A new six-storey hotel proposal has been submitted to replace an existing vacant two-storey building near the Ram Brewery development. The proposal has received positive feedback from the local community.

One of the last planning applications of 2024 proposes a 4-star hotel providing 50 bedrooms (p.a. 2024/4463). The ground floor will include a community café to appeal to both visitors and passers-by. The applicant is ARC LRE – a development company that now owns the building at No. 9 Ram Street.

The site is currently occupied by a one- to two-storey building formerly used by the Salvation Army as a church for its charitable activities. They offered support to homeless and vulnerable people, provided employment support services, and ran a food and clothing bank for those in need. The Salvation Army moved away nearly two years ago, and since then the building has remained unused. Although one might wonder why the citadel could not have been reconfigured internally as a homeless rescue centre, it was assumed that the charity believed it would be advantageous to profit from the disposal of the site to support its work.

Just beside it is the large development of the Ram Brewery Quarter, which should soon welcome a 37-storey tower in addition to the existing blocks.

• Read our article: Work is starting again on the Ram Brewery site, renamed Wandsworth Mills

Nearby, there is a substantial proposal for the former Gasworks site, a scheme that the Wandsworth Society characterised as “quite ‘out of context’ next to the River Wandle”. The site of the tower cannot be considered a “town centre” site, nor is it close to a cluster of buildings of a similar nature. The application cannot be considered to “make a positive contribution to local character and context“. The local planning guidelines state that “tall buildings must respect the small scale of the River Wandle“, and therefore that part of the site adjoining the river should have buildings not exceeding four storeys, tiering back (eastward) away from the river to a maximum of eight storeys. This is obviously not the case with the 12- or 30-storey blocks proposed in the application.

On the south of the Gas Works site, two buildings up to 10 storeys high are also proposed, with one block designated for student accommodation and the other having light industrial use on the ground and first floors.

• Read our article: A series of controversial planning applications examined by Community groups at Council meeting

Therefore, this hotel proposal has been welcomed as a positive surprise by the local community. For once in the area, the scheme does not breach any planning rules or constitute what could be considered overdevelopment. It should be noted that the architects reduced the size of the building following pre-application meetings with Wandsworth planners.

A six-storey building is the mid-rise building height specified in the Local Plan and is comparable in height to the old Ram Brewery walls opposite, which stand within the Town Centre Conservation Area, and two-thirds the height of the office building behind (Wandsworth Town Hall). Therefore, it appears to sit comfortably within its environment, with a similar or sometimes lower height than its surroundings.

The red-brick façade and the design of the windows will also help it blend with the area.

The applicants offered the Wandsworth Society a briefing in advance of the proposal being considered by Wandsworth’s Design Review Panel. Following the meeting, they commented that they found the proposal appealing. They raised only one observation: the pitched roof screen is attractive but could be enhanced by being raised in height so that it becomes a more pronounced and interesting feature. They also pointed out the necessity of fully presenting the roof plant, as they noticed it has a tendency to proliferate in recent applications, often not fully drawn at the planning stage for many modern buildings, but clearly visible upon completion with additional ducting, health and safety access stairs, railings, etc.

It is likely that Wandsworth officers will also comment in agreement with the applicants, stating:

“The application proposals will be a positive addition to the view and introduce a high quality building, which directly responds to the local context.”

This opinion seems to be shared by the Wandsworth Society, which concluded by saying that “the planned ‘bijou’ hotel could give a lift to the Town Centre.“