The decision came after the company reduced its affordable housing offer from 40 per cent to just 12 per cent. The Architects’ Journal, and MyLondon, the revised plans covered 1,060 homes across the second and third phases of the wider development, according to reports published by Southwark News. Under the new proposal, just 81 of these 1,060 homes would have been affordable, a major drop from the original promise made for the site.
Members of Southwark Council’s planning committee have unanimously rejected revised plans from housebuilder Berkeley Homes for the Bermondsey Place development on the Old Kent Road. Local councillors voted against the plans despite their own planning officers recommending approval. Their decision showed strong opposition to the sharp cut in affordable homes in a major regeneration area in south London.
The original combined planning permission for Bermondsey Place was approved in 2020. It allowed around 1,300 homes to be built across three phases, with a firm commitment that 40 per cent of the entire development, measured by the number of rooms suitable for living, would be affordable housing. Phase 1 includes 285 homes and is currently being built. It still follows the original promise of providing 40 per cent affordable housing. Under the company’s revised financial calculations, keeping the original 40 per cent affordable housing in Phase 1 while reducing the figure to 12 per cent in Phases 2 and 3 would have brought the total affordable housing across the entire development down to just 17.9 per cent.
The plans also added second staircases to meet updated building safety rules.
“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,” Tibaldi said. “The decision also fails to recognise that the council is charging this project £30 million through its Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 requirements, which is funding that could otherwise be used to increase the number of affordable homes,” Tibaldi stated. However, when Berkeley Homes submitted new plans for the remaining phases, the company argued that rising construction costs and changing economic conditions had made the original target too expensive to deliver. As explained by legal and planning website Planning Geek, the developer proposed a new design prepared by architecture firm PRP. The changes included different building heights and sizes, revised building layouts, and changes to public spaces. To address this reduction, Berkeley Homes proposed three separate reviews of the project’s financial position during construction. These reviews would allow the council to secure more affordable housing contributions if market conditions improved. Berkeley Homes expressed strong disappointment with the committee’s decision to reject the plans despite the recommendation from its own professional planning officers. The company pointed to additional costs and building regulations as major reasons for the project’s financial difficulties. Justin Tibaldi, Managing Director at Berkeley Homes, defended the company’s position in statements given to MyLondon. He highlighted the large financial contributions that local authorities were requiring from the development. “We are particularly concerned that members would not acknowledge or engage with the council’s own analysis of the site’s viability challenge. Tibaldi also argued that charges imposed by the council were reducing the money available to support affordable housing on the site. He added that Berkeley Homes remained committed to the development and was considering what steps to take next.