ST. MARGARET’S CHURCH, CHEVENING ROAD, UPPER NORWOOD

Planning permission was obtained for the redevelopment of St Margaret’s Church in November 2010, after a two year planning application process with London Borough of Croydon. The application was first submitted in 2008 in conjunction with Brendan Geraghty of ‘Geraghty Taylor Architects’. Following submission the site was hastily included as an extension of an adjacent Conservation Area further adding to the list of material planning considerations.

After a process spanning two years, and resulting in a number of amendments, planning permission and Conservation Area consent were finally obtained. The process required SHW to successfully negotiate with the local planning authority whilst seeking to secure the client’s project requirements for what is to be a high quality contemporary project within a sensitive area.

“The Church had been redundant for a number of years and the site was falling in to disrepair. Unfortunately delays from the LPA, and the need to amend plans to reflect a hastily extended Conservation Area, meant that the site has become susceptible to vandalism and criminal activity. Stiles Harold Williams worked tirelessly to obtain a planning consent finally made under delegated powers”
The Client, 2010

“This case highlights some of the tensions of high quality contemporary design replacing buildings within a Conservation Area. In this instance direct dialogue with the local neighbourhood, as a forerunner to the Governments ‘Localism’ agenda, helped us to obtain a planning consent that satisfied both the requirements of the local development plan and the client’s brief.”
Ian Coomber, Director and Head of Town Planning