Adelaide Road

NOTE: This temporary page has been set up by one of our contributors who lives on Adelaide Road.  Any comments and email addresses will be deleted after the conclusion of the application.  The purpose of the page is to have easy access to information.

As of 26th October 2021, this application has been refused.

In a notice from the Liberal Democrats, Councillor Diane White said ” We want modern carehome facilities in Surbiton but the design needs to fit in with the character of the area. This is in a conservation area, opposite some fantastic art deco buildings and this proposal was completely out of keeping for Surbiton. As your 3 ward Councillors (Liz Green, Diane White, Yogan Yoganathan) It was clear that many local residents were unhappy with the proposal, so we offered to work with the owner/developer to help them understand local residents’ concerns. This offer was not taken up.”

There is now a period where the owner developer can appeal.

See/add comments at bottom of page

Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee meeting

• Missed the meeting? Watch here kingston.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/566092
• Presentation on behalf of residents by Siu Bun PDF presentation download

What next?

1. You can still comment on the development application on the Kingston Council website. Here is the link
2. Email your concerns to the Councillors before their meeting with the applicant before Tuesday 27th next week.

Sharron Falchikov-Sumner Green Party Sharron.Sumner@kingston.gov.uk
Liz Green St Mark’s Ward  Email:  Liz.Green@kingston.gov.uk
Yogan Yoganathan St Mark’s Ward  Yogan.Yoganathan@kingston.gov.uk 
Diane White St Mark’s Ward Diane.White@kingston.gov.uk
Alison Holt Surbiton Hill ward Alison.Holt@kingston.gov.uk
Malcolm Self Surbiton Hill Ward  Deputy Mayor Malcolm.Self@kingston.gov.uk
Hilary Gander Surbiton Hill Ward hilary.gander@kingston.gov.uk
Councillors for neighbouring wards

This is a turnkey planning application which will open the door to multi story development on Adelaide Road. The 2 story homes on the west side of the street are periodically approached by developers keen to build high-rise accommodation. If the roof-line is raised to such a vast extent as proposed by Willow Grange Care Home, it opens the door to the destruction of the street’s character and history, loss of light and green space, huge increase in carbon emissions and many years of building works. This page is open for comments below.
If you prefer to email please use adelaide@kingstononline.co.uk  Also use this address if you want to be contacted with updates about the planning. Your address will only be used for this purpose and deleted once a conclusion has been reached.

Summary of planning proposal

Demolition of existing care home and erection of a six storey replacement 60 bed care home and brain injury unit, with alterations to the access from Adelaide Road and associated parking.

Here is a summary of comments so far. Feel free to add more  (see end of page). With the current government incentive of zero-vat on new builds, demolishing and rebuilding rather than renovating is rife. This and Covid restrictions  obfuscating procedure may mean proposals could be rushed through without due consideration of impact on residents and the future of the town centre.

General

1. The detached and semidetached houses on Adelaide Rd often receive offers to buy up their properties for development and have refused all offers to date. Raising the care home’s  roof line to the height of the adjacent flats will dwarf these 2 story houses and hasten their demolition in favour of high-rise flats. This would result in many years of building work, blocked light for the surrounding flats, more pollution & carbon emissions, less green space for wildlife, more pressure on water supply, less flood soak-away and less available parking. This turnkey application, if approved, will have a short and long term impact on residential properties on Adelaide Rd, St Mark’s Hill, and the town end of Claremont Road.
2. The Care Quality Commission Report Publication date 02 Dec 2019  states Willow Grange Nursing Home is ‘’providing nursing and/or personal care to 33 people. though it can accommodate up to 44 people”. (sic) At 33 residents it is already a busy hub in terms of deliveries, ambulances, care vehicles, staff vehicles and visitors. Supporting 27 extra beds (60 proposed) will substantially increase the servicing activity in this residential street.  https://api.cqc.org.uk/public/v1/reports/8601e1a2-24b5-4a3f-9e73-1d9189f89244?20191203130000
3. All but one of the existing parking spaces will be lost and replaced with ….bicycle racks x 20 spaces. The staff will increase from 23 to 32 and the number of residents will increase from 33 to 60. Apart from one emergency vehicle bay, there is no provision for parking for staff, visitors, deliveries and tradespeople. This will put further strain on Adelaide Road and St Mark’s Hill in terms of parking, traffic, pollution and noise nuisance.
4. This is an unimaginative, oppressive, depressing bulk of a building which brings nothing to the ambience and aesthetics of the street and town centre. The architects have ignored trends in environmental and sustainable building.
5. Boxing in these unfortunate residents with long term health and mental impairment with very little outside space and uninspiring views puts commercial gain over humane care provision.

