Harrow Planning Committee has approved a significant mixed-use development at 382-384 Station Road, which will see the demolition of the existing building to make way for a seven-storey structure. The new development will comprise 12 residential flats and 69 square metres of commercial space on the ground floor.
The decision was made subject to a Section 106 legal agreement. This agreement will secure contributions towards sustainable transport improvements, including feasibility design studies for cycle lanes and reduced traffic on Station and Lyon Road (£10,000), a parking permit restriction (£3,000), and a commuted sum to fund on-street blue badge spaces (£9,000).
The agreement also includes provisions for viability reviews to assess potential affordable housing contributions. These reviews follow the London Mayor's Supplementary Planning Guidance, with an early-stage review required if substantial commencement of development has not occurred within 24 months of the agreement date. A late-stage review will be tied to 75% occupation of the development.
During the meeting, concerns were raised regarding the development's height. The Harrow Local Plan Policy GR4 defines a tall building as any building that is 7 storeys or 21m from the ground level to the highest point of the building (excluding necessary plant and roof infrastructure)
. The proposed development is seven storeys in height, which technically breaches the underlying heights permitted within the restricted corridor for protected views, as it exceeds the five-storey height judged to protect views towards St Mary's Church Spire.
These protected views seek to preserve vistas of Harrow on the Hill, with particular attention to St Mary's Church spire. While the proposed seven-storey building would exceed the five-storey limit within this corridor, planning officers considered the impact acceptable in context, noting that the impact of the building does not fundamentally damage the localised views to St Marys Church Spire located on Harrow on the Hill.
The spire would retain satisfactory visibility from designated Viewpoint 8 in the views management guidance (June 2024).
Affordable housing was a key point of discussion. The applicant's viability assessment indicated the scheme could not support any affordable housing contributions. This was supported by an independent assessment by BPS, which confirmed that the deficit of the scheme remains significant at -£353,000 versus the FVA compiled by Turner Morum at -£678.240.
This indicates a smaller deficit of £353,000 compared to the applicant's assessment. The committee acknowledged the challenges in delivering affordable housing due to rising build costs and economic factors.
The planned housing mix for the 12 residential flats is 1 x 1-bedroom, 10 x 2-bedroom, and 1 x 3-bedroom. This did not fully meet the local plan's target of 35% three-bedroom homes because The site is within a PTAL 3-6 area and considering the housing format, constrained nature of the site and deliverability considerations, the provision of 8% family housing on a twelve (12) unit development is deemed acceptable in this particular instance by officers.
The development was deemed to make efficient use of brownfield land and contribute to the borough's housing stock. The commercial floorspace was welcomed for retaining an active frontage.
Concerns regarding noise from the nearby Trinity music venue were addressed through conditions requiring enhanced glazing and potentially winter gardens to mitigate sound intrusion for future residents. To achieve this, enhanced glazing would be required and ideally winter gardens throughout the development.
The applicant's noise consultant suggests high quality glazing as the best solution in addition to the ground floor 3 bed unit incorporating a winter garden which provides additional insulation to prevent noise emission.
The Environmental Protection Team strongly encourages the consideration of winter gardens to balconies as part of the building design
as they can provide an effective acoustic buffer, improve internal noise insulation and reduce exposure to external noise.
The development will be car-free, with contributions towards sustainable transport and blue badge parking as outlined in the Section 106 agreement.
For further details, please refer to the Public reports pack Wednesday 22 Jul 2026 18:30 Planning Committee.