Six-storey scheme for 19 homes on former site of The Falcon fails to include any affordable housing, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The site where The Falcon once stood and (inset) plans for new flats (credit Studio:08)

A developer plans to build 19 flats on the site of a former Ponders End pub – but provide no affordable housing.

Developer Compton London wants to build a six-storey block of flats at 115 South Street, which was once home to The Falcon public house.

Enfield Council’s policies state that developments of ten or more units should contribute to a borough-wide target of providing 40% affordable housing. But the plan for the former pub site states that a financial viability study found the proposed development “cannot support any element of affordable housing contribution”.

The Falcon was knocked down in 2017, despite a campaign by local residents to save it. It is one of several pubs in Ponders End to have closed over the last decade, with most either demolished or converted to restaurants or other uses.

The last remaining pub in Ponders End – The Goat, in Ponders End High Street – could be turned into a restaurant if a developer’s plans are approved. In March, the council revealed its fate would be decided by unelected planning chiefs rather than councillors on the planning committee.

The Falcon pictured in 2009 before its demolition (credit Google) — The Falcon pictured before its demolition (credit Google)

In 2018, the council turned down plans to build 19 flats in blocks up to six storeys high at the site of The Falcon. The developer has since worked with council officers to make changes to the scheme in response to their recommendations.

Planning documents say the new proposal would provide “a high proportion of family homes, delivering a choice of housing and a mixed community”. Five flats would have three bedrooms and one would have four bedrooms, with the remaining units containing one or two bedrooms.

There would be nine off-street car parking spaces, including two wheelchair-accessible bays, along with 44 cycle spaces.

Plans claim the scheme would improve “the aesthetic quality and visual appearance of the site, with the new building taking design cues from the area’s architectural language”.

They add that the flats would drop down to four storeys near to low-rise neighbouring homes, claiming that the impacts on daylight, sunlight and overshadowing are “considered minor in nature and therefore acceptable for the locality”.

The plans can be viewed by visiting the council’s planning portal and entering reference: 23/00978/FUL.

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