Residents' Association Forum

Followers of the discussion on the neighbouring 31 Embercourt may be interested in correspondence below I've had with Shanly Homes.  It seems we may soon be having 7 houses built on that corner (4 at #29 and 3 at #31) in quick succession.  

Kind regards,

Graham

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1. 
  
Dear Mr Barton,

Thank you for your email with regards to 29 Embercourt Road, Thames Ditton.  We have submitted a planning application to Elmbridge Borough Council for 4 x houses. The application is currently being validated by the council. We are expecting the application to be formally validated by the end of this week and at that point the plans will be made available on the council’s website for you to view.

Our planning application is not in conjunction with the recently gained planning application on 31 Embercourt Road but it has taken into consideration the consent and previous planning history at 31.

Kind regards

Emily


Emily Bloor  Senior Land Manager
Shanly Homes Ltd
T: 01372 225000
shanlyhomes.com


2. 

Dear Emily,

Thank you for letting me know, and I look forward to reviewing the application when posted on the council website.

For your awareness, I and other residents were distressed to see the way the mature trees at the property were crudely hacked immediately after the sale, especially also given the historic provenance of the house. The cynic might think it was done so quickly so as to avoid the trees becoming an issue during the planning process. This has not inspired confidence in the way future development will be undertaken.

Kind regards,

Graham


3. 

Dear Mr Barton,

Thank you.

Prior to the removal of the trees we had a detailed tree report carried out by an arboriculturalist. The trees that were removed were not deemed worthy of retention. If you would like us to discuss our proposals for 29 Embercourt Road with you we would be more than happy to meet.

Kind regards

Emily

Thanks for contacting Shanly, rwarthog.  It is surprising that all the trees in the grounds of 29 Embercourt Road were deemed unsuitable for retention - were they diseased?  Did any have TPOs?

This is the house of the war hero Sir Sidney Camm CBE.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Camm.  It should surely be preserved as a museum - not demolished and replaced with a housing estate for profit.

If seven houses are built where there are currently two (at Nos 29 and 31 Embercourt Road,) the number of houses in that road and others is set to quadruple - with dramatic increases in traffic congestion, pressure on local services, and environmental issues.

I trust local residents will submit comments on Shanly Homes' application when it is uploaded on the Elmbridge Planning Department website later this week.

Dear Emberman,

Yes, I agree the overall prospect is appalling. 

I have already also tried contacting SSCCS ( http://www.sirsydneycamm.org/ ) but not had any response. It may be more effective if RA tries making contact. The website also has links to a large number of other organisations that may be willing to support a campaign to preserve the house or to make more appropriate redevelopment of the site. 

Feels like the start of a long campaign. I'm happy to muck in and support if I can be of use.

Please keep an eye on Elmbridge Borough Council planning website search page for this application to demolish the important historic house of the war hero Sir Sydney Camm, designer of the Hawker Hurrican, to replace it with four new houses.

http://emaps.elmbridge.gov.uk/ebc_planning.aspx?requesttype=parseTemplate&template=SimpleSearchTab.tmplt

My impression is that the developers have made the property look as unattractive as possible, by cutting down most of the trees and surrounding the site with a tatty hoarding.  Thus they can describe it as an eyesore (of their own making), and give the impression it is a demolition site, as a foregone conclusion.  In fact it is a spacious and high quality detached 1930s house, and of considerable historical importance.

I agree.  Sydney, later Sir Sydney Camm lived there from 1938 throughout the war and until his death.  That was his most prolific and important period as an aircraft designer - perhaps the most important military aviatiuon figure this country has ever had, the man whose Hurricane downed more enemy aircraft than any other in the Battle of Britain,  and whose swansong led to the incredible VSTOL Harrier.

I agree. It is a shame when buildings with historical connections are put at risk. However Thames Ditton is under the same pressures as all other London suburbs to find land to build much needed family homes. And ultimately gardens of the  size of no.29 and 31 are quite frankly an indulgence that seems somewhat hard to justify considering the demand for housing in the area, non conservation site status and fact there was a willing seller and buyer. The sad removal of the mature trees falls on EBC for not having made preservation orders but the precedent has already been set for the demolition of this house. For those who object to the redevelopment of this site your best hope is to argue to reduce the density of the proposed build but arguments based on the buildings 'historical' value will unfortunately not save it. However an alternative might be to press the developer to renovate the main house, remove the ugly garage extension and back build the new houses.

The application to demolish 29 Embercourt Road and replace it with four 5 bedroom, 3 storey houses can be viewed on www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning under reference no 2014/3620. Should you wish to comment you can do so by selecting "comment on this application". 

The deadline for comments is 31st October.