On the “cheap” hotel comment, it all depends on what you mean by cheap. The high cost of the more expensive hotels in London is often cited by potential visitors from the UK and overseas. It’s likely that at current costs the room rates in this hotel would be about the £100 a night mark. That’s not “cheap” to  a lot of people who may want to visit London, or to see their families etc. It is cheaper than £250 per night which most people including many companies would think excessive in today’s climate.

 At the same time the proposed construction will certainly not be cheap. The town centre and Conservation Area location has required a particular level of quality and detailing which rules the “cheap” description right out. This is not the windswept desolate out of town location on a by pass or a souless industrial estate, and that has an effect on cost.

The station is the busiest station in Europe yet currently lacks any modern hotel facilities. The new hotel will benefit from its superb location with easy connections to Victoria, Waterloo, Gatwick and many other destinations, as well, in the future, to the East London Line extension. Studies show that existing or committed hotel bedroom provision within the Borough of Wandsworth falls significantly below industry requirement projections made even before the recent announcements concerning a potential new diplomatic quarter at North Battersea.

The proposed new hotel is ideally located to provide future users with an exceptional range of public transport options, and therefore does not require or provide car parking facilities. There are currently no other hotels within a town centre or adjacent to a major transport node within the Borough. The green travel credentials for a hotel are without equal in the area.

The site fronts Falcon Road and is bound by Falcon Lane to the north and Mossbury Road to the south. First developed in the late 19th century the site suffered damage during the 1939/45 war and was for a time used for petrol sales.

In the 1970’s a new rather unprepossessing office building was built on the site. Since then adjacent new developments have been built to the north, as retail, and the west as offices. The existing building is of low quality and makes no significant contribution to the Conservation Area in which it is situated or to the local economy.

Planning Consultants CgMs have provided a detailed Planning Statement and Conservation Area Appraisal. The new building responds to adopted planning policies accepting the principle of taller buildings in town centres, especially where economic and regeneration arguments add further weight.

The project architects Husband and Carpenter Architects Ltd have designed an innovative building comprising 132 bedrooms with reception, restaurant and conference facilities and a separate retail unit fronting Falcon Road.

The design is a contemporary response to the requirements of the brief and to the need to consider the constraints of the Conservation Area in which the site is located. The building envelope uses a range of materials, volumes, rhythms, colours and tones referenced to existing nearby buildings, including the Debenham’s department store (formerly Arding and Hobbs), the Falcon public house and The Grand Theatre.

The architects have undertaken a comprehensive review of the constraints of the brief and the site, and paid particular attention to the setting of the building within the Conservation Area and its relationship with existing buildings including nearby but unadjacent listed buildings.

Husband and Carpenter have submitted a comprehensive Design and Access Statement with the application and this gives full details of the design rationale.

The plan form has been predicated by the requirements of the site, the operational brief and planning constraints. The hotel entrance and servicing will be off Mossbury Road and the ground floor contains reception, restaurant and kitchen areas, with plant and service facilities below.

A separate predominantly glazed retail unit will be provided at the ground floor Falcon Road frontage, turning the corners to Falcon Lane and Mossbury Road adding economic activity and vibrancy to the public domain, and setting the scene for possible future developments on the north side of Falcon Lane.

The planning of upper floors is dictated by bedroom requirements in conjunction with servicing, lift and escape facilities. The development is restricted to three levels at its abutment with the terrace of houses on the rising frontage of Mossbury Road, reflecting the rhythm of the street.

In launching the application, Tim Glass, director of Oak, said “The project will replace an indifferent and depressing 70s office block with a stylish new building that will make a major economic and architectural contribution to the regeneration of Clapham Junction Town Centre. We want to see this project up and running to provide much needed hotel facilities in this perfect green travel location before the 2012 Olympics. We have been long term investors in this area for many years and have enormous confidence in the project and the location, despite the current economic climate”.

David Rosemont, architect consultant to Husband and Carpenter Architects Ltd, and former Chair of the Wandsworth Challenge Partnership, said “The design has evolved after a long period of design refinement following scrupulous consultation with the fullest range of local and other bodies, including potential operators. The project has been carefully considered to provide the correct balance between quality, sustainability and viability. It is acknowledged that this part of the Clapham Junction Town Centre is in need of improvement and investment and a hotel of this high quality can deliver significant benefits to the Conservation Area and local community including businesses. The project offers the opportunity of a lifetime for the right project in the right location”

The application has been submitted to:

Planning Department
London Borough of Wandsworth
Town Hall
High Street
London
SW18 2PU

Planning application reference 2009/1291

Conservation Area application reference 2009/1288

LB Wandsworth website www.wandsworth.gov.uk

More information: David Rosemont
Husband and Carpenter Architects Ltd
13b St George Wharf, London SW8 2LE

Tel 020 7793 3660
davidrosemont@husbandandcarpenter.com