Crystal Palace Local

The KICC pentecostal church which has been carrying out major works on a former cinema in Crystal Palace faces enforcement action if it breaches planning laws, says a report to a Bromley council sub-committee.

The report says that if the old cinema at 25 Church Road is brought into an unlawful use then the council can take enforcement action. “But it cannot pre-empt a potentially unlawful use” said the report.

The comments came as a Bromley council plans sub-committee REFUSED all three applications made by the church, Kingsway International Christian Centre.

The applications included:

1. To remove the doors of the cinema building and the canopy above it.

2. To install a billboard on a side wall of the building

3. To provide landscaping and a cycle rack.

“There have been a large number of objections to the three applications and many of these are concerned with the potential use of the building and its implications. The building has been refurbished internally and KICC advised at a meeting with a council officer in March 2011 that it will accommodate various uses including drama, conferences, music associated with the Christian community, income generating activities of a ‘business centre’ nature and community uses. The applicant has since confirmed in writing that the use of the building will fall under  Use class D2 (bingo hall/cinema etc)”.

“There remains concern that the use of the building may not fall under Class D2 and to date neither a certificate of lawfulness application nor planning application have not been received regarding the future use. Should the building be brought into an unlawful use then the local planning authority can take the appropriate enforcement action at that stage but it cannot pre-empt a potentially unlawful use”.

The report emphasised that the use of the building was not relevant to the determination of the three new planning applications which it said should be assessed on their planning merits, in particular the impact of the proposals on the character and appearance of the application property and the Crystal Palace Park conservation area.

Cllr John Getgood (Lab. Penge and Cator) said they were guardians for the area. “We would be failing in our duty if we allowed it to be turned over in the way KICC are proposing.” Although the landscaping proposal was being recommended for permission he felt that application should be refused as well. ”It’s very much part of their overall plan. “Not only will we have people using the building it will attract other people to sit and loiter around the entrance” he added.

Cllr Getgood’s motion for refusal was seconded by Cllr Russell Jackson. “Knowing the Triangle as I do i think it’s lovely. “I’d like to see it stay that way.” Annabel Sidney, on behalf of both the Crystal Palace Triangle Planning Group and the Norwood Society, said the proposed alterations would create a frontage more indicative of a car showroom or modern department store.

The report to the sub-committee said nearby residents were notified of the applications and a large number of representations have been received, many featuring duplicated text. A significant proportion of the representations comprised joint objections to all three applications and included general comments which could be summarised as follows:

• Errors and misleading statements in application documents / conservation area status conflicts with applicant’s assertion that area has a ‘sharp urban edge’
• Applicant has failed to engage with local community / local opinion is being ignored / applicant is attempting to ride roughshod over local community and local planning authority which is politically and morally unacceptable.
• Conflicting statements on proposed use of the building / proposed use has not been made clear / impossible to consider how proposals relate to proposed use and are necessary / premature to determine application without clarification of proposed use / no information on hours of operation, numbers of people using building, number of Class D2 events and what those events will be
• Proposed use does not have planning permission / internal works carried out and indicated on plans provide a similar layout to previously refused church proposal – these facilities are not consistent with D2 use / applicant’s statements on proposed use are not consistent with a D2 use / D2 use of the building is likely to incorporate D1 uses / applicant publicly stated that it was considering D2 use of building, including concerts
• Capacity of building has increased / building can accommodate up to 3,000 people / building will have significant trip generating potential
• Sole purpose of purchase of building was relocation of place of worship
• The three  applications should be considered together given cumulative impact of proposals
• Granting permission will effectively validate works carried out to date and indicate acceptance of loss of community use of building / KICC are being allowed to develop building for inappropriate use unhindered
• Applicant previously emphasised potential for intensive use of building within existing permitted use and resulting highways and pedestrian impacts
• Applicant has history of attracting very large crowds to events in south London, including annual event at Fairfield Halls in Croydon / applicant significantly intensified use of former cinema in Hoe Street, Walthamstow between 2005 and 2009 / harm to area from intensification of use
• Previous planning application indicated that visitors would travel from Kent and Surrey
• Location of ticket booth immediately adjacent to entrance doors could hamper free movement of crowds into building / internal foyer is of insufficient size to accommodate influx of people arriving for events
• Significant size and presence of building / building is landmark / only Art Deco cinema building in the area / unique and unusual to conservation area
• Building makes significant contribution to conservation area / harm to character and appearance of conservation area and adjacent conservation areas / harm to architectural integrity and art-deco character of building /building retains key features of original design / contribution of building to area could be significantly enhanced whilst retaining key features /insensitive proposal for painting of building
• Previous introduction of uPVC windows, billboards and external canopy fail to reflect grandeur of building
• Applicant fails to recognise importance of the building / applicant should have presented expert architectural advice within application
• Building has been allowed to fall into further disrepair since applicant purchased it
• Building is a heritage asset as defined in planning policy statement 5 (PPS5) / presumption in favour of conservation of heritage assets / local planning authority should not validate application where impact of proposal on heritage assets is not clear from application documents
• Remaining art-deco cinema buildings should be protected and conserved / applicant has sensitively restored former cinema building in Walthamstow
• Non-religious people will feel excluded from important local landmark / church will add nothing to local community / building should benefit local community / community will be deprived of a valuable resource / local community are united in opposition to KICC proposals / over 3,000 objectors to previous application / in climate of civil unrest it is important to build a sense of community amongst existing residents rather than allow people from outside to take control of an area
• Already enough churches in the area
• Area needs an entertainment venue / building has long history as entertainment venue / building should provide a cinema / cinema operator is ready and willing to move into building / cinema would provide economic and community benefits / widespread local support for cinema
• Town centre is becoming run-down / building is key to social, economic and cultural regeneration of Triangle, particularly Church Road / harm to vitality and vibrancy of town centre
• Detrimental impact on highway and pedestrian safety from crowds / increased traffic congestion / increased demand for on-street parking in the surrounding area / significant impact of KICC church services in Walthamstow town centre
• Applicant is proposing to relocate its administrative function to the building – office building would be more suitable / numerous derelict churches that applicant could use
• Proposals conflict with relevant local, strategic and national policy.

