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Sadiq Khan set for final call on £1.4bn estate regeneration scheme
London mayor Sadiq Khan is set to have the final say on long-running plans for a £1.4bn regeneration project on two adjoining council estates in south London.
This week, Wandsworth Council’s planning committee approved proposals for Winstanley and York Road Estate in Battersea, which includes demolishing the current blocks and building 2,550 new homes.
Consultation on the plans first started around seven years ago.
Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council, said the approval brings the local authority “one step closer” to delivering on the plans.
Mr Khan is likely to give the scheme extra scrutiny after previously attacking the council for a “wholly unacceptable” cut in the number of affordable homes at a £9bn development around Battersea Power Station.
The new project, being delivered via a joint venture between the council and Taylor Wimpey, will have around 35% affordable housing.
Work has already started on the first phase of the project after gaining approval in 2018.
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Across the entire scheme, 530 homes will be for social rent, the council said.
On the main site, awaiting the mayor’s approval, 86 homes will be shared equity, 220 shared ownership, and 100 affordable rent. The rest will be private rent and open market sale.
The plans also include a new 2.49-hectare public park, leisure and community centre, library, children’s centre and nursery.
Work across the whole scheme is expected to complete by the “early 2030s”, a council spokesperson told Inside Housing.
A previous poll among residents saw 70% vote for the estate to be knocked down as opposed to being refurbished.
To help with initial decant of residents, Wandsworth Council is also building 107 new social rent homes on other sites in the Battersea area, it said.
Lee Bishop, major developments director at Taylor Wimpey, said: “We are obviously delighted that after a significant period of public consultation and engagement with the local community and our key stakeholders, Wandsworth Council has given the green light to our detailed plans to breathe new life into Winstanley and York Road Estate.”
Estate regeneration projects have been a thorny issue in London in recent years. Haringey Council was accused of “social cleansing” after striking a £2bn deal with Lendlease to demolish some of the borough’s estates to replace them with new housing.
However, the council ripped up the plan after the local elections in 2018 saw a Labour leadership team take over. A High Court ruling in 2018 said that councils are allowed to use limited liability partnerships to create joint ventures with private firms for regeneration schemes.