Flower Stall Clapham Junction
The Battersea Society objects to this application to extend for a further period of two years the temporary permission granted in August 2024 (2024/1994). Our objection is on three main grounds, which were set out in the officers’ report that recommended refusal of the 2017 application, in our objection to the application for a new kiosk submitted in 2023, and in our objection to the application for a temporary extension in2024. Those grounds still stand.
First, we believe that a kiosk as large as 10 metres long, 2.2 metres wide and 2.6 metres high constitutes a bulky, unsympathetic and incongruous element in the Clapham Junction Conservation Area. It fails to relate in any meaningful way to the local character of existing streetscape or to the nearby listed buildings. No attempt is made to integrate with its surroundings; it is thus visually intrusive and compromises the visual amenity of the Conservation Area. The proposal thus contravenes Section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and the applicant’s assertion – without any evidence - that the kiosk complies with the NPPF; Policy HC1C in the London Plan; and Policies LP1 and LP2 in the Local Plan is simply absurd. Indeed, the kiosk does not comply with other policies in the Local Plan, including LP3 and PM4. Any offsetting public benefit would be at best marginal.
Second, the location outside the busy main entrance to the railway station and adjacent to a signalled pedestrian crossing across a busy main road with many bus stops raises a range of concerns. The kiosk restricts very high pedestrian flow along the footway, as well as to and from the station entrance. It causes problems for the large numbers of people with buggies, suitcases and trolleys; for people who are mobility-impaired or in wheelchairs; and for people who are blind or partially-sighted. It is thus incompatible with the Healthy Streets approach adopted in Policy T2 of the London Plan; and also with the requirements in Policy LP50 in the Local Plan to avoid harm to highway safety and any road safety hazard.
Third, it has an adverse impact on the main entrance to the station and to the shops in the StopShop centre, impeding access on the way in and out, and obscuring views of St John’s Hill and its streetscape, its bus stops, and the amenities it provides.
Fourth, we note that the applicant is now seeking an exemption from fire prevention and protection measures on the grounds that the stall is not an enclosed space and that in the event of a fire evacuation would be straightforward. This ignores the heavy congestion on the pavement and equally heavy traffic on the road that surround the site; and the major blockage that would occur in the main exit from the station were there to be a fire at the stall. In short, the siting of the stall is dangerous.
Finally, it is important to note that the application is misleadingly framed as being for a temporary period of 1-2 years rather than a permanent fixture. It suggests that this period is in some way related to the beginning of development following the work that has been done over the past three years on the proposed Urban Heart Masterplan. But there are currently no proposals for redevelopment of the station and its surrounding area; even when – or if – the proposed SPD is finalized, that will remain the case. In short, the suggested linkage between this application for temporary permission for two years is bogus. The track record of this applicant indicates that the aim is to retain the flower stall as far into the future as possible; and we note that the Reasonable Exception Statement prepared by Apex Strategies refers to “the temporary (10 year) retention of the existing.... Flower Stall”. The only realistic assumption – reinforced by the applicant’s record over recent years - is that this current application will be followed by another in 2028. That alone is good reason for rejecting it.
We trust that for all these reasons the application will be refused, and that efforts will be made to find a more suitable location for the kiosk.