Erith Post Office set to be demolished for 33 flats

The proposal, which was put forward by the council’s own property developer BexleyCo, was approved at a Planning Committee meeting on November 13.

Erith Post Office will be demolished to make way for a part three, part six-storey building that contains a single one-bedroom apartment, 24 two-bedroom flats and eight three-bedroom units.

The locally listed brick façade of the Post Office built in 1933 will be retained and integrated into the new development.

The proposal will also contain space for two commercial units on the ground floor on the corner of Erith High Street and Bexley Road.

However, no affordable housing will be included as part of the scheme as the council predicts it will lose £113,000 on the project and so including any affordable units would not be financially viable.

Affordable housing as well as the loss of a locally listed building were among the concerns raised by Bexley councillors during the planning meeting. Erith ward councillor Chris Ball opposed the plan.

He admitted “this particular site needs developing” and called the Post Office an “eyesore”, but he opposed the “uninspiring” design put forward.

Cllr Ball also criticised the scheme’s lack of parking spaces.

He said a key concern of his was the commercial units included in the plans, as he felt they were “unlikely to be filled”.

Cllr Ball proposed the two units be replaced with more housing, which could allow for a greater financial return and thus open the door for some affordable housing to be included.

Jacqueline Batrouney of Nexus Planning (planning consultants for BexleyCo) spoke in support of the application.

She said the new building would create an “attractive gateway” at the northern end of Erith town centre and the two commercial units framing the restored Post Office façade would provide a “vibrant pedestrian experience”.

Miss Batrouney said the lack of car spaces on the site promoted active and public transport use and maximised the space for more residential units.

In reference to the lack of affordable units, she said: “The provision of affordable housing within the scheme has not been achievable due to viability constraints and the development currently operating at a deficit.

“However, should future viability reviews identify improvements, mechanisms are in place to ensure that affordable housing contributions are secured where feasible.”

Planning Committee member Cllr John Davey said it was “a good building in the wrong location” and felt the new development would cause “substantial harm” to the locally listed Post Office and the Erith Riverside Conservation Area.

He also felt that future residents would have cars and criticised the lack of parking.

In terms of affordable housing, Cllr Davey said “the needs of many are more important than the needs of the few in this particular case” because if affordable homes were included, even less money would be going to the council to provide its services to Bexley residents.

Cllr Nicola Taylor, Erith’s other ward councillor, said: “This site is a challenge, I do accept that, and I think BexleyCo have had a big challenge on their hands but I think they’ve made a number of unacceptable compromises.”

She felt the development was a way for the council to “prop up its budget rather than listening to residents or giving residents what they want or need” and she said she “expected better” from the council’s property arm, BexleyCo.

Cllr Taylor also questioned whether the development was a good use of taxpayer money considering it was estimated to lose £113,000.

Cllr Taylor said the development would do “nothing to enhance” Erith town centre and felt that BexleyCo would have a “large role in destroying a community” with its proposal.

She added: “We need to go back to the drawing board because it introduces yet another architectural style that leads to a chaotic and unplanned feeling in our town.”

Another particular concern raised by councillors was the Post Office’s distinctive curved wall that currently shields a storage yard to the north of the existing building.

Many were dismayed that only part of this wall would be retained, and it is considered by many in Erith to be the locally listed building’s most recognisable feature.

Cllr Cameron Smith noted the low number of objections to the proposal as he said the council had only received eight.

He said: “That is a really low number and if there was widespread concern about this application, I suspect we would have seen more.”

Cllr Smith felt the application was an acceptable one despite its perceived flaws.

He said: “At the end of the day, if we take an approach where we will not build anything with no affordable housing when housing in London is at rock bottom levels, or reasons that it doesn’t have sufficient parking when we know we would never win on that ground [due to the London Plan], and because it’s taller than a pub across the road, even ignoring the ginormous tower block behind it; this is just not an acceptable argument to be making to people in this borough who would like to get on the housing ladder or who would like to have less competition when they’re going to look for a rented flat.”