Plans for nine new homes in Croydon approved despite 128 objections

Two houses in Coulsdon will be knocked down to make way for nine new homes, despite more than 100 people objecting to the plans.

Croydon council approved the plans for six houses and three bungalows on The Grove.

The plans received 130 comments, of which 128 were objections.

At a planning meeting last week, Richard Walker from Coulsdon West Residents Association, spoke against the plans.

He said: “In The Grove the intensification isn’t incremental, it is wholesale. These new dwellings have been allocated less than one parking space each on average.

“In daylight hours there is parking on both sides of the [local roads] making passage and parking difficult and delivery vehicles just have to block the road.”

Mr Walker also spoke about the “bleak prospect” of the terraced houses overlooking those opposite. The plans were put forward by ADD/UK and Donna Walker, an architect from the company, spoke in favour of the plans at the same meeting.

She said: “[I am] one half of a husband and wife team, we pour our hearts and souls into everything we design, we specialise in new housing and make sure everything we create is somewhere we would be truly proud to call home.

“This scheme is one we are particularly proud of, it is sustainable, accessible and it is beautiful.

“The two existing houses on the site are too big, in poor condition, hard to heat and hard to maintain and are too expensive for most in the area to afford.

“We considered designing a large block of flats for this site but with many new flatted developments in the pipeline locally what is missing is beautifully designed and modest houses, somewhere appealing to families with small children or to down-sizers.”

The new development includes a walled garden and nine parking spaces, as well as 20 spaces for parking bikes. The plans were approved by councillors with the condition that the applicant must contribute £13,500 towards “sustainable transport improvements”.

Future occupants would also be banned from applying for parking permits if parking restrictions were put in place on local roads in the future. The plans were approved by five votes to four.