Government watchdog attacks plans for gas works site

Plans to transform a gasworks into housing and retail are 'fundamentally flawed', according to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).


The site in New Barnet involve the building of an ASDA, 211 apartments and other retail and community uses.

Cabe’s design review panel, an independent group of architects, attacked the proposals as ‘fundamentally flawed’ and told the local planning authority it should not allow the scheme to go ahead as it is.

Cabe, who are government funded and speak on the sustainability and environemental impact of proposed developments, have two main concerns with the scheme.

Firstly, rather than complementing the high street, the scheme could threaten its long term survival by undermining established shops and services.

Secondly, the cul-de-sac nature of this site does not lend itself well to hosting a supermarket-led development of the size proposed.

A spokeswoman for CABE said: “Despite the design team’s stated desire to orientate apartments towards the park, the development still appears to put the needs of residents behind those of ASDA.”

“As a car-focussed development, the resident’s experience will, in our view, be a negative one.”

Luke Walsh

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