Developer to reopen The Standard with hundreds of flats

The Collective, which builds “co-living” developments, plans to reopen the former Standard music pub on Blackhorse Lane, open for 25 years before closing in 2011.

Previous owners Turkish Food Centre were given permission in 2017 to reopen the venue along with a bar, a supermarket and 50 new flats but this never materialised.

The Collective are the owners of Pop Brixton, accused of gentrifying the area and which Brixton Buzz reported is hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt.

“Co-living” developments, similar to co-working spaces, offer smaller individual flats with more emphasis on shared space and were compared in the meeting to student accommodation.

'There’s potential for this to become a 300-plus house of multiple occupancy'

At the planning committee meeting on December 1, business owners praised the project but councillors questioned whether the small flats would be “acceptable as homes”.

Cllr Marie Pye (Lab, Leytonstone) said: “I’m very concerned about the size of these units, there’s potential for this to become a 300-plus house of multiple occupancy (HMO).”

She noted some of the flats will be just 16 square metres, including the kitchenette and bathroom, although the developer argued around 70 per cent will be 18 square metres.

Regarding the kitchenettes, she added: “There are only 17 kitchens for 300 people, if they are not adequate to cook a meal in, this is substandard accommodation.”

From the archive: The last time planning application was approved for the site

Cllr John Moss (Con, Larkswood) agreed, adding: “I do not think it will be a 300-plus HMO, I think it will be a hostel used by visitors or people who live elsewhere and commute to work.

“I would ask what’s the benefit to our borough? We are getting less than a tenth of the affordable housing that we would have been getting from the previous scheme.

“I agree with the restoration of the iconic venue that used to be here but that does come with it’s own problems as well.

“I think the venue management plan will be incredibly important. At the moment I’m of the opinion this application is insufficiently detailed for this committee to make a decision.”

'This part of the borough is filling up rapidly with new residents'

Cllr Sally Littlejohn (Lab, Cann Hall) also supported the opening of the venue, as well as a cafe, restaurant and bar, but was concerned by the lack of outside space for residents, which is limited to a roof terrace.

While noting the site is near the Walthamstow Wetlands, she said: “This part of the borough is filling up rapidly with new residents. How many people can the wetlands accommodate?”

Councillors were told The Collective “accepted that internal living space of each room is limited but was mostly focusing on the quality of the communal space”.

The kitchenettes in each room will have hobs, a combi-oven, a microwave, a cupboard and a sink and overall there will be more than two hobs per resident.

Read more: Illegal rave organiser who held event for 150 people tried to organise second party

In response to concerns, applicant James Penfold agreed to increase the minimum lease from three months to six months and to market the flats to local residents for six months.

He added: “Our residents enjoy coming together and cooking together, it’s a key way of socialising.

“We have delivered a number of these buildings and really believe this is going to be this showcase in terms of design standards.”

The company already has two developments of more than 500 homes in London and three more under construction in Wandsworth and Harrow.

Committee chairwoman Cllr Jenny Gray (Lab, Leytonstone) spoke in support of the development, noting she had seen applications to reopen The Standard “for many years now”.

She said: “When we finally gave permission (to the previous owners) years ago, local people were really excited about it.

“You can’t have an iconic music venue without anything to pay for it, it’s obviously not sustainable on it’s own or someone would have reopened it.

“I know (co-living) is an unusual model but it has worked in other local authorities and it’s probably a similar standard to student accommodation.”

She noted that the development was supported by all three ward councillors and had not received any objections.

Despite their concerns, the application was approved by councillors. The Collective plans to start construction in summer next year and open the building around two years later.

For more breaking news, local headlines and features, ‘like’ our Facebook page.

We also have a Twitter account: @ELondonGuardian

Follow us to keep up-to-date with news in Waltham Forest and Redbridge.