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End of road for dream home bid?
Ruling blocks use of Heath pond track by lorries carrying materials to site
DEVELOPERS’ hopes of building a huge mansion overlooking the ladies’ pond at Hampstead Heath have been scuppered by Whitehall planning inspectors.
Lawyers representing the owners of Fitzroy Farm, in Fitzroy Park, Highgate, objected at a planning appeal last week to a Town Hall decision giving them permission to build the dream home but blocking the use of a dirt track on the Heath to transport materials to the site.
Work on the building would have meant three years of heavy vehicles using the track, the main route for swimmers heading to the ladies’ pond. If approved, builders would have had permission to drive 22-tonne trucks along the track on average once every 12 minutes for about 36 months.
The developers want to replace a mock-Elizabethan cottage with a neo-classical home designed by controversial architect Quinlan Terry. It would have a two-storey basement with swimming pool and leisure complex.
The plans have been called a “vile pastiche of Kenwood House” by campaigners.
On Tuesday, planning inspector Stuart Hall said he was not convinced the plans to have lorries using the path would be safe. It would disturb the peace of Heath users.
His report stated: “Kenwood ladies’ pond is accessed on foot and by bicycle via the lane, which I saw is also popular with joggers, cyclists and pedestrians of all age groups.
“I consider that frequent heavy vehicle movements, and the noise and fumes they would cause over a prolonged period, would materially disturb the widely appreciated tranquillity of this enclosed semi-rural environment. Serious harm to people’s enjoyment of the lane and its nearby attractions would result.”
Fitzroy Park resident Vaughn Thomas, who has been involved in the campaign to block the scheme, said he and his neighbours were overjoyed.
He added: “I am thrilled by this decision. It shows the safety interests of all users of the Heath cannot simply be cast aside for a single development.
“Fitzroy Farm ought to be occupied by a family, and may need to be updated. However, a scheme of this magnitude, at the expense of the Heath and its thousands of users over three years or more, is not acceptable. I hope Camden will now revoke permission for this scheme, as suggested by the planning inspector, and come back with a more appropriate scheme for the site.”
The company behind the plans, Millamant Limited, is based in the Isle of Man. Its solicitor, planning expert Mark Hartnett, declined to comment.
At the two-day hearing, residents of Fitzroy Park, councillors and Heath guardians the City of London all warned that a variety of frightening scenarios would play out if the lane was used to transport materials.
Jane Shallice, of Kenwood Ladies Pond Association, feared the ladies’ pond water levels could drop dramatically or would even be contaminated by the work.
She said: “It was obvious this path could not be used for this purpose.”
Ms Shallice added that people would need to be vigilant to ensure a similar scheme did not come back again.
“We cannot guess what will happen next,” she said.
Highgate Green councillor Maya De Souza, who had fought the scheme, said: “Everyone is relieved. This is the right decision.” |
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