On Tuesday (28.01.20) London Borough of Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee resolved to grant consent for 2,550 new homes alongside a range of new community facilities at Winstanley & York Road Estate in Battersea.
The proposals, submitted by Winstanley & York Road Regeneration LLP, a Joint Venture between Taylor Wimpey Central London and Wandsworth Borough Council, include 35% affordable homes (37.5% by habitable room), including replacement homes for all existing secure tenant and resident homeowners.
Plans for significant new community facilities including a state-of-the-art leisure and community centre, a new public park totalling 2.49 hectares, a library, a children’s centre and nursery have also been approved.
The application will now be referred to the Mayor of London for his final decision, due within the next 14 days.
In developing the proposals, Winstanley & York Road Regeneration LLP invited more than 7,000 local addresses to attend a series of public consultations. These commenced in 2017 and included public events, school sessions, design workshops and resident group meetings.
Commenting, Councillor Ravi Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council, said: “We have carried out varied and extensive rounds of public consultation ensuring that residents and the community have their say on our ambitious plans to shape the area. The great news we received brings us one step closer to delivering on the Winstanley and York Road masterplan in this Joint Venture Partnership.
“The regeneration of this area will bring forth more than just new homes, we are building a new leisure centre, new library, and new children’s centre around a new park. We want to build new homes and an exciting future for all who live in them. In Summer 2019, we completed works on 46 new affordable homes as part of the first phase of this development, which provided new council homes for existing estate residents. We are committed to building on this and boosting the provision of housing in the area.”
Lee Bishop from Taylor Wimpey said: “We are obviously delighted that after a significant period of public consultation and engagement with the local community and our key stakeholders, Wandsworth Council has given the green light to our detailed plans to breathe new life into Winstanley & York Road Estate. The proposals will deliver major benefits to the community – not least a significant number of quality new homes, but also a range of new community facilities.
“We now await confirmation of this decision from the Mayor of London. With 35% affordable housing and a commitment to the re-provision of all demolished homes on site, ensuring that no existing resident will be required to permanently relocate from their community, we would expect his full and swift approval.”
Key benefits within the application include:
- Up to 2,550 new homes, 35% of which are to be affordable
- A mix of tenures including Social Rent, Shared Ownership, Shared Equity, Affordable Rent, Private Rent and open market sale
- The re-provision of all Council rent and resident leaseholder homes. The new Council homes will be built to match the housing needs of the existing residents eliminating over-crowding and ensuring homes are fully adapted to residents’ physical mobility needs.
- Major new community infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art leisure and community centre, a library, a children’s centre and nursery
- The creation of a new public park is at the heart of the development. Totalling 2.49 hectares, this new open space will offer a greater range of amenity and increased accessibility, enabling many more homes to benefit from its use.
- Significant economic benefits, including: in excess of 388 net additional permanent jobs and gross value added (GVA) to the local economy of £207.6m
A new council employment and skills centre has already been delivered as part of the regeneration, whilst construction work for 46 of the first affordable homes is well advanced.