the dignified attendance at the last committee meant the councilors on the committee found it easier to ‘do the right thing’. Developers can quite deliberately put pressure on councillors. On this occasion they have appealed the previous decision and have resubmitted an almost identical application (and are offering to withdraw the appeal if the committee agree the new application). We cannot blame them for applying pressure, but we need to ensure that we apply a suitable counter-pressure so that the right decision, on planning grounds, is made.

Come along on Wednesday 26 June, at 6.30 – 8pm, at the Methodist Church 106, Stoke Newington High Street, N16 to help us plan this campaign. This is not intended as a ‘speech making’ meeting, but a workshop to develop ideas which we will then put into action.
If you intend to come, please let us know by registering here.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Finally
We need to ensure that there are more objectors to this application than there were to the last, so please, tweet, facebook, email and speak to people about this proposal.

Please encourage people to sign up to these email alerts by visiting: http://eepurl.com/mqRA9

We have already shown what we can do when we get our community organised, now lets get organised for ’round two’!

You helped us stop the previous application for an inappropriate supermaket development adjacent to Abney Park, which was refused on 3^rd April.

There is now a new application with very small changes. The application number is: 2013/1583 and 2013/1584. We have spent some time analysing the new proposals, and the short versions is that they are largely indistinguishable form the previous one already rejected by committee. However, we must all object again, if we are to prevent the new application being passed.

Here’s what Stokey Local think of the new application.

A whole new consultation period began, and formally ended on Wednesday 19 June but comments are accepted up until the Committee meeting (probably 31 July). So if you still feel this development is not right for Wilmer Place, it’s important that you write again and ask your friends and neighbours to consider doing the same.

The Council says: “Should you wish to comment beyond [19 June], please click on the link ‘Add Comments Here’ or write to us at Hackney Planning Service, 2 Hillman Street, London, E8 1FB quoting the application number “

You can comment here: http://hackney.hk/2013/1583/comment or you can  email planningconsultation@hackney.gov.uk quoting application number 2013/1583.

You can also call the planning officer, Steve Fraser-Lim on 020 8356 6377 although we recommend that you concentrate on getting your comments in in writing.

The principle changes are: setting back the two storey podium wall by 1 – 2 m on the West but not the North (Cemetery Gates) side. Setting back the residential blocks by 1- 3.2 m. Increasing 3/4 bed units from 13 to 16. Some design changes.

The development has been reduced in scale at the back only, and the perimeter has been set back a modest amount.

We believe these changes are minimal and do not address the reasons for refusal of the previous application. Indeed, it would be potential perverse for the Council to now pass this application having rejected the previous one (but stranger things have happened).

Please make your own comments in your own words but see our formal response for the objections we think will be relevant and effective. They are based on Hackney’s “Core Strategy” and other supplementary planning documents.

Spot the difference: changes to the most visible and damaging view to the streetscene are subtle.

Other actions
The most important thing you can do at this stage is to get your objections into the Council (and encourage others to do the same).

However, we believe that this will be going to committee on Wednesday 31 July (so please put the date in your diary now, and join us at the town hall to see that justice is done).

We have leafleted every home in the neighbourhood, with further calls for help and support needed.

Sign up to help out:

We need to know who is going to be able to help out in this campaign, so if you can spare some time, or want to get involved, please complete a short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/stokeylocal

Finally
We need to ensure that there are more objectors to this application than there were to the last, so please, tweet, facebook, email and speak to people about this proposal.

Please encourage people to sign up to our email alerts by visiting: http://eepurl.com/mqRA9

We have already shown what we can do when we get our community organised, now lets get ready for ’round two’!

On Wednesday 8 May, Greg Cohen of Newmark Properties wrote to neighbours of the Wilmer Place site to tell them a revised planning application has been submitted which they feel addresses the three reasons for refusal of the previous scheme. We await the full, validated application in order to assess the impact of the new scheme. At that point,  a whole new 21-day consultation period will begin but in the meantime here is the text of the letter which outlines the changes:

08 May 2013

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: 193-201 Stoke Newington High Street: submission of new application

We are taking this opportunity to update you on the plans to regenerate 193-201 Stoke Newington High Street. You may be aware that following a recommendation for approval by the council’s planning officers, the planning sub-committee decided to refuse the application on 3rd April 2013.

