I can't speak for the owners of Miriam Lodge but I can talk in more general terms about the process and the undertakings they have made.
The owner made it clear that they would provide the plans and documentation to me to place on the Forest Hill Society web site, so that the current plans are accessible to all. If they have not done this by the end of the week then I have taken a number of photos of the plans that I took that I will make available for everybody to see. As well as providing plans they did agree to provide the daylight assessment for all rooms in the enlarged hostel. They were also encouraged to make available their corporate finances - which I would expect to include the documents lodged with Companies House, and a matter of public record (alternatively anybody is entitled to get a copy via https://www.duedil.com/company/05716723/...financials).
But the formal part of the application process is the same as for any other planning applications. The documents appear ready for submission to Lewisham planning department, at which point neighbours should be informed by letter and have a few weeks to respond. However, based on the feedback at the meeting last week, it is possible that the developer will choose to significantly reduce the size of the development, or make other changes that might make it less objectionable to neighbours.
As was pointed out at the meeting, many of the reasons for refusal for the previous application would still be valid for a hostel of the same size or large, as it proposed.
The summary of the reasons for refusal decided by the council are:
(1) The proposed development, by reason of its height, bulk, scale, massing and design would result in the creation of an obtrusive and incompatible form of development, which would fail to respect the character and appearance of the subject site and its surroundings.
(2) The proposed siting, layout, scale, massing, design, appearance and materials all fail to follow the prevailing character, and the proposed
development will harm the significance of the adjacent Sydenham Park Conservation Area, and will not preserve or enhance the setting of the Conservation Area
(3) It is considered that the intensification of the hostel use on the application site will mitigate against the objective of delivering an inclusive, mixed and balanced community
(4) The proposed development would cause an unacceptable increase in overlooking and loss of privacy to the neighbouring residential properties and hostel residents (existing and future)
I don't think anybody present at Thursday's meeting (other than the developer) would regard the new application as having any material difference in relation to any of these reasons for refusal.
As with all planning applications the planning officers will consider the application in relation to Lewisham, London, and National planning policies. They may decide to make a decision under delegated powers, or if recommending approval, they would probably pass this to a planning committee made up of elected councillors for their decision, guided by the planning department and planning policy.
Should the decision go against the developer, they can appeal to the planning inspector and the appeal can be dealt with by exchange of letters between the applicant and the council, or (rarely) via a public hearing.
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