GLA signals support for Southgate Office Village plans

Heritage

21. The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 sets out the tests for dealing with heritage assets in planning decisions. In relation to listed buildings, all planning decisions should “have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses”. The NPPF states that when considering the impact of the proposal on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation and the more important the asset, the greater the weight should be. Significance can be harmed or lost through alteration or destruction of the heritage asset or development within its setting.

22. As indicated in paragraph 5 of this report, the site is adjacent to the Southgate Circus Conservation Area and in proximity of other listed assets. The applicant has submitted a heritage statement and a townscape and visual appraisal, which consider the proposal’s impact on heritage assets. The proposed development would appear prominently in the background of the Grade II* listed Southgate Underground station and Station Pylons in the view looking north along the High Street. However, the taller blocks proposed would not show directly behind the listed assets whilst those elements that do, appear at a scale consistent with the surrounding built environment including the existing South Point House. It is therefore considered that any harm caused to this asset would be less than substantial. In relation to the Grade I listed Grovelands Park and the listed buildings within, the proposed development would not be visible. Regarding the conservation area, as mentioned earlier in this report the massing is stepped up away from the conservation area; in addition, the existing buildings adjacent to the conservation area such as South Point House reflect a more modern architecture and are taller.

23. The NPPF at paragraph 196 makes clear that where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal including, where appropriate, securing its optimum viable use. Having analysed these assessments and having regard to the statutory duty in respect of listed buildings in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and the relevant paragraphs in the NPPF in relation to heritage assets, GLA officers consider that any harm caused to the nearby heritage assets, namely the Southgate London Underground station, by the proposed development would be less than substantial harm and clearly outweighed by the public benefits of the scheme, namely the provision of affordable housing units and modern office space that collectively could be a catalyst for the regeneration of the town centre. The proposal would therefore address the requirements of the policies set out above.