Berkeley Homes 27 Storey flats in centre of Peckham - sign the petition

[heartblock]

Maybe other builds should be completed first..such as the diabolical mess on East Dulwich Grove - with demolished buildings and a half-built School

[letfordj]

It seems a perfectly reasonable place for a tower block to be honest. We need more flats so better there than somewhere unsuitable.

[Jules-and-Boo]

It’s too tall. It should be in keeping with the area.

[ryeme]

New homes yes. High Rise yes- and there are plenty of tall buildings around there. But 27 storeys?!!! Seems excessive and profit driven only. What kind of community is that going to be? And what impact on the ground? I havent seen the plans and may include some lovely civic space- but could just be horrid wind tunnels...

[Bic Basher]

Penge has similar issues where a housing developer wants to knock down the Blenheim Shopping Centre and the multi-storey car park with flats and a tower block on the site with limited retail space with 15 car park spaces for residents.

[first mate]

It is a well known developer formula and cannot believe some on here are okay with that.

[Spartacus]

Unfortunately with building costs so high , land prices at a premium amd in short supply along the requirement to provide 35% affordable housing then tall buildings are the only way to make big developments of new homes financially viable.

Economics are at play and if we want more homes then we need to make compromises. As pointed out earlier councils can't afford to build so development companies are the only real alternative left.

As this is a Peckham related topic should it be in the lounge and not in general ED issues ?

[Penguin68]

There is no measure for 'affordable'

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy-and-transport-policy/development-plan/supplementary-planning-documents-spd/spd-by-planning-topic?chapter=3

 

This paper is dated February 2022 - that is to say before the Ukraine war, the energy price surge, the upswell of inflation, the surge in mortgage interest rates, the Truss mini-budget and so on. The 'affordability' levels quoted, as regards what will be affordable in 2-3 years time when the Berkeley Homes development is built and goes on the market therefore will be irrelevant as regards what available incomes people will then have for rental or mortgage costs, and indeed what the actual construction costs Berkeley Homes will have to pay to build the tower block. 'Affordability' is about the moment, not the future.

Had Southwark expressed affordability in non-monetary terms (as a multiplier on average wages, or the living wage, or the minimum wage for example) it would have made a little more sense, but they don't seem to have done that (It may be the basis of their figures, of course, but that's not clear. Berkeley Homes appears to be signing up for 35% of properties within the development to be affordable - but they are doing so not knowing what their costs will actually be, nor how the economy is panning out over the next, probably 3, years. It may be (it would have been at the end of 2022, compared with February 2022) that people's available income for housing (taking into account energy price rises and other inflationary items, including an increased cost of supporting a mortgage) would be less than assumed in February as a share of a 'given' income level. What was 'affordable' in February 2022 may well not be in February 2023 - if Berkeley Homes price at that level they will thus fail in their commitment, in this case not really through any fault of their own.

[Spartacus]

Affordability is set by the mayor of London, not local councils.

This link provides more information on what affordable housing is https://www.london.gov.uk/file/11941201 and whilst the latest version is not out yet it gives a good indication of how the scheme works.

Ultimately we need more housing and some of it has to be for the people who do the jobs that support our economy including nurses, road sweepers, bin collectors and shop workers. Saying no to a development ultimately hurts everyone in the process.

Asking for design considerations to be taken into account is fine but stop people having the same housing opportunities that most people in East Dulwich had or take for granted is not.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

There is no measure for 'affordable'

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy-and-transport-policy/development-plan/supplementary-planning-documents-spd/spd-by-planning-topic?chapter=3

The 'affordability' levels quoted, as regards what will be affordable in 2-3 years time when the Berkeley Homes development is built and goes on the market therefore will be irrelevant...

 

You really need to read into the subject of fhe affordability requirement if it bothers you this much. Your suggestions that there is no definition of affordability or that affordability criteria can't take account of the timeframe for completion are simply wrongheaded.

 

It’s too tall. It should be in keeping with the area.

What does "in keeping with the area" mean? More postwar lowrise rubbish? Or more Victorian and Edwardian lowrise terraces in various states of repair? Either way we won't get much new housing added.