Agenda item

The Principal Management Development Officer (PMDO), Be First, introduced a report on an application seeking planning permission at Plot 2, Segro Park, Chats Road, that involved the demolition of an existing research building, gatehouse and associated hardstanding to allow for the construction of an industrial building (Use Class B2, B8, E(g)(iii)), with ancillary offices, entrance building, security hub, gatehouse and access ramps; creation of new vehicular accesses from Hitch Street and Choats Road; pedestrian and cycle access from Choats Manor Way; cycle, motorcycle, car, van and HGV parking; hardstanding and circulation areas; sprinkler tanks; pump house; relocated pumping station; and all other ancillary and enabling works including landscaping, drainage, engineering, ground stability works and boundary treatment. 

In addition to internal and external consultations, a total of 118 notification letters were sent to neighbouring properties together with the requisite statutory press notice. No responses were received to the neighbour notifications.

The applicant was afforded the opportunity to present an overview of the application. Having become the Mayor of London’s industrial developer for East London, Segro was made responsible for the regeneration of 86 acres of vacant brownfield sites located in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham. Consequently, they shared the plans to develop a ground-breaking multi-storey industrial/warehouse facility that would form the second of six phases across Segro’s Dagenham Dock site. The benefits of the scheme were outlined, as regenerating a prominent vacant site, with a flexible modern industrial workspace that maximised employment potential, enhanced the local environment respecting biodiversity, as well as providing a financial contribution towards improving infrastructure in the locality.

A number of questions arose from consideration of the application which were addressed by the PDMO and/or the applicant concerning the increased level of parking provision, landscaping and specifically the number and quality of new trees, the air quality assessment, the level of financial contribution towards public transport and the provision of fire safety measures in connection with wheelchair users.

In summary, the PDMO indicated that the proposed development would be acceptable in land use terms and, when considered as a whole, would provide an appropriate land use within the adopted Core Strategy SIL designation, as the part of the statutory Development Plan, as well as accord with the London Plan and emerging Local Plan.

Through the construction and operational phases, and secured within the s106 agreement, the proposed development would bring substantial employment and regenerative benefits and educational opportunities to the borough. Further contributions would be secured in terms of wider placemaking, through master-planning, public realm enhancements and improvements to the local cycle network.

Officers were mindful that the proposed level of parking exceeded the standards specified in Local and London Plans policies. However, on balance, the proposed level of parking provision was seen as acceptable given the on and off-site mitigation measures that had been secured to encourage a reduction in parking from the opening of the new market and over time. 

The Committee RESOLVED to:

(i)  Agree the reasons for approval as set out in the report;

(ii)  Delegate authority to the Strategic Director, Inclusive Growth (or authorised officer) in consultation with Strategic Director, Law and Governance to grant planning permission subject to any direction from the Mayor of London, the completion of a Section 106 legal agreement under S106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) based on the Conditions listed at Appendix 4 and the Heads of Terms identified at Appendix 5 of the report, and

(iii)  Agree that, if by 6 January 2022 the legal agreement had not been completed, the Strategic Director of Inclusive Growth (or authorised officer) be delegated authority to refuse planning permission or extend the timeframe to grant approval.