Sentinel House Sustainable Development in Marylebone London Case Study

Urban Planning Policies for Sentinel House Development in London

Introduction

Sentinel House is developed in the location of Marylebone road in London. The planning permission was gained in the year 2014 for demolition of the office and a residential building of nine stories is constructed that comprises housing flats of affordable type, landscaping along with the car space and works. The planning statement, which demonstrates the proposal of different policies. A frameworks provided for the development of the suitable plan that can be accessed by the different users. The construction of a building is done by considering various factors such as site consideration, material consideration, relevant policies and site history. The system of rainwater that allows the flow of gray water in every part of the building. Installation of the solar panels in the rooftop that allows passive cooling of the air and reduction of the emission of the greenhouse gasses by 35%. Different policies are considered for housing, environment, land use and design. This residential building development project complies with Westminster's comprehensive city plan for the years 2019 to 2040. The development has no adverse effects on the nearby structures or the neighborhood. The primary component of the city plan is that it is constructed in a sustainable manner.

Discussion

Site Description

• The existing site for the construction of the Sentinel House is not present in the flood zone. The site is not present in the designated area for geological or biodiversity significance. It is connected with the drainage system.
• A system of rainwater harvesting is built that provides grey water to every flat. The area of the site is 0.07 Hectares. The Sentinel house was constructed after the demolition of the office building. The front of the building is located near Marylebone road along with the side roads Homer Street and Harcourt Street (Jayamaha et al. 2023). It is located in built up spaces which consists of properties of terraced residents and other office buildings.
• A mature TPO tree is present in the existing building’s front which is 4 storey tall and consists of grasses and bushes near the pavement.
• The wastes are stored in the waste bin which is located into the building.
• Solar panels are installed in the roof space provided which allows passive cooling that ensures reduction of emission of the greenhouse gasses by about 35%.

Figure 1: Site Location

• Building is located outside the conservation area of Portman Estate. It is located on the backside of the building both on Homer Street and Harcourt Street.
• On the street of Harcourt, there is a listed terraced building of grade 3. These buildings are 3-4 storey tall and primarily of residential type with few shops, pubs and offices. Stone church is also present that is about 5-6 storey tall (Martinez et al. 2020). The Georgian buildings are of a symmetrical type with brick floors in the upper part. Stone cravings and concrete slabs are present on the upfront slide of the pavement. Presence of trees and bushes in the streets of Harcourt.
• In the next door, construction of a 3 storey cafe at the ground level of the building.
• Opposite to the Sentinel house, there are buildings of 6- 7 storey made up of bricks along with windows.
• Presence of huge traffic on the road of Old Marylebone this leads to the occurrence of noise pollution. The other side roads are narrow and thus have lesser traffic in comparison to the main road. Absence of car parking area in the front side of the Sentinel House. There are only certain places in the street for parking of the car in the area.
• There is a future cycle path of the Quite way in the building front side of Marylebone Street. Bike railings are there on the corner of Homer Street and Marylebone Street (Ilyichev et al. 2020).

Figure 2: Location Plan

Planning History

In the year, 2014, a planning permission was gained by Sentinel House 14/08069/FULL which allows the demolition of the entire office building and a residential building of nine storey are constructed which contains housing flats of affordable type of 41 in numbers, landscaping that is associated with the area for car spacing and other works (Keddie, 2023).

In the next door, the approval of the planning application 21/00237/NMA for site redevelopment and a 13 storey is provided with the basement hotel.

Relevant Policies

The required policies for the development purpose updated in the 2019- 2040 city plan of Westminster. This are described as follows:

Housing

• Policy 8: The housing delivery which aims towards exceeding the building of new homes in Westminster by 20685 in the planning period.

This scheme is contributing towards the addition of 41 apartments. In the section A1, 4 & 2, particularly that targets delivery of more homes in the small sites, site density optimization and tall buildings are planned positively (Tatarchenko et al. 2020). It is also compiled with the Section B, Policy 8 that involves no exceedance by 200 square meters of GIA (“Gross Internal Area”) by the new homes. This policy stated that the apartments must be between 58 sq. meters to 108 sq. meters.

The small flats comprising two bedrooms should be large enough to fit in 2 beds in the bedrooms and required spaces should be present that will provide enough area for the different families to grow.

• Policy 12: It is crucial to check the quality of the house that will provide a well- designed, energy efficient environment for the purpose of living. This will help in maintaining the health and well- being of the residents. The section B also states that new homes of about 10% should meet the requirements of the building and M4 for access to wheelchair.

There are 4 apartments fully compliant with the requirements of the building regulation M4 and the usage of wheelchairs is also considered (Bansal, 2020). This makes it easier for the movement of the disabled person in the residential area. The Policy 12 of Section D must be aligned with the minimum of 5 square meters of amenity.

The balconies developed have an area of 5 sq. meter in every flat. A communal garden is built on the rooftop that is abundant with direct sunlight, thus contributing positively towards the well- being and health of the residents.

Connections

• Policy 25: Cycling and walking which promotes sustainable transport. Particularly, Section D3 that is aiming towards the development for meeting with the storage facilities of the bike outlined in the London Plan.

The development consists of 2 rooms on- site for cycle storage that can store about 70 bicycles. The presence of railing of the cycle on the street that allows parking of the bikes outside the area of development (Kolarić et al. 2022). In this way the residents of the areas are encouraged to use bicycles as there are enough spaces for storing of the bicycles in the area.

