The first estate in London to vote for its own regeneration has had its redevelopment plans approved by councillors.

Westhorpe Gardens and Mills Grove estate in Hendon will be knocked down and rebuilt to provide more than double the current number of homes.

Last year, nearly three quarters of estate residents backed the redevelopment in the first vote of its kind to be held under new rules brought in by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

The mayor’s policy means existing residents must give their support to any proposed demolition of social homes before a project can receive City Hall funding.

The regeneration of the 1970s estate, which is owned by Metropolitan Thames Valley housing association, will provide 251 homes in blocks of up to seven storeys.

Affordable homes will make up 88 per cent of the estate – far above London-wide and Barnet targets – and 79 units will be designed for retirement living.

But the scheme, which was approved by Barnet Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (July 24), met with substantial opposition from neighbours.

The council received 332 objections, many of which claimed the new buildings would be too tall and warned of the potential for traffic problems.

The current blocks of flats on the estate are only three storeys high, and most of the surrounding buildings are low-rise, suburban homes.

Emily Benedek, who lives in Glebe Crescent, told the committee: “In my opinion, granting permission for seven-storey blocks will open a Pandora’s Box that will provide justification for other residential blocks, with a significant increase in height, regardless of their location.

“The size and siting of the proposed buildings would result in a loss of privacy, loss of outlook and have an overbearing impact on neighbouring occupiers.

“We are not opposed to redevelopment on the site per se, but the scale, height, mass, bulk and over-intensive use of the site is inappropriate.”

But David Adams, who lives in Mills Grove, called on councillors to support the plans.

He said: “The buildings on the estate are in a dilapidated state. No matter how much money you throw at them, you will not fix them.

“These plans provide an opportunity to address some of the overcrowding issues on the estate. You’ve got families with four and five kids living in two-bedroom flats.”

Mr Adams said he could understand the objections to seven-storey buildings, adding that he thought five storeys would have been more appropriate.

Speaking on behalf of the housing association, planning consultant Abraham Laker said the flats had been designed to try to minimise the impact on neighbours.

He said parts of the buildings had been “stepped back”, and the blocks had been moved further away from the nearest neighbouring properties.

Some councillors raised concerns that the number of parking spaces planned for the development – 145 – would be too low.

Labour councillor for East Finchley Cllr Claire Farrier said: “I think most of us don’t necessarily accept the mayor is trying to do without cars completely.

“We have to reach that stage where there are alternative facilities in terms of driverless cars or public transport.”

Six committee members voted in favour of the plans, with two voting against and one abstention.

 

 

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