The Committee report issued by the Council's planning officers recommended approval for the redevelopment but members voted against this recommendation at committee and resolved to refuse to grant planning permission. The Council's draft decision notice states the reason as "the tall building by reason of its height, bulk and design would be an incongruous addition to the streetscape and of insufficient quality to justify the proposed height... therefore contrary to policies."
The developer has proposed demolishing an existing building and constructing a replacement six-storey building. The redevelopment would include 97 residential units with 20% being allocated to affordable housing, community space, car parking spaces and public realm works.
Johnson had previously raised concerns regarding the scheme and the developers, The British Land Company plc, responded to those concerns by making scheme changes. These included reducing the height of the building by one storey, reducing the number of residential units, altering the affordable housing allocation, adding floorspace for community facilities and changing the layout.
In order for the mayor to call in a decision, the proposal must have a significant impact on the implementation of the London Plan, significantly affect more than one London borough and there must be sound planning reasons for intervention.
According to the mayor's decision letter to Wandsworth Council, "the scheme is an example of town centre intensification through regeneration, which is supported by the London Plan… and the Town Centres [Supplementary Planning Guidance], and would increase housing supply. It would therefore have a significant impact on the implementation of the London Plan."
Additionally if the project does not go ahead, the "non delivery" of the proposed housing would impact housing across London and would therefore affect neighbouring boroughs.
The mayor said that there was a "sound planning reason" to intervene, taking into account Wandsworth Council's reasons for refusal, the issue of delivery of housing and affordable housing in London plus any outstanding issues.
A spokesman for Johnson said, "The mayor wants to assess this development, which would increase housing supply in the town centre, and will consider all of the planning issues as well as addressing the concerns expressed by the borough and local residents before taking a decision."
"The mayor's decision to call in this application, whilst being a welcome decision for the applicant following officer recommendation for approval, is somewhat surprising given the relatively modest scale of the proposals," said planning expert Victoria Lindsay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.
"However, clearly, the mayor considers that this is an important application as he has stepped in to take over as planning authority. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome will be," she said.
"It is quite surprising to see Wandsworth on the wrong end of a Mayoral call-in decision, given its reputation for being open to business and generally one of the better planning authorities to work with in London," said Marcus Bate, another planning expert at Pinsent Masons. "However the timing is good for the applicant. This decision put British Land near the front of the queue as the window for call-in during Mayor Johnson's period of office rapidly closes."