Flats And Shops Plans For Former Pub
Developers submit scheme for Emma Hamilton site
Developers have submitted controversial plans for flats and shops on the site of a landmark Wimbledon Chase pub.
The Emma Hamilton pub (left) in Kingston Road closed down in 2010 and a hand car wash has recently been operating on on the site.
Now Stadium Capital Holdings have put in a planning application to demolish the pub and replace it with 57 flats and ground-floor retail units.
The plans have been amended to take account of comments made by local residents following a public exhibition in March.
In a letter to residents, the developers state the amendments from the previous plans include: Increased parking spaces from 46 to 58; a reduction in the retail space of 3,000 sq ft; a wider vegetation border; more of the fourth floor will be 'set back'; more trees along the Kingston Road pavement; more affordable housing (25%).
Paul Dimoldenberg, spokesman for Stadium Capital Holdings, said: "A design-led approach has been taken to create a unique and iconic development to regenerate this site with a contemporary design to reinforce Wimbledon Chase as a destination and a place to live.
"The proposed building will provide an active commercial frontage, above which will rise three storeys of residential use and a setback penthouse floor. Two wings of development extend back above an undercroft car park and step back on each floor, reducing the massing to the rear".
Images of the proposed development are below:
Opposition to the original plans were a catalyst for the formation of a Wimbledon Chase Residents' Association (WCRA) last year.
They will discuss the scheme at their meeting on Thursday (January 19) which takes place at 8pm at Merton Park Baptist Church on the corner of Kingston Road and Botsford Road.
Grahame Darnell, from WCRA, said: "The developers claim to have listened to local people but they haven't at all. They have made some tokenistic changes to the design and parking allocation, but have blatantly ignored concerns about the overall height and mass of the building. This not surprising because we all recognise that design tweaks don't hit profits but reducing size, and therefore the number of flats that can be sold, does.
"The current five-storey proposal stretches the full width of the huge site and butts right up to Kingston Road disrupting the rhythm of the street. It will totally dominate the area as there is nothing even close to that size on the western side of the railway line. I am yet to meet anyone locally who is anything other than stunned when they look at drawings of a five-storey block of flats towering over the community."
Local members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) will also be meeting to decide their stance on the development.
Controversial plans for a development on the empty Morden Tavern were rejected last week following opposition by local campaigners and CAMRA.
Why not comment on the forum thread on the Emma Hamilton site?
January 17, 2012