Aesthetics

1. It will irrevocably change the aesthetic and ambience of this handsome, residential street. This is one of the few remaining original 1840s Pooley Villa Houses and, though not listed, is of historical significance to Surbiton along with other remaining Villas in the street.
2. Replacing the visually accordant Villa building with a 6 story block will make the remaining detached and semi-detached homes look incongruous with their surroundings.
3. This imposing, uninspiring building will be the highest building on the west side of Adelaide Rd. It appears to be as high as the opposite red brick 1920s flats opposite and will impact negatively on all surrounding buildings.
4. It will be flanked by a low-rise wood yard and a 2 story semi-detached property.  The disparity in heights is disproportionate and ridiculous.
5. All properties on Adelaide Road are a similar distance from the pavement. The proposed development appears to breech that line.
6. The proposed development is the only commercial entity on Adelaide Road other than the one story timber yard and should blend in rather than dominate.

Environment

1. The demolition, substantial excavation and building process which is intended to last minimum 16 months, will have a huge impact on residents in terms of ground disturbance, carbon emissions, noise, pollution, traffic and parking.
2. It diminishes green space in an already heavily-built up and paved area. There is a shameful amount of green space available for the care home residents in this proposal.
3. The submission proposes installing 0.04 megawatts solar panels. This is the equivalent of 40 Kilowatts which would equal 16 solar panels requiring 25sq meters of surface area. The panels aren’t included in the drawings so either a) this is token environmental gesture (NB ‘zero pumps’ are specified in the submission which also indicates a lack of commitment to solar energy) or b) the height of the building will increase even further to accommodate the angled panels.
4. There is no meaningful water recycling proposed. No green roof or green walls.

Here is a summary of comments so far. Feel free to add more  (see end of page). With the current government incentive of zero-vat on new builds, demolishing and rebuilding rather than renovating is rife. This and Covid restrictions  obfuscating procedure may mean proposals could be rushed through without due consideration of impact on residents and the future of the town centre.

General

1. The detached and semidetached houses on Adelaide Rd often receive offers to buy up their properties for development and have refused all offers to date. Raising the care home’s  roof line to the height of the adjacent flats will dwarf these 2 story houses and hasten their demolition in favour of high-rise flats. This would result in many years of building work, blocked light for the surrounding flats, more pollution & carbon emissions, less green space for wildlife, more pressure on water supply, less flood soak-away and less available parking. This turnkey application, if approved, will have a short and long term impact on residential properties on Adelaide Rd, St Mark’s Hill, and the town end of Claremont Road.
2. The Care Quality Commission Report Publication date 02 Dec 2019  states Willow Grange Nursing Home is ‘’providing nursing and/or personal care to 33 people. though it can accommodate up to 44 people”. (sic) At 33 residents it is already a busy hub in terms of deliveries, ambulances, care vehicles, staff vehicles and visitors. Supporting 27 extra beds (60 proposed) will substantially increase the servicing activity in this residential street.  https://api.cqc.org.uk/public/v1/reports/8601e1a2-24b5-4a3f-9e73-1d9189f89244?20191203130000
3. All but one of the existing parking spaces will be lost and replaced with ….bicycle racks x 20 spaces. The staff will increase from 23 to 32 and the number of residents will increase from 33 to 60. Apart from one emergency vehicle bay, there is no provision for parking for staff, visitors, deliveries and tradespeople. This will put further strain on Adelaide Road and St Mark’s Hill in terms of parking, traffic, pollution and noise nuisance.
4. This is an unimaginative, oppressive, depressing bulk of a building which brings nothing to the ambience and aesthetics of the street and town centre. The architects have ignored trends in environmental and sustainable building.
5. Boxing in these unfortunate residents with long term health and mental impairment with very little outside space and uninspiring views puts commercial gain over humane care provision.

Aesthetics

1. It will irrevocably change the aesthetic and ambience of this handsome, residential street. This is one of the few remaining original 1840s Pooley Villa Houses and, though not listed, is of historical significance to Surbiton along with other remaining Villas in the street.
2. Replacing the visually accordant Villa building with a 6 story block will make the remaining detached and semi-detached homes look incongruous with their surroundings.
3. This imposing, uninspiring building will be the highest building on the west side of Adelaide Rd. It appears to be as high as the opposite red brick 1920s flats opposite and will impact negatively on all surrounding buildings.
4. It will be flanked by a low-rise wood yard and a 2 story semi-detached property.  The disparity in heights is disproportionate and ridiculous.
5. All properties on Adelaide Road are a similar distance from the pavement. The proposed development appears to breech that line.
6. The proposed development is the only commercial entity on Adelaide Road other than the one story timber yard and should blend in rather than dominate.

Environment

1. The demolition, substantial excavation and building process which is intended to last minimum 16 months, will have a huge impact on residents in terms of ground disturbance, carbon emissions, noise, pollution, traffic and parking.
2. It diminishes green space in an already heavily-built up and paved area. There is a shameful amount of green space available for the care home residents in this proposal.
3. The submission proposes installing 0.04 megawatts solar panels. This is the equivalent of 40 Kilowatts which would equal 16 solar panels requiring 25sq meters of surface area. The panels aren’t included in the drawings so either a) this is token environmental gesture (NB ‘zero pumps’ are specified in the submission which also indicates a lack of commitment to solar energy) or b) the height of the building will increase even further to accommodate the angled panels.
4. There is no meaningful water recycling proposed. No green roof or green walls.