Wandsworth Council has raised concerns over whether co-living room sizes could harm residents’ health and wellbeing in light of coronavirus, ahead of a decision on the Collective’s Chatfield Road scheme.
Planning officers said the Collective’s 263-room Chatfield Road development in Battersea, SW11, “falls short” of accommodation standards, which is amplified in the current lockdown.
Plans comprise 182 co-living rooms under the sui generis planning use class and a further 81 short-stay hotel rooms. There are two different room types, with 237 rooms of 16 sq m and 26 of 24 sq m.
In the report ahead of the council’s planning committee today, 23 April, officers noted that the room size falls well below the Nationally Described Standards, at half the space of a single-person, single-bed dwelling of 36 sq m.
The report says: “It is considered that the standard of accommodation within this scheme falls short given the recognised contribution that a good standard of accommodation to live in gives to the health and wellbeing of individuals.
“This is more acute at the current time given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic globally and the forced requirement for many to work and live in the same space, all day and every day.”
It said this was a “relevant material planning consideration” weighing against the proposal.
However, the report also recognises the need for a broad range of accommodation, including shared living. The application is recommended for approval, but the report describes this as “finely balanced”.
Last year, Wandsworth Council approved plans for 292 co-living bedrooms at the Collective’s Trewint Street scheme in Earlsfield. The scheme included 86% of rooms at 16 sq m, with two options for larger rooms.
Neither scheme has been referable to the Greater London Authority, which has also not set guidance. However, the GLA has indicated that co-living rooms should be 20-30 sq m in size.
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