Appeal after The Cranleigh in Hornchurch homes plan refused

An application was sent by the owner of The Cranleigh, in Station Road, Hornchurch, on September 4 proposing to build a two-storey building with nine homes and demolishing the current structure.

The apartments would have been split into one three-bedroom and eight two-bedroom units with private and communal amenity spaces, seven on-site parking spaces, new boundary wall and a cycle and bin storage.

The site currently has dining spaces, a banquet hall and a kitchen on the ground floor, while the first floor contains the family home of the owner, Christine Mckenzie.

Mrs Mckenzie told the Recorder that under the new plans she would continue to live in one of the apartments while eight of them would be sold.

Despite the appeal, she clarified that they are open until December 31 this year.

She said: “I would like to stress that we are very much open and busy and welcoming old and new customers until the end of this year.

"I would never take a booking I could not complete. We have many bookings for 2024 - all will be honoured. I am not taking any bookings for 2025.”

The planning application was rejected by Havering Council in their decision on November 23.

The council stated that the proposed development “failed to justify the demolition of the existing building” and would appear as “unacceptably dominant” and “visually intrusive” on the street.

Read More: Plans to demolish The Cranleigh in Hornchurch submitted

It said there was “poor quality amenity space” for the ground floor units and “poor quality outlook” and balcony provision for flat six.

This, the council felt, would result in “substandard residential accommodation” detrimental to prospective occupiers. The housing mix proposed was also listed as a reason for rejection as it was said to lack enough three-bed units.

Mrs Mckenzie however said that she is confident that the proposal is in line with The London Plan and claimed there are other examples nearby of similar developments being approved.

Owner Christine Mckenzie has stressed that the venue is open for business until December 31 this year (Image: The Cranleigh)

She said: “These set of plans absolutely meet the London Plan and in every category possible.

“We will now have to leave it to the inspectorate to decide. I very much hope that it would pass.

“The façade in the front is going to look almost the same as the building I have now. We have parking spaces, and parking is not an issue on Stanley Road. I really don’t understand why they have refused it.”

The decision to redevelop the venue, she revealed, was taken as she had decided to retire after 40 years of running the business.

Her two children, she added, lived abroad and she does not get a chance to see them as she often ends up spending 12 to 14 hours a day at work.

She said: “I have given 40 years of my life to this, and I have loved every minute of it. I love all our customers, everything we do for the community from weddings to funerals. I am grateful for all the support.

“We have been through three recessions, one of which was really long and cruel. I have had a major fire here when we lost the kitchen, and then we survived the pandemic. How much more can you put on someone?

"It's exhausting, and I believe the time is right for me to retire.”

A previous outline application by the owner to build 11 flats was also turned down by the council in March 2021, but Mrs Mckenzie added that those plans were completely different to the current ones.

A decision on her appeal is expected to be made by the Planning Inspectorate based on written representations.

Detailed planning documents for it can be found on council's website: https://development.havering.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=P1364.23&back=no