Prospect of six-storey flats in redevelopment of The Spires prompts worried response from nearby residents
When the owners of The Spires shopping centre unveiled revised plans to redevelop much of their High Barnet site with blocks of flats up to six storeys high, there was a barrage of challenging, even hostile questions.
Householders in adjoining streets feared their homes would get less daylight and be overlooked.
There was disbelief when the planning team from property developers BYM tried to reassure nearby residents that their scheme would be “car lite” and would not add to pressure on car parking in surrounding streets.
BYM’s head of planning Dean Jordan (see above), who was on hand to answer questions, insisted that redevelopment of The Spires – and incorporating within it around 250 flats – was an essential next step given the trading difficulties that the shopping centre faced.
A new pedestrian street would be created through the shopping centre, from the High Street to Stapylton Road, with 24-hour access, and there would be “new places to eat, drink and shop” while retaining Waitrose, other key outlets, and Barnet Market.
“Since BYM purchased The Spires two years ago, the retail trade has changed. We have vacancies in the centre, and outlets are harder and harder to let. Given the way The Spires is declining, we must invest for the future.”
An exhibition of BYM’s plans (which will be repeated on Saturday 15 April, between 11am and 3pm) was so well attended that it spilled out into the central walkway.
Consultations which have been held with local organisations over recent weeks have also indicated considerable disquiet.
However, few of the concerns which the Barnet Society expressed last year about the extensive height and massing of the redevelopment, have been addressed in the updated designs.
“We could accept 250 flats if the result is a real improvement in The Spires,” said Robin Bishop who leads for the society of planning issues.
“What’s currently on offer is mainly a five to six-storey canyon of shops and cafes with flats above.
“Key information on transport, homes, sustainability and the visual impact on neighbours and conservation areas is lacking.
“This is a once-in-a-generation chance to revitalise the town centre, and the developers’ team must up their game if it’s not to be wasted.”
Barnet Residents Association told its members it considered the scheme would “disfigure our historic town and rob it of its unique character”.
Despite the worries voiced by nearby residents, Gail Laser, founder of Love Barnet, urged High Barnet to embrace change.
“The Spires is run down and is in dire need of regenerating. The planned avenue through the centre could offer a major uplift to the High Street.
“Maybe the residential development plans are too high, but it is revenue driven to offset the cost of redevelopment, so we need to be flexible.”
Residents of Salisbury Road express their concern about the height of the proposed flats – concern that was shared by residents of Chipping Close where the vacant market site would be redeveloped with new homes ranging in height from three storeys to up to five storeys where they backed on to Bruce Road.
Perhaps the issue that attracted the most determined questioning was BYM’s plan to build two storeys of flats on top of the multi-storey car park – replacing the upper floor and adding another storey.
Josh Milne, BYM transport consultant, said this would reduce the number of spaces in the car park from 440 to 100 to 150 spaces, and some of these would be reserved for residents in the flats.
Mr Milne defended what the description of the plan said was a “car lite” development that would not result in “excessive parking stress in the area”.
Occupants of the 250 flats, which would include one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, would not be allowed to obtain places in nearby controlled parking zones.
Reducing the size of the car park was justified because current use rarely exceeded 50 per cent of capacity and surveys had shown there was spare space in other car parks around the town centre.
BYM intends to continue consultations with the community until the summer, but comments should be submitted by the end of May if they are to influence any revision of the plans.
A planning application should be ready by the autumn and BYM hope to have obtained planning permission from Barnet Council by the winter of 2023/24 ready for construction work to start in late 2024 or early 2025.
Dean Jordan told the Barnet Society that BYM had extensive experience of delivering residential developments. So far, the company had completed 1,000 homes and had another 2,000 in the planning process.
Once planning permission had been obtained for The Spires redevelopment, BYM would aim to team up with another house builder or developer to carry out the construction work.
