The planning application (2016/6442/P) from Escape Plan Ltd proposes to have up to 14 people plus the people working on that Escape Plan from 09:00am until 22:00 including Saturdays.
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The disadvantages are numerous:
- Visitors will waiting for their turn outside and that will create noise. During summer time the noise will be constant and a nuisance due to the echo effect which is aleady an issue on the estate.
- Last visitors will leave at 22:00 talking about their experiences while residents will try to sleep.
- The people working on this business will leave later than 22:30 creating even more noise.
- There will be ambient noise to enhance the visitors experience acording to the application plus 12-15 visitors and staff talking for 13-15 hours a day!
- There are already many problems with people loitering in that area after parties from the estate’s flats as well as non residents. Who will stop those visitors from sitting between The Marr and Goldthorpe for 15 minutes talking about their experiences?
- This business will create even more noise and disturbance to the residents living immediately above as well as the near buildings.
Application Information
The application (2016/6442/P) states:
In summary, we are proposing:
1) A change of use to D2
2) Installation of internal drywall (temporary) partitions
In more detail:
1) The proposal is for the change of use of the building from a B8 (ancillary storage) to D2 leisure use, forming an ‘escape room’ experience. This concept involves teams of between 2 and 7 people being locked in a room; needing to use deduction and quick wit to solve puzzles, mysteries and break codes to escape within the set time period. At the time of writing ‘Escape Game’ experiences were ranked 19 out of 1500 ‘things to do in London’ on TripAdvisor. ‘Escape Plan Ltd’ has experience of operating escape game experiences and is currently piloting a successful operation in London.
The Building will be laid out to provide a (new) toilet/tea point, waiting room/office and two experiences, with each experience spanning an existing space with a stud partition wall dividing it into 2.
Each experience will be host to a maximum of 7 participants per session. Sessions will be a maximum of 90 minutes long, comprising 45-75 minutes playing time and a briefing and debrief session. The typical experience will commence with a short briefing by members of staff on the scope and rules of the game and acceptable conduct during the session. Participants are monitored throughout the session by CCTV, and will be in regular communication with staff. Each experience will be fitted with CCTV cameras and speakers. The proposed change of use will primarily involve internal changes only with new door openings proposed to facilitate effective game play. Traffic volume and noise levels implied will both be low.
At the request of Camden Planning, we will submit a separate application for installation of signage on the exterior walls.
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