Church Street, Edmonton

Proposals for the redevelopment of 267 Church Street, Edmonton N9 9JA are currently at draft design stage. This consultation website has been launched on behalf of the new owners of the property, Cinch Self Storage, a highly rated specialist operator of self-storage facilities throughout the south east of England. The aim is to help local residents, neighbours and other interest groups find out more about the emerging plans and provide their feedback prior to the finalisation of a planning application.

Existing condition

Located on Church Street just to the west of the junction with the Great Cambridge Road (A10), the site was historically operated as a milk distribution depot. This use has now ceased.

The buildings and site have been vacant and unused since the beginning of 2022 and were acquired by Cinch in May 2023. The long period without any use of the site has meant that the existing buildings have deteriorated and all require updating.

The site is prominent and highly visible at a key gateway between Edmonton and Enfield. Its current appearance is detrimental to the character of the immediate surrounding area.

The broadly rectangular 0.92 acre site has its own dedicated access off Church Street and contains a mix of buildings and structures. There is a single storey flat roof brick building and a two-storey pitched roof brick building on its Church Street frontage. The current buildings sit slightly behind the line of the neighbouring terraced homes to the immediate west and are set back from Church Street where visitor car parking is provided.

With its own secure perimeter walls, the existing distribution area to the rear of the frontage buildings is accessed via a large gate. A large two to three-storey pitched roof structure stretches northwards towards the Church Street Allotments and there is a paved concrete floor and annex buildings under this along with covered parking.

Although the site primarily comprises buildings or hard standing, it does have a number of mature trees on its boundaries, particularly on the eastern edge.

Key features of the proposed development

Historically there have been no major changes to the land use of buildings within the site since its original construction. In planning policy terms, the site has always had a permitted use for distribution and storage purposes and the intended redevelopment aims to maintain this use.

Design and layout

The proposed approach for the site is demolish all of the existing buildings and structures at the site and replace them with a modern and attractive purpose-built self-storage facility comprising 6,075 sq. m (Gross External Area).

The building heights in the immediate vicinity of the site vary. To respond to this variation the building drops to a single storey along the eastern and western edge of the site creating a transition between the existing neighbouring blocks and the new three-storey storage facility.

The three-storey element of the new building is located in the centre of the site and reduced to one-storey on the eastern and western boundaries. Its highest point will be consistent with the ridge line of the terraced properties on Church Street to the west. The setback on both sides (east and west) creates a distance of 10.5m and 21m between the neighbouring buildings.

The pitched roof of the proposed development aims to be consistent with the neighbouring roof patterns as well as resembling the gable roofs of the former milk depot and achieve a pleasing transition along Church Street.

The building line is pushed back behind the terraced houses on Church Street which will reduce the visual impact looking down the street and minimise the impact on the neighbouring residential properties.

A floor to ceiling high glazed reception area marks the entrance to the storage facility on the Church Street frontage. Adjacent to the reception will be ancillary offices and staff amenity. Two goods lifts are accessed either via the reception or the main loading area on the south eastern corner of the proposed building.

The proposed development aims to retain as many trees as possible and add further trees to animate the public realm along Church Street. There is an opportunity to plant new trees along the front, creating a softer public realm and further shielding neighbours’ views of the forecourt.

The building will be designed with energy efficiency in mind ensuring that it has a low carbon footprint achieving a ‘very good’ sustainability rating.

Cinch applies a high level of professional management to its sites and staff will be on-site during normal office hours. Security will be improved through CCTV monitoring.

Modern self-storage facilities meet the needs of both local residents and small businesses. If you want to get a feel for what happens at a typical Cinch site, you can read more here. Cinch is highly valued by their customers and enjoys a 5 star rating on Trustpilot.

Access and traffic

Due to the busy nature of the Church Street/A10 junction and associated main roads it is proposed to retain the vehicular access point along Church Street. By increasing the area of the forecourt, additional on-site parking can be provided and the reversing and turning of refuse lorries can be accommodated.

Self-storage facilities are lightly trafficked as goods and materials tend to be stored on-site for extended periods of time. An assessment of vehicular trip attraction indicates that the proposed development could attract in the order of 15 vehicle movements (7 arrivals and 8 departures) per hour during the busiest peak hour period.

This level or activity would not be detrimental to the operation of the local highway network and unlikely to be much different to the previous use of the site.

The existing vehicular access from Church Street is retained. The proposed building is set back beyond the existing building to allow customers to park and un-/off-load in close proximity to the building entrance.

17 parking spaces (including two disabled spaces and five larger box van spaces), three Sheffield stands for 6 bicycles and a manoeuvring area for refuse lorries are provided.