Epsom Railway Station (2)

Epsom and Ewell

A new railway station ticket hall, 124 new homes, a hotel and retail uses. Designed by Rolfe Judd.

We also reviewed this scheme on 11 February 2010.

Despite several requests for copies of the revised drawings from both Epsom and Ewell Borough Council, and the design team, these were not received in time to provide comments for the planning committee scheduled for the 22 April 2010. Our comments below are therefore based on a draft set of the drawings now submitted as revisions to the application. On the basis of telephone conversations with the local authority, architect and planning consultant, we understand the revised application is broadly in line with these drawings. On this basis we have a sufficient grasp of the scheme to make the comments below. CABE’s views, which supersede all views that may have been expressed previously, are set out below. This is our formal response to the revised planning application.

Summary

We do not think this scheme should receive planning approval, and are disappointed by the low quality approach to the design of both the station, and the associated retail, hotel and residential development. We are particularly concerned about the poor quality of this scheme, as we understand it is the first of a series of station redevelopment projects to be brought forward by a partnership between Kier and Network Rail. Whilst we have no concerns about the scale and massing of the development, we think it would be reasonable to expect such a large amount of commercial development to result in more substantial improvements to Epsom Station. We also have concerns about the quality of life that will be achieved for residents, and by the lack of ambition about improvements the public space outside the station. In our view this approach is not acceptable, and should not be rolled out to the other stations where Kier and Network Rail are in partnership. In our view a fundamental rethink is required, starting with revisions to the client brief, to achieve greater improvements to the station, a great place to live, and an architectural character more responsive to Epsom.

Scale and quantum of development

In our view, the proposed height of this development could be appropriate, but we think that more generosity is needed within this towards both the station, and residential units. A small area of double height space is proposed at the entrance to the station. In our view, this will not fundamentally improve the quality of the station interior, although it may increase the prominence of its entrance on the street. Likewise, we think that single aspect apartments, accessed from long dark corridors, which continue to be proposed for the social housing, are not acceptable. As a result, we think a reduction in the overall number of apartments is needed, to create more space for additional circulation cores, allowing shorter corridors, dual aspect flats, and a more spacious ticket hall.

Station

Within the confines of the building envelope they have been given, we think that Landolt & Brown have achieved a station design with some positive qualities. However, although we accept that rebuilding the station subway may not be viable, there is no reason for the new ticket hall to have similar pinched proportions. Improving the quality of the station is an important aspiration of the local authority for this site, and we would support them in demanding a more radical improvement. A well proportioned, light and spacious station, constructed from high quality materials, could be a delight for commuters to use, and a celebration of travel. However, the station currently accounts for a very small proportion of the development area, and we think the right balance has not been struck between station and commercial development. Since our first review, a double height entrance has been proposed, but only for a small area immediately inside the entrance. We do not think this goes far enough to address our concerns about the quality of the station, and think a more ambitious approach to its improvement is required.

Apartments

Several changes to the layout of the flats for private sale are proposed through revisions to the planning application, to achieve shorter corridors and some dual aspect flats. However, on a typical floor of the residential accommodation for private sale, there are still 9 single aspect and only 5 dual aspect flats. The social housing element of this development remains characterised by narrow entrances, long dark corridors, and single aspect flats, of which half face north over the railway lines. We do not think that good views to the north will compensate for a lack of sunlight and daylight. We also note the draft London Housing Design Guide, which might be seen as representing best practice minimum standards, states that “there will be a presumption against single aspect units”.

Further information on acoustics has also been provided, in support of the design team’s view that noise from the railway is within acceptable limits. We would encourage the local authority to commission an independent assessment of noise from the railway, to assure itself that this will not reduce the quality of life for residents, especially for single aspect flats. This would be particularly useful for first and second floor flats, where issues of privacy and overlooking exacerbate the problem. All of these concerns lead us to the view that additional residential entrances, lifts and stairs are essential to reduce the length of corridors, bring more daylight into circulation spaces, and allow the creation of more dual aspect flats.

Architectural expression

Epsom town centre is characterised by development of narrow plot widths, creating varied streetscapes, with regular vertical emphasis. The architects have tried to respond to this, by alternating panels of brick and glass across the façade. However these do not have a clear relationship with party walls or flat dimensions in the interior layout. There also appears to be a lack of a clear hierarchy between entrances to apartments, cycle and bin stores, and the hotel, including some discrepancies between the plans and elevations.

The design of the hotel on the corner of Station Approach and Waterloo Road, lacks the civic presence that we would expect given its function and location. We understand that this may be in part because of the local authority’s suggestion that the building should step down in relation to two listed cottages, on the opposite side of Waterloo Road. In CABE’s view this approach is rarely successful, and Building in Context (CABE / EH 2001) states that “stepping down, when a tall building meets its lower neighbour… can produce a lop sided appearance in the new building and merely emphasises the difference in height between the two”.

The north facing elevation seems to have been treated as a rear elevation. This will be the side of the building that people see from trains pulling into Epsom Station, and we think its design should do more to lift the spirits, and give a positive first impression of the town.

Revisions to the application now propose a double height station entrance, with the potential to improve its prominence on the street. However, this would not be matched by a similar improvement in the generosity of the station concourse, because only a small area adjacent to the entrance is envisaged as becoming double height.

Overall, we think that further work is required to achieve the high quality architecture that this prominent site deserves. It would also be helpful to see street elevations, and sections that show the building in its wider context.

Public art

A welcome aspect of the current scheme is the intention to involve artists in the design of the car park ventilation grilles, and glass cladding above the station entrance. For this aspect of the scheme to fulfil its potential, we think a coherent approach to the design of these two elements will be essential. We also think that bringing art into the station interior would be valuable, particularly if thought of as a three dimensional extension of the artwork highlighting the entrance.

Public space

Further information on the area outside the station has been provided, and this goes some way to demonstrating how this will function as a meeting place, somewhere people stop to orientate themselves, and as an interchange for bus and taxis. However, this will be an important public space for Epsom, creating the first impression of the town for many people arriving by train. It could also be somewhere that people want to sit and drink a coffee, read a paper, or eat a sandwich whilst they are waiting for their train. We continue to think that more ambition and generosity is needed to achieve a space that fulfils all these requirements.

Sustainablility

The current design locks together different building uses with very different life expectancies, and cycles of redevelopment. A station is likely to have a very long lifespan, as do residential units. This is less true of hotels and retail units, which have a much shorter lifespan. This will be an important consideration for the sustainability of the development as a whole over the long term. For this reason, we think that any revised planning application should demonstrate an ability to accommodate partial redevelopment, for example by separating uses with party walls.