New South London 'village' to get an extra 449 homes as City Hall overrules council

A new 'village' in South London will get 449 more homes, after the Greater London Authority (GLA) overruled the local council's decision to reject the plans. The new homes will be built at Springfield Village, in Tooting, in the final phase of the redevelopment of Springfield Hospital.

Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, granted the scheme planning permission on October 8 after ruling it would help to meet the capital's affordable housing targets. His decision overruled Wandsworth Council's rejection of the plans in March over concerns about its impact on strained local infrastructure.

The scheme, from developers Barratt London and STEP, will see buildings on remaining plots of land on the southern part of the site demolished to bring the total number of homes to 1,288 - an increase on the 839 homes that are already being built. Out of the 449 new homes being added to the site, 220 will be affordable. The plans also include 48 new car parking spaces and 817 cycle parking spaces.

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The scheme will complete Springfield Village, bringing with it an extra 2.7 acres of public space to Springfield Park. The development has two new mental health units at its heart, as it forms part of South West London St George's Mental Health NHS Trust's plans to revamp and build new mental health facilities in the area. The sale of remaining land on the site for the construction of the 449 extra homes will help the NHS to fund the £110million revamp of Tolworth Hospital, in Kingston.

The council's planning committee previously rejected the scheme, with four councillors voting in favour and six against, after arguing it would put too much pressure on 'constrained roads in the neighbourhood' and 'disfigure the surroundings'. But GLA officers ruled in a new report the 'uplift in vehicle trips will have a negligible impact on the surrounding highway network'.

Officers added the scheme 'would not cause substantial harm' to the openness of the Metropolitan Open Land it partly sits in, while it would 'reuse previously developed land, and contribute to meeting an identified affordable housing need'.

'We should all be aware of the urgent need to deliver more homes'

Announcing his decision to approve the scheme, Mr Pipe added: "We should all be aware of the urgent need to deliver more homes and particularly affordable homes if we're to tackle the housing crisis and boost economic growth. The new government has made achieving its manifesto commitment of 1.5million new homes a top priority and have set London the challenge of delivering more than 80,000 homes per year.

"Throughout his tenure, the Mayor has been committed to delivering new homes for London. While we face unique issues in the capital and the government recognises the scale and breadth of our housing delivery challenge, it still expects London to take steps to boost its output. Achieving this is dependent on the approval of well-designed developments with good levels of affordable housing."

A spokesperson for South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust and Barratt London welcomed the decision as an 'important milestone' in converting the 'derelict' site into new homes. The scheme needs final sign-off to go ahead.

The spokesperson added: "Once final approval is received, this housing development will become part of our vibrant new Springfield Village community. This includes a new 32-acre public park, shops, cafes, family play areas, sensory gardens and an amphitheatre, alongside Springfield Hospital.

"As well as providing much-needed affordable housing, the planned development will support our local economy by providing hundreds of construction jobs, as well as a contribution in the region of £9m for new community projects through the Community Infrastructure Levy and S106 obligations that have been secured.

"This decision also means so much to the NHS and our patients, carers and staff, as it unlocks vital funding to support the £110m redevelopment of Tolworth Hospital. Pending final approval and government sign-off, works will begin to replace aging and unused hospital buildings with state-of-the art mental health facilities to support the 1.2m people served by South West London and St George’s."

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