Policy IDS20k: Queen Mary’s House
I do not support the number of units for which Queen Mary’s House, within my ward, has been designated or the purpose for which it has been designated. As it is considered ‘another’ development site, within IDS20, there is not much detail, but I object strongly to both details.
Proposed uses
The site has historically been used for healthcare provision. I understand that the NHS has made clear that it is not interested in continuing to do so, and is providing more services on Pond Street instead (see above). However, it has continued to provide NHS key worker accommodation on site.
There has been a clear statement of interest from the community and from us as councillors for Hampstead Town for accommodation for key NHS workers to be preserved like-for-like at Queen Mary’s House. I therefore propose that this be written into the allocation plan, with a priority use given for key NHS worker accommodation.
This could take the form of amending Figure 10.23 so that in place of reading ‘Self-contained housing’, the ‘Proposed use’ for Queen Mary’s House reads ‘Self-contained housing (prioritising and preserving accommodation for NHS workers)’. This would be in-keeping with the style of the entries for Ifor Evans Halls of Residence and Eastman Dental Clinic stating, ‘Housing (Student Accommodation)’ and 11-12 Ingestre Road stating, ‘Housing (assisted living)’. If this cannot be done, I propose that Queen Mary’s House be removed from this list and full treatment given to the requirement of the community in a separate document.
Number of units
The site is 1.6 acres (0.65 hectares) in size. Providing 150 units on site would mean the site has would be twice as densely populated as the most densely populated area in Hampstead Town (the flats on Greenhill). I therefore propose that this number be reduced significantly.
This is linked to the above concerns about the stipulated proposed uses. Key worker accommodation is likely to occupy smaller units as it would be intended to prioritise younger – and therefore disproportionately single – workers.
Therefore, if the site is not used for NHS workers, the average unit would be expected to be considerably larger: making it much harder to accommodate this designated number of units on site.
Cllr Oliver Cooper
Hampstead Town Ward