After carefully considering the reasons for refusal the developer has today submitted a revised application which aims to fully address the issues raised.

The key revisions to the application are as follows;

Impact on character and setting of surrounding heritage assets, in particular the Stoke Newington Conservation Area, Abney Park Cemetery and gates

• The northern wing of the residential element facing the cemetery has been set back by a further 1.2m, and is now an average of 5.4m from the site boundary;
• The southern wing has been set back by a further 3.2m and is now an average of Sm from the site boundary. These changes are set out fully in the submitted Design and Access Statement.
• Further improvements in terms of the setting of the cemetery gates have been achieved, by amending the northern facade of the building to make it calmer, more regular and to give it a more pronounced vertical emphasis, reflecting the characteristics of the fenestrations of the Victorian retail  terraces on Stoke Newington High Street. Similarly, these changes are expanded upon in the submitted Design and Access Statement. This reason for refusal has been addressed by the amended scheme.

Impact on natural habitats and biodiversity within Abney Park Cemetery

• Responding to the loss of a proportion of the grass verge of the existing car park on the site in the previous application, the new application has pulled back the podium wall of the development by a further 1.3 -1.6m, preserving more than 130% of the grass verge outside the new building footprint.
• The overall setback of the scheme as previously outlined reduces any perceived impact on trees within the Cemetery, as well as reducing perceived impacts through overshadowing. The area of grass verge which currently forms part of the boundary of the existing car park now becomes part of the Cemetery.

Providing an adequate proportion of family sized affordable units (3 or 4 beds)

• The previous application already met LB Hackney’s cr iteria for provision of affordable housing.
• However, the mix of homes onsite in the new application has been changed to provide an increase in the number of 3\4 bedroom properties from 13 to 16.
• The developer has also increased the number of family units within the private element of the revised scheme and now includes 14 x 3bed units which equates to 32% on a unit basis (42% based on habitable rooms).
• The rented element still contains 34% family accommodation (45% base on habitable rooms)

The proposals, developed to the highest environmental standards will regenerate this important part of Stoke Newington High Street, creating a high quality car free and cycle friendly destination. The proposals will also
increase footfall to the area thereby aiding local businesses, provide a large number of new jobs for local people and helping sustain the Stoke Newington economy into the future. Newmark Properties (SN) LLP remains passionate about the project and the regeneration benefits it will bring to Hackney residents and to the Stoke Newington area.

LB Hackney will shortly be consulting local residents and businesses on the amendments to the application but in the meantime if you require any further information or would like to discuss the revisions in more detail please do not hesitate to contact us on wilmerplace@fourcommunications.com or call my colleague Patrick Kinsella on 0203 023 9078.

Yours sincerely

Greg Cohen
Newmark Properties (SN) LLP

We are pleased to report that on the evening of Wednesday 3rd April 175 Stokey Local supporters packed Hackney’s Council Chamber to observe the council’s Planning Committee. The committee heard the planning officer’s report and arguments against and for the development and, after nearly two hours, rejected the application by 4 votes to 2.

Big thanks to everyone who turned out last night, everyone who spent time at the farmers market collecting petitions, everyone who joined our zombie parade (which helped publicise our opposition), the local store keepers who supported us throughout, and everyone who signed the petition.

Special mention must go to our speakers last night: Nick, Russell and Damian who had the impossible task of covering our objections in just five minutes between them. Big thanks must also go to the two Labour Councillors who spoke out at the meeting, Daniel Stevens and Louisa Thompson (they had five minutes each, and used every second to great effect).  We also had support from across the political spectrum, with both the Greens and Lib Dems actively supporting the campaign.

What next?

