The £3m re-development of Unit 22, Deer Park Road on the Lombard Trading Estate in Wimbledon, is the practice’s largest project to date and represents it’s bold expansion into the commercial sector. Our client, Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah, Registered Charity #295197, is the administrative wing of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, and has numerous interests including the promotion of religion in the UK through publishing and broadcasting. It's affiliated charity, Humanity First, is involved in numerous natural and man made disaster relief operations at any one time around the world and it's work has included providing humanitarian relief in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia in the immediate aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and recent hurricanes in the USA. Humanity First's first major operation was to render relief assistance to the Bosnians in 1993, during the Bosnian Conflict but it also provided medical services and aid consignments during the Sierra Leone Civil War. It has long term projects in West Africa and recently completed the construction of the first Senior Secondary School in Banjul, The Gambia. New IT skills centres have been established in Ghana and Benin with further enhancements to existing institutes in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone. Humanity First has set up orphanages in West Africa and South America and special eye care clinics for the treatment of cataracts as well as initiatives such as the Water for Life programme in remote villages in West Africa.
Having been awarded the contract for the re-development of
ASI Ltd's UK headquarters and warehouse, Alex Coleman Associates
were initially instructed to prepare and submit a Planning
Application which would, in particular, address the urgent
need for increased storage space and improved office space
and circulation.
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Situated on the north west side of Deer Park Road in an area used solely for industrial use, the existing building was built in 1950 for the import of hosiery from India and the Far East and consists of a single-storey solid brick constructed warehouse covered with corrugated cement sheeting with a percentage of translucent roof lights. In 1972, planning permission was granted for the erection of a three-storey aluminum clad rear extension which is currently used as ancillary office space. In 1997, planning permission was granted for the change of use from general industrial use to warehouse / light industrial use.
The scheme involves the demolition of the original single-storey brick structure and it's replacement with a 3-storey structure which will increase the warehouse storage space by 2200 sq.m to create a total floorspace of 3900 sq.m. The ground floor of the new warehouse will be used for light industrial (B8) use with the first floor accommodating ancillary office (B1) space and void to allow for a double height space at ground floor, and the second floor will be set aside for packing space prior to distribution. The new warehouse will be a steel-framed structure clad with a galvanised steel composite panelling system for both the walls and the low-pitched roof, which will be in-keeping with the adjacent buildings. The roof will be concealed behind a parapet wall and rainwater downpipes will be accommodated internally. The finished colour of the panels will be carefully chosen to match the existing colour scheme of the area and will be approved by the Council before proceeding on site. The proposal has been careful designed to make no impact on the footprint of the existing building and very little impact on the overall scale and feel of the site. The overall height of the extension fronting Deer Park Road will be 11.5m from Ground Level which is also similar to the adjacent buildings.
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The front of the site has full width
access on to Deer Park Road and is finished to provide a hard
standing for both staff and commercial vehicles. The east side
border is enclosed by a high level steel fence and the west
side is open to the adjacent property. To the rear of the building
there is more hard standing for staff car parking. Currently
the site has 25 car park spaces - 11 to the forecourt loading
bay area off Deer Park Road and 14 at the rear. It is proposed
that the hard standing areas will be retained and parking bays
be re-marked to allow for a total of 20 spaces and one space
for disabled use. It is proposed to provide lighting both for
security purposes and for use by the staff and visitors when
parking and approaching and leaving the building. CCTV cameras
will be used to monitor the external elevations of the building
and the car park areas. Routes for emergency access have been
maintained and have not been compromised with the construction
of the new building. Access is available along the west side
of the building to the rear of the building. Level access to
comply with DDA and Approved Document Part M Building Regulations
will be provided throughout the new extension. It is proposed
to install a new wheelchair accessible passenger lift to the
front of the new extension to access all floors for both staff
and visitors. The new main entrance area will be clearly sign
posted externally to comply with Sign Design Guide.
See Large
Version - See Medium Version
See Large
Version - See
Medium Version
In addition to designing the new warehouse, Alex Coleman Associates have also been instructed to re-work areas of the existing building and adapt them where necessary to comply with current Building Regulations and DDA requirements. This includes providing new wheelchair accessible WC’s for the use of both staff and visitors on all three floors.
London Borough of Merton’s Development Control and Building Control Departments have been consulted during the design stage and comments have been incorporated into the scheme.
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Ground Floor Plan - Proposed |
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First Floor Plan - Proposed |
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Second Floor Plan - Proposed |
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Roof Plan - Proposed |
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Final Report - Planning Applications Committee |
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