11 thoughts on “Prospect of six-storey flats in redevelopment of The Spires prompts worried response from nearby residents”
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This is not about embracing change or not but considering what that change will be and who actually gets a genuine opportunity to consider what it should be.
The existing Spires was the result of several years of genuine public consultation and a great deal of informed and sometimes drastic reconsideration as the consultation progressed. Having seen how appalling many of the rejected versions of that scheme were this process was absolutely essential. Having seen what is proposed now something like it is essential again.
There are serious issues many aspects of the current proposals that would blight the development and the town centre. These should be completely rethought but it is clear will not.
The proposals would not make commercial units significantly more attractive to tenants. The housing would be dominated by badly lit, badly ventilated and diminutive apartments with diminutive if any amenity space. Public and residents’s access would be through a deep, narrow and gloomy wind tunnel. Houses would face each other across Chipping Close at a distance that should not be allowed. Where is the urban planning in any of that? That ignores the parking being available to shoppers being cut by half as previously mentioned.
There is every indication that when this project was announced it was an oven–ready planning application already run past those that would decide whether or not it should be approved. It is clearly being run past them repeatedly. The only changes will likely be the result from further discussions behind closed doors.
The only object is to fatten the turkey and sell it on. What we will end up with will still be a turkey. I do not think anyone apart from the leaseholder should want to embrace that.
Some may not have deduced that the proposals suddenly include removing half of the town centre’s off–street parking available for shoppers and other visitors. This manages to be both a side issue and the elephant impolitely arriving unannounced in the room over last Wednesday night (April 12). It emerged at the first public exhibition on Thursday just a day after the last briefing for community groups.
Serious issues are being seen on a day to day basis. This is just one of a stampeding herd of them careering recklessly towards an imminent planning application. These needs far more serious consideration than anything about these proposals appears to be receiving.
This drastic cut need not and should not be a part of the project at this stage. It should not even be on the table until the rest of the project is completed and any improvement to commercial activity and increased footfall in the town centre accessed by the various means of transport assessed as fact.
The change follows the new plans not to build on the top deck of the car park as originally proposed but to remove it and build on that below. That is claimed to reduce the capacity from 440 spaces to between 100 and 150, the larger reduction representing the removal of 340 spaces.
The remaining spaces would be shared between shoppers and other visitors with resident blue badge holders and car clubs. With the three other dedicated town centre car parks (excluding the station and hospital) totalling 200 spaces this equates to a reduction between 45% and 53%.
This is claimed to be a new “Car-Lite” approach to the shopping centre extended from the previously planned car free housing. However the sudden emergence of this is also said to be due to engineers reporting the top deck could not support the intended housing.
The design strength of multi-storey carparks can be calculated and would be expected to support the two storeys of housing it is proposed to add here, a regular procedure with such buildings. It seems inconceivable anyone would have suggested adding to top of any structure without at first having confirmation from engineers that it was possible.
The reduction in capacity is also claimed to be supported by analysis stressing the underuse of the multi storey car park. It indeed can be severely under–occupied. As widely reported for several years shoppers struggling with the management of the parking can prefer to use the less convenient surface car parks or simply to stay away from the town. That would need to change if the proposed new commercial units, whether shops or cafe/restaurants, are to have any chance whatsoever of being a success.
I appreciate that divorced from such wider practical considerations this may superficially fit emerging future transport policies. However here and now (and during the time after construction this project will need to prove itself) on a strong balance of probability it would kill any chance of survival of the commercial town centre let alone see a renaissance for it. There simply has been no time to extend whatever theoretical research was used to back the smaller reduction previously proposed. This is a jump in the dark with a high likelihood of it being a very long drop.
Investment is needed, though five and six storeys are not acceptable. I would not be surprised if any five or six story plan was vetoed either by the Mayor or the Secretary of State if within their powers to do so.
I agree other car parks are not always full, however many people will not walk any distance from their car, even if carrying nothing. Car parks are also sized as if the days of Ford Escorts and Morris 1300s, not the SUVs we have now, which I object to but is not going to change.
