[2024] UKUT 62 (LC)

St David’s Square was developed in the late 1990s by St George North London Limited, a subsidiary of Berkeley Homes. It occupies a site of approximately 7.5 acres which was formerly used for heavy industrial purposes including the manufacture of ship propellers. The development comprises four terraces of houses on its northern boundary adjacent to Westferry Road and the application houses on the eastern boundary with their entrances on Ferry Street. The remainder of the site contains several blocks of flats; four large ‘T’ shaped blocks in the centre, four smaller blocks on the river frontage and a further small block nestled between the Westferry Road and Ferry Road on the north east corner of the site. In total there are 476 individual units in the development, split between 436 flats and 40 houses.

The plan below shows the extent of the site and the arrangement of the various blocks within it. The application properties are clearly visible on the right hand side of the plan and are marked 4 to 24. Vehicular access to the development is from Westferry Road and car parking is provided beneath each block of flats. The houses have covered parking accessed from within the development. The plan also shows the formal landscaping between the largest blocks and a large ornamental water feature between Enterprise House and Dominion House. Consort House in the south eastern corner of the site contains a range of facilities including a gym and swimming pool that are available for residents’ use. It is also the location of the on-site management offices and security team.

St David’s Square is at the southern tip of the Isle of Dogs, about 5 miles east of Central London. Canary Wharf is approximately 1.25 miles to the North. The area is well served by public transport, and the Island Gardens Docklands Light Railway station is some 250 metres north east of the development. The Thames Clipper boat serves Mast House Terrace Pier which is about 500 metres to the west and can be reached by the Thames Path.

The application properties are a terrace of eleven, three storey houses on the western side of Ferry Street. Numbers 4 to 22 are arranged in pairs with the entrance doors on the left and right hand sides respectively and each pair is separated from the next by a brick wall which extends to the full depth of the front garden area and is approximately 2.75 metres tall. The elevations are of yellow stock cavity brickwork and the roofs, which have a steep pitch, are covered with reproduction slate. The windows are double glazed timber casements with stone cills. At the rear of the properties each house is provided with a small first floor balcony, access to which is through a pair of French doors. The houses have small courtyard gardens at the back although the layout of the site is such that the gardens become progressively smaller from the south to the north of the terrace. Each house also has a car port with a curved metal roof which is situated adjacent to the rear garden.

St David’s Square has a noticeable architectural signature going beyond the uniformity of the yellow brickwork. Stripes of dark brickwork on the ground floor of the houses are echoed on the blocks of flats and create an interesting theme. So do the curved ‘waveform’ roofs on the tall blocks, a motif which is referenced in the curved roofs of the carports. Pale coloured laminate panels are utilised as cladding at upper levels throughout the estate and, together with the use of slate on the roofs of the houses in Ferry Street and Westferry Road, create a pleasing consistency.

The original configuration of the houses comprised, at ground floor level, a kitchen/dining space at the rear of the floor with access to the garden, a single bedroom, a cloakroom with WC and a hallway. The first floor contained a living room with access to the balcony, a double bedroom and a shower room. The top floor had two double bedrooms and a bathroom. The properties owned by Mr Patel and his company are operated as Houses in Multiple Occupation (‘HMO’) and the first floor living rooms are used as a bedroom.