Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Health risks re development on former petrol station on West Green Road.
Who do Planning Enforcement work for? It does not appear to be for the residents of Haringey.
The planning decision relating to application HGY/2012/1508 (former petrol filling station at 308 West Green Road) is still pending yet there has been heavy machinery on site since mid October in breach of condition 15 of planning ref: APP/Y5420/A/08/2079050. This planning permission relates to development of a four storey block on the site including 43 residential units.
Despite several residents and Councillors urging action by the planning department they have largely tried to ignore residents concerns even though the reports submitted by the developers show high levels of contaminants on the site.
For example, quoting the Subadra report of June 2004 (doc: Site Assessment Report), p2 "elevated concentrations of hydrocarbon compounds in shallow Fill material from the central forecourt area. These concentrations were in excess of Tier one, Risk Based Screening Levels (RBSLs) for residential use."
The 2008 report by Site Analytical Services Report (GeoTechnicalReport1) para 6.5 reveals that in Borehole 2 - excess lead, at more than double the Soil Guideline Value was discovered - 1000mg/kg compared to SGV 450 mg/kg.
No remediation strategy has been submitted to deal with all the contaminants on site and the application has not been approved but work has been allowed to continue.
On Thursday 22nd Nov Marc Dorfman, the Council's Assistant Director for Planning, Regeneration and Economy stated that "I have in writing from the developer that work on site will stop whilst my officers resolve the position on Condition 15. I will email you at the end of the day or tomorrow morning with an update." No email was received but on Friday work restarted on the site on the apparent basis of a two page document from the developer (since added to the planning website) which has an illegible signature and no identified person taking responsibility for it and which does not set out a clear and safe remediation strategy for the pollutants found on the site (it only relates to looking for fuel tanks on site, not to dealing with the existing contaminants in the ground).
On the face of it reckless disregard is being shown towards the health of residents and protection of the local environment.
Tags for Forum Posts: petrol station, Planning, West Green Road
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by shilps2 on
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I wrote to our councillors about this too. What do you think the most effective action is that we can take Helen?
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Hire a hitman. Good luck.
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hornsey road Texaco petrol station has flats above it.
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=JO...
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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The block of flats on Wightman opposite the mosque is built on the site of a petrol station
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The block of flats on top of that old petrol station has a car park underneath, i.e. extensive removal of potentially contaminated material, not to mention two big tanks. It sounds like the one in West Green Rd is a "get 'em up quick, no questions asked" job.
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Permalink Reply by Helen on
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Not clear what point you're making - two wrongs don't make a right. The key point with 308 is that the developers are in breach of the planning condition which was supposed to provide some level of protection to residents so contamination risks were minimised. Despite this the planning department has not taken enforcement action. For reference Planning condition 15 requires that:
No development shall take place until site investigation detailing previous and existing land uses, potential land contamination, risk estimation and remediation work if required have been submitted to and approved in writing by the LPA and these works shall be carried out as approved.
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Planning permission was granted under APP/Y5420/A/08/2079050, but it included condition 15 as set out above. That required a further planning application HGY/2012/1508, which has not yet been decided. An Environmental Health officer did express concerns that the information provided was inadequate and the application was refused. Since then some more information has been provided which doesn't deal with all the issues and in particular how the contamination will be dealt with, but it appears behind the scenes discussions are going on to get the building going without the opportunity for proper scrutiny.
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My point was simply that it's not unusual for housing to be built on the site of a former petrol station.
In your case it seems that the development per se has not yet started. They would need heavy machinery to remove the contaminated soil etc from the site and they wouldn't need planning permission for that. They could argue that the development doesn't start until the first brick is laid.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Hi Helen, understandable frustration. I think many of us have come across these issues with planning enforcement in Haringey.
It may be useful for James and John to point out other examples of development on petrol stations and this may suggest that ultimately everything will be okay. However, particularly where there are health and environmental issues involved, it is of course quite right that your concerns should be heightened and it's appropriate to take the extra trouble to follow things through. I think there are few people who would take a stance that because something has a precedent or because the Council are involved, everything will be okay.
In my limited personal experience the only remedy with planning is to keep at them - as regularly a you need to. Find out who the enforcement officer is and call, them and email them regularly to remind them of your issues and to get the answers you want. It may even be that more is happening than you realise. (I'm a natural optimist!).
As I understand it the permises are in West Green Ward. I've just checked and your councillors are Councillor Eddie Griffith, Councillor Gmmh Rahman Khan, Councillor Toni Mallet, none if who I know anything about. It's worth getting them involved and asking them to ask and require on your behalf. You can also ask David Lammy to get some questions asked too. Shilpa, did you get a response from the councillor(s) you wrote to?
I'm not that experienced in these matters, but from what limited experience I do have, it appears that there's no magic bullet; it's purely a matter of persistence. At a public event recently one (majority party) councillor said "Haringey's alright, but it is a borough where the squeaky wheel gets oiled" - seemed to sum up a lot of things for me. We might not like that as a status quo, but it's how things are.
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I've just seen the correspondence string with Marc Dorfman ccing all the councillors and I see you're as on top of this as anyone can be. I now understand that your post was to inform. Sorry to have got that wrong.
Let us know what happens!
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My post (see above) was merely to inform it wasn't a value judgement. I personally would not like to live in a flat immediately above a working (never mind a decomissioned one) petrol filling station, it seems contra-intuitive. The rising fumes MUST enter the residential spaces therefore being inhaled by residents. i shake my head in disbelief every time i pass this place on Hornsey Road.
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