• Policy 26: The infrastructure and Public Transport C2 seeks for the development support of the transport initiatives of sustainable types that includes enough charging spaces for the vehicles.
• Policy 28: All the new spaces of parking that must provide enough points of charging.

The development is done along with 2 charging point spaces for the electric car spaces and underground 12 spaces for regular parking of the cars which includes 4 spaces for handicap parking along with the cycle parking as provided.

There should be places provided for parking of the vehicles. Also, slime extra places for keeping the bicycles safely.

Land Use (Employment & Economy)

• Policy 13: The policy supports growth of the economy that is aiming towards enhancing the employment and minimization of the floor spaces lost in the office in the CAZ (“Central Activities Zone”). D1 of the 13 number of policy which describes the consideration for conversion of the office buildings into residential buildings (Bogale, 2020). The conversion of the office buildings into the residential building, this can only be done in case of residential character and the buildings are reinstated for the residential use purpose.

Development is done outside the CAZ zone and the high street, so it is not taking the office spaces and the area of employment. The neighborhood buildings are residential type and it is the worship palace before it is redeveloped as the office buildings. According to the section, the goals of the housing policy are satisfied.

Environment

• Policy 34: The green infrastructure which is aiming towards protection of the greenery of the city and to enhance its environment, economic and social values. The Policies section H that seeks towards protection of the amenity of the trees and the town space appearance and character.

It is not compiled with the Policy 34 of Section H, but the compensation is made by addition of the green roofs and the net gain biodiversity is achieved by installation of the rainwater harvesting and the systems of green water. Policy 34, Section H that is aiming towards the development of the net gains biodiversity (Kaewunruen et al. 2021).

Development should have a 0.4 score of the “Urban Greening Factor”.

• Policy 35: It is about the flood risks. Section J has demonstrated that new types of developments should have the system of sustainable drainage. It is complied with the policy as there is a system of rainwater harvesting that allows flowering of gray water at every flat.
• Policy 36: Promoting the development of zero- carbon and all the developments are made for the reduction of the energy demand on- site.

Development is complied with policy 36. This is due to the presence of solar panels

Design

• Policy 38: A number of design values are set for the design principles that encourages the development of the higher quality, design people- centered and sustainable type that will promote the excellent work of architecture in the entire Westminster city.

Construction of the building is done in a sustainable way with the use of suitable material for construction (KINFE, 2021). External cladding materials are used, agreed with the LPA, metal railings over the balconies and aluminum windows.

The tall building of the Sentinel house but less that as stated in the section A of Policy 41. The surrounding buildings are about 5- 7 storey above the level of the ground. The neighborhood hotel built will be of 13 storeys that is taller than the Sentinel House by about 4 storey. So, it is not higher among the surrounding buildings and is fit and blended in the given scenery.

Material Considerations

• Sustainable materials are used for the design and construction of the Sentinel house. Materials which will provide good aesthetic value are more preferred.
• Due to the new development made there will not be any loss of light.
• Additional spaces for parking purposes are provided for the Sentinel House residents in the underground garage (Zhu et al. 2021). This includes 2 active spaces for charging point of electric car.

Planning Obligations

• Policy 9: Affordable housing seeking minimum of 35% new home over Westminster for the affordable housing type (Nureev and Popov, 2020). Section B3 and B2 of Policy 9 that states that about 35% of the entire residential units for the development of the residential housing of the GIA floor space is 1000 square meters.

The buildings surrounding the area are old, damaged and are not looking fine. Construction of the new building in the site which can help in the improvement of the entire conservation area setting. A well designed Sentinel house consisting of materials of nice looking and sustainable type.

In the building front, there is a mature tree which is required to be removed to enable building extension. It is an important tree and along with the advisor team, the solutions are exhausted. The tree loss can be compensated. A space for roof garden and the system of rainwater harvesting enables flowing of grey water in every flat (Thompson, 2021). This ensures development of biodiversity and a green setting of high quality is contributed.

Environmental surveys have provided evidence about the absence of the contaminated land.

Planning Application Form

• To comply with the given policies, the affordable housing of 15 units are made by the applicant that is equated to 37% of proposed units. The compliance of the applicant with the given policies and as it is not a big development, so it is required to make about 37% of the total units to be affordable.
• According to Policy 9 of Section G, the unit sizes and the number of bedrooms that are included with the Annual Affordable council of housing statement (Manzoor and Othman, 2021). This tenure is agreed with LPA and delivery of legal agreement of 106 numbers. 

Conclusion

From the study, it can be concluded that the entire work is about the planning statement. Construction of Sentinel House by demolition of the office buildings. This is achieved by considering various factors such as site consideration, planning history, material consideration and relevant policies for the development of the residential building. The test of Housing Delivery 2020 that has under- delivered new housing, achieving the 92% of the required houses. Building more houses are required to achieve the goals. Addition of 41 units of development of the new housing, with adaptation of the 4 units for the disabled persons and proposed 15 units for affordable housing type. The spaces for car parking along with the charging station of the electric vehicles are provided and the spaces for bicycle parking. Enough spaces for storage spaces for bicycles are provided that encourages the residents of the UK to use bicycles. The residential building is designed with the use of sustainable materials. The loss of TPO tree for the construction of the Sentinel House after demolition of the office building. However, this loss is compensated with the development of the equipped SuDS and also the roof garden. This proposal for the development of the residential building that is meeting with the entire city plan of Westminster 2019- 2040. The development does not cause any negative impact to the surrounding building and area. It is built in a sustainable way which is the main part of the city plan. Due to these reasons the permission to be granted for the construction of the development.

Reference List

Journals

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