Well as you might expect representatives of the developer were far from happy and have informed us that they will appeal the decision. This may have just been bravado, but none the less we will need to be vigilant. Typically in such circumstances, the developer will either appeal or come back with a revised proposal. Which is why we, as a community, need to be ready, if necessary to fight  ‘Round two’.

Reflection and a celebration

We have won a great victory, both in terms of the planning decision, but also in building an incredible and strong network of Stokey residents who care about our area. We would like to capture your thoughts about the campaign (what went well, what could be improved etc) and we also want your ideas as to how we can celebrate this success. Please click here and let us know your thoughts.

Thanks again to all you wonderful people!

We couldn’t have done it without all the amazing support, time and effort given by the people of Stoke Newington.

This is a reminder that Hackney’s planning committee will decide on the Sainsbury’s Wilmer Place development this Wednesday evening.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm prompt, and we are looking for a dignified and polite presence during the deliberations. It would be good if supporters can get to the town hall for 6.15pm. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall on Mare Street.

If you can attend, please register, so that we have some idea of the number:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MSG5TCB

Over 3,300 people signed our online petition in the last two weeks, but now this is crunch time, so please do come along to the committee and show your opposition to the proposal. Please also call a few friends and invite them to join us at the Town Hall on Wednesday.

Many thanks for your support to date.
Stokey Local

The Sainsbury’s / Wilmer Place, Planning Application goes to committee this Wednesday. Unfortunately, the planning officer has recommended approval (you can view or download the council report here). The recommendation for approval is largely due to a ‘value judgement’ that the benefits of the development outweigh the negative impacts.

Consequently, the Councillors on the committee, having considered all the relevant facts, can quite legitimately come to a different view: i.e. that the negligible benefits of the development do not outweigh the significant negative impacts.  This is what we are hoping they will do.

Next Steps

We have people preparing short presentations to the committee on why they should reject the application. These presentations will be very short, as the total time for objectors is 5 minutes shared between all speakers (we are asking people not to register to speak, as the more people who register to speak, the less time each speaker gets: the three speakers already registered will have just one minute 40 seconds each).

However, the good news is we have the backing of two local councillors who will be speaking in opposition (and they have five minutes each), so we are confident that we will get most of our points across.

We will also be submitting details of our on-line petition, which has attracted over 3,000 names in two weeks. If you can please help promote the petition by email, tweet, text message etc.

We will be submitting the petition to the council for 9am Tuesday morning, so the more people who sign it before then the more it demonstrates the strength of local feeling. The petition can be signed here.

Attending the committee

The ‘easy’ thing for the councillors on the committee to do is to ‘nod through’ the application on the basis of the officer’s report. We are asking them to be brave and exercise their own judgement and reject the application.

It is very important that we show the Councillors that if they make the right decision it is one that is widely supported by the community. The petition is one way in which we can show that support, a further way is for us to attend the committee on Wednesday evening.

We are asking people to attend and observe the proceedings of the committee. This is not a ‘lobby’ or a protest, but citizens showing an active interest in the committee reaching a decision that is both compliant with planning rules and meets the needs of the community. We are seeking to encourage the Councillors to exercise their own judgement, it will be easier for them to do that if they know the community cares deeply about the issues.

The committee will be held in the council chambers and so long as we are orderly, there is room for a large public presence. The power of our presence will be in that we are putting the quasi-judicial process under public scrutiny. In other words we will need to sit in dignified silence as the developer and the officer give their views to the committee.

If you can do that, then please come along. The committee starts at 6.30pm prompt, so it would be good to get to the town hall for 6.15pm. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall Mare Street. If you can attend, please register here, so that we have some idea of the number.

What happens if the council approves the application?

With the officers recommending approval, there is a real risk that this application will be approved. There is no formal appeals process for objectors. However, it is possible, in certain limited circumstances, to challenge an inappropriate decision by way of Judicial Review. This however is both expensive and if we were unsuccessful, we would have to pay not just our costs but also those of the Council. It is therefore not a matter to be entered into lightly.

