Former Stratford Herald office plans set for refusal
PLANS to convert the former Stratford Herald buildings in Rother Street and the rear of Greenhill Street into office space and ten new-build townhouses look set to be refused.
The scheme, submitted by York House (Stratford) Ltd, wanted to bring the Grade II-listed building, which the newspaper occupied in Rother Street for more than 50 years before moving to Guild House in 2020, back into use.
The plans were to turn York House into what was described as ‘high quality commercial accommodation’ while the mid-20th century printworks to the rear of the building would be demolished to make way for new homes.
However, it has been recommended for refusal when it goes before Stratford District Council’s planning committee next Wednesday (18th January).
A report prepared for the committee said there were six reasons as to why the plans should not be given the green light, including:
- A lack of a detailed heritage assessment and concern the application contains contradictory information which fails to show how the proposal would preserve the historic fabric and significance of the Grade II-listed building.
- The density, scale and design of the new homes and associated landscaping to the rear of York House, which planners said would not preserve the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.
- The proposal would fail to create an appropriate form of back land development in the town centre due to the proposed density, scale and design in relation to the surrounding, predominantly two storey, buildings fronting Greenhill Street and Rother Street.
- The proposal fails to provide adequate levels of amenity for future occupiers due to the constraints of the site. The report adds that the occupiers of the townhouses would suffer from a significant lack of daylight, outlook and privacy due to the proximity of surrounding buildings.
- The townhouses proposal would also impact on the daylight, outlook and privacy experienced by the occupiers of units two, three and four at 34 Greenhill Street and Grove House due to the height and proximity of townhouses eight and nine.
- The application fails to demonstrate how the site could adequately be serviced by refuse vehicles due to the siting of the bin stores being in excess of 10m from the access from Greenhill Street.
Under the plans, the Herald’s former print building could be replaced with ten two- and three-bedroom houses.
Because of the constraints of the site, the homes will not have private gardens but will instead get rooftop spaces and a communal garden.
The developers had originally planned for 15 houses and six apartments on the site but have reduced this number and the height of the homes – from four storeys to three.
It said in a report: “The site which is currently ‘blighted’ by an ugly and incongruous vacant industrial building will be transformed to create an exemplar for urban living within a town centre setting.”
The development would be car-free with no parking spaces available to the new homes.
The Stratford Herald moved out of York House after going into administration and being bought by Stratford News and Media, which is partly owned by Iliffe Media.