180 Brockley Road plans submitted

The application to redevelop 180 Brockley Road (the area of land currently occupied by the MOT garage directly behind Coulgate Street) have been submitted, following a consultation earlier this year. The massing has been refined (and improved in our view) and new visuals produced, but even more importantly, we now have some detail about how the street level space will be used. The application is for:

The demolition of the existing buildings on the site of 180 Brockley Road SE4 and the construction of a part two/ part three/ part four storey block , comprising 482 sq m commercial floor space (Use Classes A1 (Shops), A2 (Financial and Professional), A3 (Restaurants and Cafes) & B1 (Business), 3 studio flats, 11 one bedroom, 9 two bedroom and 2 three bedroom self-contained flats, together with refuse and cycle storage, associated highway and public realm works.

The plans include a number of options for the layout of the street level and it is heartening to see that provision has been made for restaurant and cafe space, alongside the shops. Providing a mix of the two will give this development - and this part of Brockley - the best chance of attracting a thriving collection of businesses. There was the risk that we could have ended up with one big unit, suitable for nothing other than another supermarket, within a stone's throw of Nisa and Costcutter. Not that there is anything wrong with a supermarket, but it would have denied us the opportunity to create a more diverse centre.

The Design and Access statement also includes confirmation that the part-pedestrianisation of Coulgate Street could form part of the wider community benefits. They say:

Although not part of the planning application for the site of 180 Brockley Road we have included indicative proposals for the re-organisation and landscaping of Coulgate Street, between Brockley Road and Foxberry Road. 

These proposals were discussed and elaborated with Lewisham’s Transport, Planning and Conservation Department and BXAG and include: 

• Level and shared surfaced street environment for pedestrian and vehicular use with pedestrian priority 
• Enlargement of dedicated pedestrian pavement area in front of station parade to allow cafes, restaurant and shops to spill out onto the street 
• Tree lined street environment as part of soft landscaping strategy 
• One-way vehicular traffic with entry from the north from Brockley Road and exit to the south onto Foxberry Road and further east back onto Brockley Road; 
• Reduced on street car parking spaces on one side only, limited short-term parking for customers of the local commercial premises, drop-off and pick-up point for the station and car parking spaces for the local mini-cab company Speedicars.