17-bedroom hotel at 27 - 29 Crawford Place, London W1H

The site

The unlisted building contains a vacant pub and lies in the Molyneux Street Conservation Area, Central Activities Zone and an air quality focus area.

“The application site is an unlisted building comprising basement, ground and first floors. The basement and ground floors are a vacant pub, while the upper floors were last identified as being in ancillary pub use (during an application for a roof extension which was refused in 2016 for design reasons, RN: 16/04796/FULL). The upper floors are currently in unauthorised use as short term lets, which are subject of enforcement investigations (RN: 24/81634/B).”

“The site is located within the Molyneux Street Conservation Area, the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) and within the partly within Air Quality Focus Area (no.27 only).”

Officer report

Officers’ recommendation

Officers recommended approval because marketing showed no realistic prospect of the pub reopening and the hotel was acceptable in land use, design, highways and amenity terms.

“The building has been vacant since 2018. In support of the application marketing information has been submitted setting out that the site was marketed as a Public House for a 40-month period spanning more than 3 years. The marketing campaign ceased in August 2021.”

“The report details that during the marketing period 15 onsite inspections with various potential occupiers were undertaken but no offers were received. Although the marketing information has not been independently assessed the conclusion that there is no realistic prospect of the building coming back into use as a Public House is accepted. The loss of the Public House is therefore considered acceptable.”

Officer report

Main planning issues

The main issues were land use, design and heritage effects, residential amenity, hotel activity, noise, servicing, waste and cycle parking.

“Land use acceptability; • Design impacts, including effects on the Molyneux Street Conservation Area and nearby heritage assets; and • Impacts on neighbouring residential amenity. Objections have primarily been raised on the grounds that hotel activity would harm residential amenity and the character of the area.”

Officer report

Consultation responses

Councillors, residents’ groups and neighbours raised concerns about room quality, daylight, cycling, waste, noise, traffic, servicing and hotel activity; two responses supported the scheme.

“MARYLEBONE WARD COUNCILLORS Welcome improvements to the front façade; Concerns re the quality of accommodation, the rooms being small, two have no natural daylight, others will benefit from rooflights only but have no windows. Waste management must be carefully considered. Insufficient cycle storage.”

“Land use: Loss of Pub; harmful to the Molyneux Conservation area Nuisance from hotel; potential to change to short term let /Airbnb Poor quality accommodation Café’ should be restricted to use by hotel residents only Hours of late-night access and egress should be conditioned.”

Officer report

Who spoke

A supporter addressed the committee in support of the application.

The committee vote

The application was approved unanimously.

“When put to a vote, the application was approved unanimously.”

Minutes

The decision

Conditional permission was granted, with added restrictions on coach arrivals and non-resident access to the coffee shop and bar.

“1) That conditional permission was granted; and…”

“2) That restrictions to the draft Management Plan be added to preclude arrivals by coach and to limit access to the coffee shop/bar by non- residents to: - 0600 to 2330 hours Monday to Thursday - 0600 to 0000 hours Friday to Saturday - 0600 to 2230 hours Sunday…”

Minutes