I think we can all agree that the Spires looks tired and needs to be redeveloped. I would actually argue that it’s always looked that way. Its cheap construction in the late 80s meant that it was always an ugly anachronism with issues: from day one the roofs leaked and the original tile flooring was a slip hazard when wet; the units were too small and not really fit for purpose, which was why they always had difficultly attracting larger sustainable businesses; the Stapylton Road entrance was/is too small, and made even smaller by the madness that Pinks Florists were allowed to permanently set up shop there; etc.
I agree with JP, we need reform that puts local residents first.
At this rate I would probably prefer that we scrap altogether the idea of retaining parts of it as a shopping centre and instead flatten the entire site to make way for an entirely new street of town houses in-keeping with what currently surrounds the site. I’m not sure if anyone would agree with that, I’m really just thinking out loud. It might mean fewer potential residences but we’d avoid the eyesore of high rise flats that nobody wants.
The Spires looks tired. We need to embrace change if we want Barnet to thrive.
It’s unlikely BYM will ever build these plans and any promises are pretty much worthless. Once they get planning permission, the value of the the land will increase hugely and they will sell it to a house building firm. Maintenance will stop at the spires and we will be told how un affordable the current plans are, how the buildings will have to be higher etc… They will then get away with changing all the plans and most of the flats will be sold to investors all around the World who will rent them out for extortionate rents. Personally I would prefer the Spires to be left as it is untill hopefully one day in the future, when the planning and house building sector is reformed. Then there might be a chance for this site being developed for the benefit of future residents.
Car lite? So residents in these flats will pay a small fortune for a pokey flat and be effectively banned from owning a car. If I spent upwards of 400grand for a flat I would expect parking.
Local residents can oppose these plans until we’re blue in the face, but the sad reality is that we’ll have very little say. They’ll make whatever decision is the most profitable to BYM, and to any MPs or local councillors who have mutual interests in the same firms who stand to make huge profits from such a redevelopment.
And what’s all this “once-in-a-generation” nonsense? As I said in a comment on an earlier post about this, this is exactly what happened in the 80s when plans for the original Spires shopping were proposed. We were given the same once in a generation hyperbole back then, but residents weren’t listened to and now here we are again!
The bit about parking where it says “surveys had shown there was spare space in other car parks around the town centre”. I wonder, did their survey include the empty car park where the old market used to be (you know, the one BYM owns because it’s part of the Spires)? Because that’s been closed and unused for the last few years, probably intentionally to make their parking survey give them the result they were after!
I just can’t wait for all this new affordable housing, not to mention all these new amazing new retail and restaurants units that won’t be filled just like the current unused units.
They couldn’t fill two restaurants units for years and have had to save face by letting Poundland use them hahaha.
Maybe fill the current empty units with shops and/or restaurants who actually contribute to the good of the community instead of throwing out these promises of new shops and restaurants.
I personally can’t wait for the new revolutionary architecture of boring flats, I mean I can just picture all the awards already.
BYM don’t care about what they do to Barnet as long as they make a profit on their £30 million+ investment, gonna be a fun watch to see the decline of Barnet speed up a little!
Agree entirely with the LoveBarnet commentary. Time to embrace reality and commit to the opportunities and change that this investment would bring or accept the ongoing process of decline that is the alternative.
I understand that Barnet’s own requirements are that window to window distances should not be less than 21 metres (almost 69ft). In Chipping Close this proposed development is going to be HALF that distance, completely overshadowing the Conservation Area Victorian terrace opposite, stealing its daylight, and turning the street into a dingy alley. It appears that to get around this restriction, the developers are going to give the flats opposite frosted windows which cannot be opened properly in order to maintain the privacy of the Victorian terrace. Who on earth would want to live in a flat where you can’t look out the (single-aspect, North-facing) frosted window? How will they clean the outside of the windows if they can’t be fully opened? What’s the point of having a Conservation Area if you are going to slap a massively oversized carbuncle immediately next to it?