Southwark Council has halted proposals for rooftop homes on all of its existing estates, which would have seen hundreds of new council flats built.
By the News’ calculation, that could mean twelve schemes bringing more than 300 new homes in total have been halted.
- Abbeyfield Estate in Bermondsey – 2 storey rooftop extension and redevelopment of an undercroft to create 28 new council homes and another 28 for private sale
- Rennie Estate in Bermondsey – 12 social rent homes proposed through a rooftop extension
- Tabard Gardens Estate in Bermondsey -33 social rent homes
- Dickens Estate in Bermondsey
- Gaywood Estate in St George’s – a proposed rooftop development of 20 social rent homes
- Lancaster Estate in St George’s – Proposed 18 new rooftop council homes
- Rockingham Estate in Elephant and Castle – plans outline ten new rooftop homes. A further 14 new rooftop homes have been proposed for a block in Falmouth Road
- Unwin and Friary Estate in Peckham – 35 new council homes through a rooftop extension
- Southampton Way in Peckham – Adding 2 storey rooftop extensions to create 32 new social rent homes
- Pennack Road Estate in Peckham – 18 new social rent homes through rooftop extension
- Clifton Estate extension in Peckham – 38 social rent homes through rooftop extensions
- Nunhead Estate – 27 new social rent homes via rooftop extension
Council officers told councillors this week about the change of plans on the Abbeyfield Estate in Bermondsey, the Clifton Estate in Peckham and the Nunhead Estate, the News was told.
People living on the Abbeyfield Estate, near Southwark Park, also got a letter from the council telling them that the proposals for 28 council and homes had been halted “after listening to residents’ views, and taking into consideration new building regulations and rising construction costs.”
The letter added: “We have found other ways to hit our ambitious council house building targets that cause less disruption for residents.” It comes weeks after the council got planning permission for thirteen new flats on the site of the former housing office on Abbeyfield Road.
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The council is building thousands of new homes to tackle its 16,000-household waiting list. Because of space constraints and the cost of land in central London, many schemes have been on existing estates – either next to or on top of buildings where people already live.
But some residents have been concerned about plans for the rooftop homes after the serious disruption caused on Roderick House and Anthony House, next to the Abbeyfield Estate on Raymouth Road. This is a Lambeth and Southwark Housing Association development, rather than Southwark Council.
Residents in blocks earmarked for rooftop homes have also previously expressed safety concerns, citing a report by engineers Arup that said rooftop builds on pre-1970s blocks could cause disproportionate collapse.
The council said earlier in response to those concerns that the report makes “blanket comments” and any potential site would be judged on a “case by case” basis.
About two thirds of the 137 households on the Nunhead Estate. where 27 rooftop homes had been planned, along with eighteen infill homes, wrote letters objecting to the plans earlier this year. They were told in April that the council was reviewing the plans.
Residents campaigning against the rooftop homes welcomed the decision and said they were “looking forward to getting on with our lives without this threat hanging over us.”
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The changes come two months after Southwark’s council housing portfolio changed hands, with Cllr Darren Merrill taking over from Cllr Stephanie Cryan, who moved onto finance. The council has always maintained that it takes residents’ views into account when building new homes.
According to the government, the cost of building materials like steel, timber and concrete went up by more than 23 per cent in 2021 – a huge rise roughly equal to the previous decade of price increases.
Councillor Darren Merrill, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness, said, “We have made the decision to pause our current plans to build rooftop extensions on some of our council blocks. Building homes in this way using modern construction techniques could have provided a whole suite of desperately-needed new council homes for our residents, and it is something I hope we are in a position to explore again in the future.
“We will of course continue to use all the other options we have available to us to provide new homes for our residents, including by building on our existing estates, converting garages and disused areas, and buying homes which have been developed by others.
“We will continue doing everything in our power to tackle the housing crisis locally and meet the needs of our residents. I would like to thank residents for their patience and for working with us as we explored this potential solution to the housing crisis.”