City Hall has approved controversial plans to demolish three South London gasholders for apartment blocks up to 16 storeys tall, overriding local opposition and a previous rejection by Kingston Council. The scheme, from gas firm SGN and developer Berkeley Homes, will see three gasholders on protected Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) in Motspur Park replaced with five blocks containing 586 homes, including 175 affordable units. The buildings will range from eight to 16 storeys.
Deputy Mayor approves scheme despite MOL concerns
Jules Pipe, London's Deputy Mayor for Planning, approved the scheme on July 21, ruling it "would not result in substantial harm to the openness of the MOL." Following a hearing at City Hall, Pipe said tackling London's housing crisis depended on approving "well-designed developments with affordable housing." The Greater London Authority (GLA) took over the decision after Kingston Council rejected the application in March over concerns about mass, height, and scale harming MOL openness and character.
A letter from Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had 'called in' the application as it could make a "significant and positive contribution" towards London's housing targets, particularly as Kingston's housing completions between 2020 and 2025 were "significantly under target." The letter noted the council confirmed in 2023 it could not demonstrate a five-year housing supply, accumulating a shortfall against London Plan targets.
Local councils and residents object
Representatives from Kingston and Merton councils objected at the hearing, arguing the development would cause substantial harm to MOL openness. They joined residents in criticizing the height and scale, and raised concerns about local roads, public transport, and infrastructure capacity. The application received 1,190 objections and 52 letters of support across both councils' websites, plus 569 objections and four support letters sent to the GLA before the hearing.
Kingston Lib Dem councillor Callum Morrissey said the scheme would "introduce permanent built mass, enclosure and unacceptable visual bulk into a protected open setting, in effect placing a wall of development against the openness of the extensive MOL." He argued it would overdevelop a "physically isolated" site with poor public transport access and be "utterly out of place" in the low-rise neighbourhood. Kingston's emerging Local Plan identifies the site as suitable for up to 440 homes.
A statement from Merton Lib Dem councillor Mariam Hakim, read at the hearing, said nearby Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Fields and homes would be "dominated and overlooked" by the towers. She stated: "This will not only have an adverse impact on MOL and destroy the open views, but also have a detrimental impact on the low-rise suburban village-like character and appeal of the West Barnes village area." Hakim noted many residents had "expressed a desire to leave the area" if the development proceeded.
Mike Freter, a local resident, said the scheme would replace clear views allowed by existing gasholders with "a dense wall of development." He added: "This scheme replaces openness with enclosure, transparency with mass and established low-rise character… in so doing, it conflicts with key London Plan policies." Rebecca Hogan, a Merton resident, called the site "completely unsuitable for a development of this scale," noting that "Motspur Park simply does not have the urban town centre infrastructure that this urban town centre development requires."
Developer defends plans
Rob Packham, Land Director at Berkeley Homes, defended the scheme, saying it would replace "redundant industrial infrastructure with new homes, new connections, new publicly accessible spaces and, importantly, affordable housing." He described the location as "highly sustainable" and noted the application would deliver a biodiversity net gain of 25 per cent on site, including over 100 new trees. Packham said: "At a time when Kingston can only demonstrate a one-and-a-half years’ housing land supply and thousands of households remain on the housing register, opportunities of this scale are becoming increasingly rare. Today, you have an opportunity to decide whether these gasholders remain redundant for another generation or whether they can become a new neighbourhood that will offer so much to so many."
Deputy Mayor's ruling
Pipe agreed with GLA officers that the scheme followed relevant development plans when read as a whole. He noted the five blocks, up to 52 metres high, would still be shorter than the tallest gasholder at 59 metres, and while the structures are "skeleton, the site does not benefit from uninterrupted openness." Pipe stated: "I acknowledge that there is some harm to the openness with this proposal and the buildings would be visible, but I do not consider that the development dominates." He said the plans included suitable measures to address transport and biodiversity impacts, adding: "We must ensure that we take the opportunities available to us to build more housing, and affordable housing in particular, which includes optimising the delivery of new homes on accessible sites on previously-developed land, where key transport infrastructure is already in place - such as this site."
Objectors had told the hearing they were not opposed to development in principle but wanted a revised scheme better suited to the area. The three gasholders were built in 1924, 1932, and 1954 and used for gas storage until replaced by modern methods. They have stood redundant since 2007 and were decommissioned by Ofgem in 2012. Demolition is set to begin later this year.
