Last month Love Clapham reported a new development over in Clapham Junction and we feel it’s necessary to clarify a few points relating to this. On one side is a developer looking to build a new hotel in an under used corner of Falcon Road in Clapham Junction and on the other side are a number of local residents that object to tall buildings in the area. Which side is right is all a matter of opinion, and that’s the point of this post – to gather opinion from people other than the most vocal out there. In an increasingly overcrowded city with very little real estate left, should the only way be up? What do you, the residents of Clapham and Battersea really think?

Before we begin let’s clear up one thing, there are two different building developments being reported in the press. Firstly, a plan for a twin towered development, a somewhat taller and larger set of buildings behind Debenhams that has been recalled. This is totally separate from the plan and developer of the proposed hotel, which has drawn the attention of local residents who objected to the first development. This new plan is for a hotel that would sit on Falcon Road on the corner leading to Boots and Asda (the old office block in the picture above). 

Having corresponded with both parties, they are, as expected, ordinary and decent people, who all genuinely do care about the future of the area. They just have a clash of views over the direction of this future in central Clapham Junction. In such an over populated city like London, tall buildings that make use of vertical space make sense, although some people will always want to maintain the existing look and feel of an area. Understandably, we are dealing with roads near people’s homes and their views are incredibly important.

Leading the objections to towers in Clapham Junction is Cyril Richert who said on his blog that, “The area is very compact. The size of the building will definitely create an eye-sore in the vicinity of low rise Victorian and Edwardian buildings, within the conservation area (and what is the point of a conservation area, if not to conserve it?).” The biggest concern of some local residents seems to be the setting of a precedent for tall buildings in the area, thus changing the look of Clapham Junction in the future. Local planning committees will be tasked with the job of preventing this becoming reality.

Tim Glass from the development company is sympathetic to concerns and states that if you look at the details of the applications people should hopefully “appreciate that we have actually paid great attention to the obvious areas of concern such as overlooking, daylight/sunlight, parking, deliveries, noise, refuse etc. as well as a lot that are less obvious.” Of course, the main advantages of a hotel in the area are obvious with new jobs and a ready supply of people to feed money into the local economy of restaurants, bars and shops.

This week Love Clapham was pleased to hear that both parties have met to discuss concerns and we really hope a resolution can be found. Is there anyone else living in Clapham that has any thoughts?