Plans to replace "dated" Green Street home with apartments

Tuesday 05 October 2021

Developers want to demolish a "dated" four-bedroom home on Green Street and replace it with six apartments.

Francheville Properties has put forward a planning application to replace Hazeldean with three two-bedroom and three one-bedroom apartments, with eight parking spaces and bicycle storage on site.

A statement prepared by MAC Architectural Services on behalf of Francheville Properties describes the home as “habitable but aged” and in need of refurbishment and regeneration.

It adds that the developers want to replace it with a “well designed, sustainably built apartment block” that respects the history and setting of Green Street.

The proposed building was designed as a pair of semi-detached properties, a style present on Green Street, with vehicle access running between the two parts.

Pictured: Hazeldean is located on Green Street.

MAC said the design is traditional and incorporates “many features of the houses in the road”, such as the small arched windows and the bay window arrangement on the first floors.

With Hazeldean being “sandwiched” between two Listed buildings, the architects said they had opted for a façade with a simple pallet of colours and render features so as not to “compete” with a neighbouring “highly detailed building”.

At the back of the property, in lieu of the large garden that backs on to an elevate car park for the high rise apartments behind, eight parking spaces will be provided, concealed under planted timber pergolas, along with bike storage and charging stations for both vehicles and bikes.

Prior plans to build eight units were refused as the Planning Department said there was no evidence the building couldn’t be repaired or refurbished, or that it would be uneconomic to do so as no costings were provided.

They added that the existing building adds to the character of the street scene, and that its demolition had not been “suitably justified”.

Concerns were also raised over the size and height of the proposed building, which was deemed to be “dominant, intrusive and over-development of the site” with an “unacceptable overbearing impact”.

MAC said the new scheme aimed to address the issues raised with the initial plans and provided a “suitable regeneration of a dated property in the Built Up area of town”.

“In summary, the design of the building suits the streetscape and character of the area,” they wrote. “The design, materials and form respect the listed buildings adjacent and would provide an improvement to the street scene.”