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By RICHARD OSLEY
 

The plan for Weedington Road
Homes plan is ditched in row over 'rabbit hutches'

Planners tear up scheme for block amid fears of 'creating ghetto'

A CHEAP housing scheme meant for key workers has been spiked after objections that the proposed flats were like “rabbit hutches”.
Planning chiefs tore up plans to replace a taxi repair workshop in Weedington Road, Gospel Oak, with a new block of inexpensive flats at a council meeting on Thursday night.
They were warned that the area could be turned into a “public sector ghetto” if the project was approved.
In a split vote that went against developers, dissenting councillors said the proposed flats were far too small.
At just 25 square metres, the proposed studio flats were 78 per cent below recommended sizes. One-bedroom properties were also below usual size specifications.
The final decision, however, went against advice from the Town Hall’s own planning department, with officials recommending the proposals for approval. Civil servants said the scheme would provide the benefit of affordable homes.
Developer Pocket Living company director Marc Vlessing said he would appeal against the decision, which he called a “gross injustice”.
He added that the company’s market research showed a need for small homes. There was a generation of people who could not get on the housing ladder, as they were not eligible for social housing but did not earn enough to buy a flat in Camden.
He added: “We are not a philanthropic concern, but we have recognised a need and simply wish to fill it.”
Architects Burrell Foley Fischer said, despite the homes being small in size, there was demand among key workers – including nurses – for the new flats.
A spokesman for the company told the meeting: “The reality of this site is that it has been a blight to the landscape. These are starter homes. They don’t pretend to be anything else.
“They (key workers) don’t want to live on large public housing estates. That’s why we do smaller developments. This one has a sense of intimacy.”
Objector Val Stevenson, a journalist who lives opposite the site, warned that policies to revamp Gospel Oak would be undermined by approval for low-quality homes.
She said: “Why with one hand does the council put money into improving housing, and with the other or with your eyes closed, you would be giving permission for sub-standard housing.
“It is about whether Camden values its key workers or it doesn’t. If it values them, don’t shove them into rabbit hutches. I’d like to see how standards are going.”
Ms Stevenson said the project would set a precedent whereby any designs would get planning approval if they created cheap homes for key workers.
She added: “The feedback is that key workers do not want to live in public service ghettos.”
Another protester, architect Tom Young, who spent his spare time coming up with an alternative scheme for the site, said the proposals should be ditched in favour of a smaller development including shops.
While Liberal Democrat councillor Margaret Little said that some workers searching for homes might want the chance to buy the flats, her colleagues turned against the scheme.
Flick Rea, another Lib Dem councillor, told the meeting: “I don’t see why a key worker, a nurse, should be forced to live in a tiny space with barely no window.”
Labour councillor Jane Roberts also raised concerns about the size of the rooms and was among those who voted against the project.
 
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