This is our last chance to stop the developer of the Eagle turning the building into a slum.
We must object to the Planning Inspectorate by this Wednesday (6 Dec). Email teame2@pins.gsi.gov.uk, quoting reference: APP/E5330/C/17/3177415.
To recap, the developer was granted permission to create 5 flats. Greenwich Council estimated he created 14.
Without permission, he has turned the top floor into an unlicensed HMO – house in multiple occupancy. In essence, this is an unlicensed hostel – a communal kitchen with 5 small bedrooms. The other 2 floors have small flats – more flats than he has permission for.
After our complaints, an Enforcement Notice was issued by the council. This requires him to remove these because it is an illegal development. In reply, he has suggested turning the entire building into an HMO – removing all the flats and instead have communal kitchens and many bedrooms on each floor. He is not allowed to do this.
He has appealed the Enforcement Notice by saying:
That the development is already running as an HMO, so he should be allowed to extend to make all the floors in the buildings hostel dwelling
That the development does not have an adverse affect on the neighbourhood
That the development provides affordable housing to single people
We can stop this. Email your objections to teame2@pins.gsi.gov.uk (ref: APP/E5330/C/17/3177415) by this Wednesday. You could include the following:
The development has had an adverse impact on the neighbourhood. It’s now hard to find parking, and garages with driveways are blocked with parked cars. Rubbish continues to be a problem – with bags dumped on the street and carried down the road by rats and foxes. An HMO increases the likelihood of antisocial behaviour.
There has not been an application for the redevelopment of the Eagle into an HMO. It is inappropriate for the property and the neighbourhood.
The dwellings are not providing affordable housing for single people. There are families with young children living in the building, as well as couples. With a starting price of £850 a month for a cramped 1-bed flat, they’re also not affordable.
The landlord has consistently ignored planning permission by creating more flats than he has permission for and not delivering what he promised – for example, instead of a communal garden he created a landfill site.
The development is not in keeping with the character of the area or the conditions of the conservation area.
