The full planning application to demolish and rebuild an estate in Brixton and Camberwell has been published online.
In a joint venture, developers Riverside and Bellway, dubbed ‘Lambeth Regeneration LLP’, want to knock down the estate just off Coldharbour Lane to build 441 new homes in six blocks ranging from five to 13 storeys.
As it stands, the 135-homes estate is made up of Geoffrey Close, York Close, and Canterbury Close.
The new development would offer 134 socially rented homes, plus one affordable home, and 306 market rent homes.
This means that only 30.6 per cent of homes will be affordable, lower than the 35 per cent target set by the Mayor of London, but 35.5 per cent of the rooms will be affordable.
A residents’ ballot was held in 2018, which found that 67 per cent of people were in favour of the redevelopment.
All existing tenants will be given the opportunity to remain on the estate, and those that live in a house that is overcrowded will move into a larger home.
The developers, who say the estate in its current form is “old”, “overcrowded” and “increasingly expensive to maintain”, are planning to build a gym, a community centre, and have roof terraces on every building to provide more communal space.
Residents in socially rented homes are set to be in different sections of the new blocks that those privately renting.
Dark green sections = socially rented homes
The developers say the existing residents “expressed a strong preference to keep the community together”, and the socially rented housing is set to be built first to “minimise the impact of the construction programme on the existing residents”.
A total of 22 car parking spaces are proposed,15 of which will be for Blue Badge holders, along with 810 long-stay and 20 short-stay cycle parking spaces.
According to the planning statement: “Removal of the existing low quality and over-crowded estate and redevelopment to provide new high quality social housing that responds directly to the needs of existing tenants through delivering safe, secure and larger affordable accommodation that delivers larger family homes that are adaptable meeting the changing needs of the tenants.
“This reflects the principal need for estate renewal.”
The planning application, published in October, will be considered by a Lambeth planning committee at a date yet to be set.
If the plans are approved, Bellway and Riverside hope to start construction in 2021.
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