Two controversial housing schemes in south London, together proposing nearly 2,000 homes, will now be decided by the Mayor of London, Lord Sadiq Khan, after both were rejected by the local council.
Southwark Council had initially approved both projects until developer Berkeley Homes sought to reduce its affordable housing commitments on viability grounds. Berkeley Homes recently had another controversial scheme, which would bulldoze the Aylesham Centre shopping centre in Peckham, thrown out after a local campaign opposed the plans.
Two major schemes rejected
The first development, called the Borough Triangle, would see 892 homes built across four towers in Elephant and Castle. One of these towers would stretch to 44 storeys high and would replace the popular food market Mercato Metropolitano.
Meanwhile, Bermondsey Place on Malt Street would comprise eight buildings between six and 36 storeys, delivering 1,060 homes.
Both planning applications were approved until Berkeley Homes submitted a new proposal citing financial viability concerns. It wanted to drop affordable housing from 30 per cent of the homes in the Borough Triangle development to 10 per cent, and from 40 per cent of homes to 12 per cent for the final two phases of Bermondsey Place.
Council rejects revised proposals
The proposals were thrown out by the council's Planning Committee during two separate hearings. Berkeley Homes was accused by Cllr David Watson of "pleading poverty" for its revised Borough Triangle scheme. The committee concluded they would fail to meet the significant need for social rented and intermediate homes.
More than 22,000 households are on Southwark's housing waiting list, including more than 4,200 households living in temporary accommodation.
Lord Khan will now take over responsibility for determining the applications. Bermondsey Place has been called in by the Mayor of London because the Greater London Authority (GLA) believes it has the potential "to make a significant contribution towards meeting Southwark's housing targets" and would meet London's strategic targets for net housing completions. Similar reasons were outlined in the GLA report for the Borough Triangle call-in.
Reactions to the call-in
Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Deputy Leader of Southwark Council and Executive Member for Neighbourhoods, Strategic Planning and Wellbeing, said he was "very disappointed" by the Mayor of London's decision to call in both applications.
Jed Holloway, Planning Solicitor at Southwark Law Centre, said: "There's no denying that there are economic pressures right now, but that doesn't justify bad development that fails to meet need."
When its Bermondsey Place scheme was rejected by the council last month, Justin Tibalidi, Managing Director at Berkeley Homes, said: "We are disappointed that the committee overruled its own planning officers' recommendation and blocked over 1,000 new homes and hundreds of jobs within a designated regeneration area. We are particularly concerned that members would not acknowledge or engage with the council's own analysis of the site's viability challenge."
