St George plans for a building at the Olympia Car Park has been rejected.


St George plans to build residential units where the Olympia Car Park is currently located has been rejected by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister following the public inquiry held last September. The redevelopment of the site would have adverse consequences to current and future residents, including the destruction of Maclise Road woodland.

St George planned a 435m long five-storey block of flats abutting the railway, with a two-storey house at each end. The site, known as the Olympia car park, is situated just to the north of Olympia Exhibition Centre. It is a thin strip of land, running in a south-east to north-west direction, between the West London Railway line and the rear of the nos. 2 to 150 Sinclair Road.

The redevelopment of the site included a total of 251 residential units, comprising studios, 1, 2 and 3-bed units and a row of 172 car-parking spaces, covered by a series of carports, sited against the rear boundary wall of the Sinclair Road properties. A 430m long access road cul-de-sac would run down the middle.

Both councils involved, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea, have unanimously rejected the first Planning Application to develop the Olympia Car Park, but the company appealed and a public inquiry was called.

Following the Inspector's recommendation, the ODPM appeal had been dismissed and planning permission refused because, among other reasons, the proposal would affect the Green Corridor (Woodland), the design is "monolithic" and "too dense" and residents would suffer a substantial reduction in the standards of amenity they currently experience.

Sinclair Road Residents Association (SRRA) actively worked against St. George plans, having organised an impressive and successful campaign. The organization plans now to transform the woodland into a Nature Reserve for our local schools, and support the Compulsory Purchase Order initiative taken by the Council.

Read the full story in SRRA Web site


Background information:

Maclise Road woodland under threat: Habitat of a number of protected species menaced by St George development plans.

A 5-storey building 17m from residents' windows: Residents will loose privacy and light together with increased traffic, parking problems and security risks.