North facing flats refused planning
May 13th, 2011
UPDATE: See also 100_Whitechapel_Road_final_decision.pdf heard through @euanmills in the pdfs folder
While trawling the web today for North facing single aspect flats I was delighted to find that at least one planning application has been refused in the recent past for containing North facing flats.
The image above taken from the planning document shows the paragraph in question and the rest of the document is here (source) or click the image above.
Given that I do little else than campaign via this blog about the inadequacy of these benighted dwellings it is something of a delightful surprise to find a local authority with the common sense to turn this scheme down on these grounds and fills me with some hope for the future.
Below are my comments relating to the London Housing Design Guide (Interim) 2010 w.r.t. single aspect flats.
UPDATE: Time did roll on and the revised publication appeared but the single aspect requirements are weak, in my view. Taken directly from the publication itself there is a discretionary (P2) requirement for direct sunlight:-
5.5.2 All homes should provide for direct sunlight to enter at least one habitable room for part the day. Living areas and kitchen dining spaces should preferably receive direct sunlight. P2
On the other hand the guide does appear to rule out North facing single aspect flats on a mandatory basis:-
5.2.1 Developments should avoid single aspect dwellings that are north facing, exposed to noise exposure categories C or D, or contain three or more bedrooms P1