If the decision goes the wrong way, we will be asking our legal experts to look at it to see if it is susceptible to challenge by way of Judicial Review.

Many thanks for your support to date.

This is crunch time, so please do email people to alert them of the situation, call a few friends and invite them to join us at the Town Hall on Wednesday, blog and tweet about this. In particular, please do encourage people to sign the petition.

Thanks again. 

Whatever happens on Wednesday, we have shown that our community can come together and organise over issues that we care about. We are a force to reckon with and that is something we should be proud of.

The planning officer in charge of the Wilmer Place application has written to people who have objected to say that he has  prepared a report which recommends approval of the application.

The application will be considered at the next Planning Sub-Committee Meeting on 3rd April at 6.30pm at the Council Chamber, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London E8 1EA.

The Wilmer Place application will be first on the agenda and the planning officer’s report can be found here.

Stokey Local has launched a petition to demonstrate to the councillors on the Planning Su-Committe that there is still very strong opposition to this proposal. The petition is available to sign here.

The Council’s planning officers are preparing to recommend approval of the Sainsbury Development in Wilmer Place. You can help stop this by signing an on-line petition, and then getting everyone you know to do the same.

The petition is available here.

Please sign it now and then promote it’s existence through your on and off-line networks and thank you for your help so far.

CORRECTION: Contrary to what we previously published, comments are due Thursday 14th March. Apologies for this mistake.

A new planning application for the Wilmer Place website has been submitted by the developers. The headline changes are:

• A height reduction of approximately 1.5 stories, although the height is largely removed from the bottom/retail unit ceiling height.
• Height has also been reduced towards the cemetery around the two storeys that were on top of the retail unit
• 15 fewer residential units; we are unsure of the mix at this stage.
• Given this change there is likely to be a remodelling of the financial viability of the project.
• The proposed retail floor space and frontage arrangements remain unchanged
• There will be a new bat study and enhanced Ecology study around the cemetery
• TfL and Highways previously had no strong views on transport issues so it is expected that this will remain broadly the same.
• There is still concern about the actual height and it seems that officers have requested more CGI views, a model and even suggested a scaffold be built to actual height to properly assess the scale and height, the committee could defer the scheme if it is unconvinced the point has been properly proven.

The new planning application can be viewed online here. The documents associated with the application can be viewed here. The design and access statement gives a summary of the application but once again it is divided into multiple very large pdfs.

We have created a zip file (156Mb) which bundles the five design and access statement pdfs together.

Comments on the application must be received by the planning officers by this Thursday 14th March.

  Subject: Objection to 2012/2228 Land at Wilmer Place
  To: planningconsultation@hackney.gov.uk

We understand that a new planning application for the Wilmer Place website has been submitted by the developers. The headline changes (as we understand them) are:

• A height reduction of approximately 1.5 stories, although the height is largely removed from the bottom/retail unit ceiling height.
• Height has also been reduced towards the cemetery around the two storeys that were on top of the retail unit
• 15 fewer residential units; we are unsure of the mix at this stage.
• Given this change there is likely to be a remodelling of the financial viability of the project.
• The proposed retail floor space and frontage arrangements remain unchanged
• There will be a new bat study and enhanced Ecology study around the cemetery
• TfL and Highways previously had no strong views on transport issues so it is expected that this will remain broadly the same.
• There is still concern about the actual height and it seems that officers have requested more CGI views, a model and even suggested a scaffold be built to actual height to properly assess the scale and height, the committee could defer the scheme if it is unconvinced the point has been properly proven.

Importantly, the revised plans will require a new 21 day consultation period.

Letters will go out to previous consultees and documents will be posted on the website shortly. Once we have seen the revised plans we will call a meeting and produce our own assessment of the revisions. Our best guess is that the application will not now go before committee until at least Wed 3 April.

Please keep an eye on this website for further updates and sign up to our mailing list at the top of the right hand side of this page if you want to be kept up to date.