The Mayor of London will not use his powers to overturn Lewisham Council's refusal of plans to build 802 homes on either side of Deptford Creek. City Hall confirmed it will not step in, despite the development exceeding the 150-home threshold that would have allowed mayoral intervention.
Lewisham Council refused its part of the cross-borough planning application in late September, while Greenwich Council approved its side of the plans on October 13, subject to Lewisham's refusal being overturned. The decision leaves the future of the proposal in the hands of the Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner, who still has the opportunity to overturn the refusal.
Reasons for refusal
Lewisham's Strategic Planning Committee voted to refuse the proposal to build eight new tower blocks because its planners felt the concentration of several towers would not integrate successfully in the relatively low-rise nature of the surrounding area of Deptford. The council also refused the application on the grounds it would harm the amenity of nearby houseboats moored on the creek.
Within its report, the Greater London Authority's (GLA) planning department reasoned there were "no sound planning reasons for the Mayor to intervene in this particular case" given Lewisham's reasons for refusal, as well as the lack of a Section 106 agreement which could be used to secure public benefits. GLA officers found the impact of the towers to be acceptable to the residential amenity of the houseboats.
Affordable housing concerns
The GLA acknowledged the proposal's benefits in contributing to both Greenwich and Lewisham's housing supply on a brownfield site, as well as the additions to employment with the presence of commercial floorspace. However, GLA planners were critical of the proposal only offering 24 affordable housing units, equal to 5 per cent of the development's total residential provision.
The report said this fell "significantly below" the strategic affordable housing target of 50 per cent outlined in the London Plan. If the Secretary of State does not overturn the refusal, the planning application will be blocked unless Lewisham's decision is appealed by developer RER London.
