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Southwark Council votes against Elephant and Castle plans
Southwark Council’s planning committee voted against approving proposals for a major redevelopment of almost 1,000 homes which offered just 3% social housing.
Members voted four against three to reject recommendations by a case officer to approve planning permission for Delancey’s proposed 979-home redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre.
Delancey’s proposal included only 33 homes at ‘social rent equivalent’ starting at £160pw, making up just 3% of the 979-home development.
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Southwark’s current affordable housing policy of 17.5% social rented housing would require 170 social rented units out 979 homes in the development. The development would have seen up to 35% affordable housing of other tenures, Delancey said.
The redevelopment of the nearby Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle became controversial with protestors due to a lack of social housing and the displacement of residents.
Protestors picketed the Tooley Street offices of Southwark Council ahead of the meeting.
Despite the recommendation, a decision on a refusal of the planning application will not be made until Tuesday 30 January, when the council will reconvene to finalise reasons for refusal, after the chair deferred the decision.
Citing reasons for refusing to approve recommendations, members of the planning committee focused on the development’s failure to comply with local policy.
Fourteen active and prospective councillors signed an open letter earlier this week, arguing that the proposals were not “in the interest of the local community”.
Delancey bought the Elephant and Castle shopping centre for £80m in 2014, and plans to turn it into a mixed-use development of shops, offices, homes and campus facilities for the nearby London College of Communication.
A spokesperson for Delancey said: “This is particularly disappointing as the proposals reflect four years of dedicated work. We have consulted widely and more than 90% of people who took their valuable time to engage with us were in favour of the proposals.
“The proposals include desperately needed new transport, retention of the London College of Communication at Elephant and Castle, 1,000 new homes where none currently exist, with 35% of these subsidised to an average of 50% of market rents.
“These homes will respond to the needs of many working Londoners with household incomes that currently make Zone 1 housing unaffordable. Of course there is a wider issue around social housing. But Elephant and Castle town centre cannot answer all of these issues alone and remain financially viable at the same time, as concluded by the council’s own independent expert.”
