Extra floor wanted for York Crescent blocks

Extra floor wanted for York Crescent blocks

Following strong objections by residents, plans to add an additional floor to two of the five flat blocks in York Hill Crescent  have been rejected by Epping Forest District Council against officer recommendation.

Four one-bedroom flats would be added to the 1920s-built development.

Many residents of the blocks objected primarily on the grounds of the disruption that would be caused during building works, the impact on their properties and concerns about parking.  No new parking provision was proposed in an area where this is already a big concern.

There are a number of garages on the development but these are not necessarily occupied by tenants of flats but instead rented to private individuals and residents regularly do battle with school traffic in the mornings and vehicles parking for Fifteen in the evenings to find a parking space in the area for their cars.

Loughton Town Council also objected to the plans which it considered an over intensification of a plot at a sensitive location on the edge of a conservation area and again raised concerns about the lack of parking in an already congested area.

However, the council officers’ report said that the proposed development was in an “urban area” where new housing was needed and difficult to provide. They suggested conditions to keep disturbance during works to a minimum and said that it was reasonable in an urban area not to provide parking.

A decision on whether to appeal against the decision is awaited from the applicants.