Specific comments on the landscaping application received from nearby residents were summarised as follows: (Application ref. 11/01537)

• Unclear why people would want to sit in this area next to busy road rather than nearby green spaces
• Increased potential for crime and anti-social behaviour, in particular by providing hiding spaces from where pedestrians / bus stop users could be targeted
• KICC events could result in large crowds using landscaped space and spilling onto pavement where people wait for buses, pushing pedestrians out onto busy road
• Increased noise and disturbance from use of landscaped space lack of detail regarding maintenance of landscape features
• Area will become litter strewn and unsightly unless properly maintained
• Proposal is an attempt to woo local authority support
• Churchgoers will arrive in cars rather than cycle up hill
• Site is too narrow for bicycle parking
• Landscaping is poor quality / generic and unimaginative
• Poor design / inadequate number of bicycle stands
• Overspill of cycle parking will restrict availability of stands nearby / increased
• Cycle parking in the area will be detrimental to highway and pedestrian safety

On the a application to change the doors and canopy (11/01541):

• No need for elevational alterations
• Justification that lobby needs extra natural light seems strange
• Unsuitable materials / uPVC windows inappropriate in conservation area / existing uPVC windows are an unauthorised development
• Capacity of building has been increased to over 1,000 and proposed doors would appear inappropriate from a crowd safety and management point of view
• Replacement of existing entrance doors and location of ticket booth will create bottlenecks and congestion restricting safe movement of large crowds in and out of building / existing doors allow separate entrance and exit routes
• Harsh industrial appearance / building will resemble car showroom
• Loss of historic significance / elegance / architectural integrity / Art Deco character / original features / horizontal form / symmetry of building
• Despite unfortunate alterations building retains key original design features /
• Building should be restored to original appearance
• Canopy should be retained in same position / raising canopy will result in loss of unique geometric raised stucco surround
• Rectangular render architrave which frames door opening is a feature since 1928 and its loss is undesirable
• Glazing on lower floor should reflect original design intentions / doors and fanlight windows above canopy have been a feature of building since 1928
• Entertainment use does not require large glazed panels and doors to display internal features
• Proposed windows reflect poor and out of character alterations made by previous owners
• Signage is out of character with building and conservation area

Billboard application (ref. 11/01663)

• Insufficient details of materials and colours of billboard and advertisements
• Elevation drawings misrepresent roof structure to support applicant’s
• assertions regarding character of building and surrounding area
• The billboard will reverse council’s previous success in removing advertisements along Church Road
• The visual impact, particularly upon residents living opposite / street clutter
• The billboard is large, prominent and unnecessary
• The scale and location of hoarding inappropriate for a residential and conservation area out of character with host building, dangerous distraction to motorists
• The hoarding will be used for religious advertisements which is not consistent with use of the building religious advertisements are often bright and garish
• Crystal Palace Park Conservation Area Supplementary Planning Guidance (CPPSPG) states that advertisements requiring consent will be restricted to properties that depend on advertising to carry out their business – applicant has failed to explain nature of business and use of building
• The applicant has not explained why it cannot advertise its business more sensitively in accordance with CPPSPG
• The applicant has not indicated whether purpose of hoarding is to obtain revenue from third party advertising and why this is necessary for charity with revenues exceeding £12 million per annum
• ‘The Open Door’ signage relates to a charity and not the applicant’s business at the premises and is therefore contrary to CPPSPG harmful to the conservation area.