The planned Hondo Enormo-Tower along Pope’s Road in Brixton appears to be in doubt. Greater London Authority Officers have recommended that the application be refused by the Mayor of London.
The report ahead of the public hearing on 21st July states:
“The proposed twenty storey tower fronting Pope’s Road, by virtue of its height, scale and mass, represents an unacceptable form of development which would harm the character and appearance of the area”
The applicant, AG Hondo Popes Road BV, is criticised in the report for failing to appreciate:
“The significance of six listed buildings, two registered parks and gardens, the Brixton Conservation Area and four other Conservation Areas.”
The decision will be made by Labour’s Jules Pipe, the Deputy Mayor for London. He is standing in for his boss, Sadiq Khan. No reason has been given for Khan not taking control of the meeting.
The apolitical report is highly critical of Hondo for ignoring the GLA’s requests to work with Officers and consult the local Brixton community. This was expected after Hondo pulled the application at the last minute ahead of a June 2022 hearing.
The new report said:
“In the 12 months since the hearing was postponed, GLA officers have made repeated attempts to engage pro-actively with the applicant to move the application process forward. Following repeated requests, the applicants produced three high level redevelopment options which were submitted to GLA officers in October 2022.
Officers held meetings with the applicant to explain the planning issues preventing a positive recommendation and to discuss how the draft options for a revised scheme could be further progressed.
The applicant has not produced any further options to date for discussion with GLA officers, the local community and other stakeholders or submitted any amendments to their scheme.
It is notable that no progress towards a revised submission has been made during the first six months of 2023. GLA officers have also encouraged the applicant to re-engage with the local community and Historic England, which has not been done.”
The report speculates that Hondo is reluctant to alter plans for the Enormo-Tower as it will eat into the profit margin:
“Following the Mayoral ‘call in’, in discussion with the applicant, GLA officers asked the applicant to test a reduction in the height of the proposal. It was apparent, at that time, that the height was driven by the applicant’s need for a certain quantum of office space.”
The replacement public toilets proposed by Hondo along Pope’s Road are considered to be a limited benefit.
It will be interesting to see if Pipe agrees with his GLA Officers, or if he sides with his Lambeth Labour colleagues who previously approved the application.
Wow. Why did it take intervention from the GLA to stop this monstrosity?
GLA officers asked the right questions and tried to bring Hondo to the table.
Our own planners and councillors sold us out. They should hang their heads in shame. There should also be an investigation into whether money or incentives changed hands. It would be naïve to assume Lambeth Planning and the 4 councillors who voted in favour, genuinely thought this enormous tower was right for Brixton.