A scheme for the “comprehensive redevelopment” of Great North Leisure Park included 20 buildings, the tallest of which would reach 25 storeys, as well as a new leisure centre.
Developer Regal London’s plans designated 25% of the new homes – measured by the number of habitable rooms – as affordable, equating to 341 homes.
However, a petition this summer against the development received nearly 8,000 signatures.
Woodhouse ward Labour councillor Anne Hutton told a Barnet Council strategic planning committee last Thursday (December 4) to reject the application.
She described the tower blocks as “overbearing” and said the application would be “more suited to a town centre”.
Cllr Hutton acknowledged some residential development would be suitable but the plan was “too dense”.
She said: “We need the housing. When I first looked at this a year ago I did say we need the housing, but not at any cost. Like I’ve said, the density, the environment and also the poor transport links lead me to think this is too much on this particular site.”
A representation from Sarah Sackman, the Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, was also read out. She said more housing was needed but as it stood the proposal “wasn’t satisfactory”.
Ms Sackman said more “genuinely” affordable housing was needed, public transport and services should be upgraded to meet the anticipated demand and the scheme also had to avoid “loss of provision”.
In the scheme, the existing Hollywood Bowl and Vue Cinema would be demolished with “no comparable replacements” on the site. However, a different development with a new cinema and bowling alley was approved by councillors for a nearby site in June.
Nick Alston, an agent from Avison Young, and Steve Harrington, a planning director at Regal, spoke supporting the application. Mr Alston said the site was a “textbook example” of what planning policies encourage to meet the housing and other needs of Londoners.
He said the design for the new leisure centre represented “a significant improvement over the existing facility” and the aim was to create a new “health and wellbeing destination”.
Homes were “desperately needed” and the scheme was providing “25% more affordable housing than required by policy”, he added.
Housing association Clarion Housing will manage the scheme’s affordable housing and Regal will increase the proportion of affordability to 40% should grant funding from the Greater London Authority become available.
Committee member Cllr Phil Cohen asked whether the applicant was “conscious” of the scheme’s density or whether it wanted to maximise the number of units.
Mr Alston said planning policies set a challenge to “optimise” the potential of all sites, and highlighted that that was different to “maximise”.
He said the applicant’s team had ensured homes were “high quality” and wind and daylight and sunlight assessments “supported” the scheme.
Despite planning officers’ recommendations to grant the application, eight committee members voted to reject the application, with one member abstaining.
Committee chair Cllr Nigel Young said the reasons for refusal stemmed from the belief “harm” would be caused as a result of the development.
He summarised the proposals as “out of character with the surrounding area” and claimed its “height, bulk, mass and density” would result in overdevelopment of the site, impacting public transport and “creating harm to the proposed environment and surrounding area”.
