Colebrook Court, Sloane Avenue

A new and substantially revised planning application has now been submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) for the redevelopment of the Colebrook Court site at 75, Sloane Avenue, Chelsea.

This website has been created to provide local residents and stakeholders with key information on the latest proposals including details of a local drop-in session and a live interactive presentation which took place in late October and early November 2023.

We have provided downloads of key documents of the latest planning submission to RBKC (reference PP/24/01856):

• Design and Access Statement - this describes the existing site and the design features of the new building. It provides the details of the layout of the proposed building, the proposed materials and computer-generated images;
• Planning Statement - this addresses the main planning considerations;
• Statement of Community Involvement - this covers the community involvement and consultation programme that took place, outlining the activities undertaken over a four- year period, the feedback received and the response of the design team.

Site description

Situated outside of any designated Conservation Area, the site is located between Petyward and Makins Street and currently comprises a three-storey residential block, an enclosed car park to the rear accessed off Makins Street and the popular Sainsbury’s ‘Local’ convenience store fronting Sloane Avenue. It is a site that is recognised by the Council as suitable for redevelopment.

Previous proposals

Just over four years ago, some initial 26-storey proposals for the site were shared with the local community at a public exhibition. Given the feedback received, it was decided to undertake a complete re-think of the design of the proposed new building.

The new approach was presented during 2020-21 through virtual briefings due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Residents, local civic groups and elected representatives were consulted through video discussions on new options and a public live interactive presentation (webinar) was held.

Two options were put forward for local consultation for a cylindrical building based on a height of Ground plus 14-storeys and Ground plus 12-storeys. Given the feedback received which clearly favoured the lower option, a planning application was submitted in the Spring of 2022.

We have provided downloads of key documents from the withdrawn 2022 planning submission which will help you understand the previous proposal and how it changed over a three-year period.

Withdrawal of 2022 application and new approach

As with all the planning applications it receives, RBKC carried out its own consultation on the submitted planning application for the Ground plus 12-storeys proposal.

As a direct result of the consultation responses, it was decided once again to re-think the redevelopment of the Colebrook Court site and the planning application was withdrawn. The approach throughout as demonstrated by the extensive and lengthy local consultation undertaken was to try bring forward a proposal which would be viewed favourably by the local community.

After careful consideration of the key issues raised by the Council’s consultation, the architects Squire and Partners designed an entirely new proposal which aims to directly respond to local community feedback.

The key elements of the revised proposals and changes that have been made include:

• A further reduction in height in the proposed building so that it is Ground plus 8-storeys (around 30 metres tall), making it consistent with the height of the neighbouring mansion blocks and the building heights policy of RBKC;
• A redesign of the previous cylindrical form of the proposed building so that it has an attractive mansion block-like appearance instead, making it fit in comfortably with the neighbouring buildings and streetscene;
• The retention and reprovision of the ground floor shop unit in a modern and more accessible unit; and
• A substantial financial contribution to RBKC for the early delivery of new affordable homes.

The height reduction and redesign of the form of the building were undoubtedly the two principal items that the local community identified last year. You can see the very visible differences between the 2022 proposal and the new 2024 proposal by viewing the images shown in the ‘slider’ at the top of this page.

Community Benefits

The benefits of the revised lower proposals are as follows:

• Opportunity to significantly enhance what is currently an unattractive site and improve this part of Sloane Avenue;
• Replacement of an unsustainable existing building with a new low carbon, energy efficient one;
• High quality design by leading architectural practice;
• A significant reduction in height compared to the previous planning application, addressing key local concerns;
• Revised mansion block approach sympathetic to existing buildings nearby also addressing key local concerns;
• Further reduced impact on long distance views from nearby Conservation Areas, meaning that the building is hidden from view in the townscape;
• Use of traditional materials complementing local character;
• Early delivery of affordable housing;
• Greening the public realm and enhancing the street scene along Petyward, Makins Street and Sloane Avenue;
• Provision of external amenity space for future residents; and
• Retention and modernisation of the convenience foodstore.