WEA Planning helped Benjamin at Grosvenor Garage achieve a successful change of use permission at a very sensitive location in Richmond. Following resident concerns, the application was presented to LB Richmond upon Thames planning committee last night (13th November 2024) for the Change of Use from B8 (storage and distribution) to B2 (MOT test centre, servicing and repairs garage) and members voted in favour of the proposal.
After a lot of work and proactive discussions with officers we were able to secure the change of use of this industrial unit to an MOT garage and help to protect the future of a local, family-run business.
The site at 42-44 Arundel Terrace is an industrial building dating from 1895, located within the Castlenau Conservation Area and designated a Building of Townscape Merit. The site has a long history of industrial and office uses, with a previous application for conversion to residential units rejected.
LB Richmond upon Thames officers were generally supportive of the proposed change of use but later changed their mind following feedback from highways officers and the request for a call-in from a local councillor. Officers recommended re-submission but WEA Planning held firm and demanded a re-think to allow more time to submit further information. WEA worked closely with the planning and highway officers to achieve a re-think and positive recommendation. The applicant was allowed the opportunity to present the benefits of the proposal compared to the current use of the unit for the neighbours and the local area.
Thanks to the hard work of officers at LB Richmond and the project team, the proposal was presented to the planning committee with the officer’s recommendation for approval. The tenacity and hard work exhibited by the WEA Planning team and reinforced by the officers demonstrated clearly to the local councillors that the MOT garage would be the best use of the site for local business and the residents.
Several councillors emphasised the importance of protecting local industrial sites and promoting local businesses, as well as the benefits of the scheme for addressing the concerns of local residents. The application had conditions to mitigate any impact to the surrounding residential properties, far exceeding the impact of the current site as a storage and distribution use. Councillors were confident that this application would provide the best possible living conditions for neighbours of the site.
The garage had been based locally in the borough until recently losing their premises to residential development and had to briefly move to a site outside of Richmond, further away from their existing customer base.
As a result of our comprehensive strategy, the proposal was approved by the councillors and our client can get to work on serving the local community.
The decision notice is uploaded below. The link to the webcast can be found here:
https://richmond.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/924260
WEA Planning are currently advising more businesses on their change of use proposals and would be happy to respond to your query today.
