Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU

Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 25 June 2024 by F Rafiq BSc (Hons) MCD MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 16 July 2024 Appeal Ref: APP/H5960/W/24/3336379 Apartments 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London SW11 8AU • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Bader Alrabiah against the decision of the Council of the London Borough of Wandsworth. • The application Ref is 2023/2831. • The development proposed is the merging of two flats into one including internal alterations. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issue 2. The main issue is the effect of the proposed loss of a residential unit upon the supply and choice of housing. Reasons 3. The appeal property comprises of two flats located on the fifteenth floor of a high-rise building, one of a number of similar buildings at Riverlight Quay. The proposal would result in the amalgamation of two adjacent two-bedroom apartments, as well as the incorporation of a small area of communal hallway to form the resultant four-bedroom apartment. 4.

Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision Policy LP25 of the Wandsworth Local Plan 2023-2038 (Local Plan) sets out to protect existing self-contained housing and only allows for, in exceptional circumstances, the net loss of self-contained residential dwellings. Part A. of this policy sets out the exceptional circumstances where it either involves combining no more than two non-family sized dwellings to create a family sized dwelling that is less than or equal to 130sqm or where a self-contained dwelling located above a non-residential use is no longer provided with a separate access to the street. 5. The proposed flat would significantly exceed the 130sqm limit and it would therefore be contrary to Local Plan Policy LP25. Although the proposal would not result in the loss of any residential floorspace and would provide a four- bedroom dwelling with a larger living space that would introduce greater housing choice in the area, it would nonetheless also result in a net loss of a dwelling. 6. Policy H8 of The London Plan has been referenced by the main parties, and although it partly refers to affordable housing and hostels, it also seeks to https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/H5960/W/24/3336379 ensure that the loss of existing housing is replaced by new housing at existing or higher densities, which the appeal proposal would fail to do. 7. Reference has been made to a number of other developments at Riverlight Quay where planning permission has been granted to amalgamate adjacent flats, including some that are of a larger scale than this appeal proposal. The Council has however set out that the four permissions referenced by the Appellant predate the current Local Plan (adopted July 2023) which contains a floorspace limit on the size of the resultant amalgamated residential unit. As such, given the differing policy context, this appeal proposal is not comparable to the referenced permissions. 8. I therefore conclude that the loss of the existing residential unit would have a harmful effect on the supply and choice of housing and as such, it would be contrary to Local Plan Policy LP25, which seeks to protect existing housing stock. Other Matter 9. The appeal site is not situated in a conservation area and the proposal would use high quality materials, but these are neutral matters and not ones which weigh in favour of the development. Conclusion 10.

Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision The proposed development would not accord with the development plan as a whole and there are no other considerations, that indicate that I should take a different decision other than in accordance with this. I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

Flats 80 & 81, Riverlight Quay, London, SW11 8AU — London Borough of Wandsworth — F Rafiq INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2