Planning permission for five new social homes

Lewisham Homes’ development team has secured permission to build on the site of a garage block in Sydenham.

The three-storey block on Elderton Road will comprise four one-bed flats alongside a larger wheelchair accessible two-bed home. We are expecting to have a contractor in place and to start building in March 2022, with completion around a year later.

The planning submission was informed by local consultation. During February 2020, the Lewisham Homes team met with residents of Elderton Road and neighbouring streets to collect comments and community insight. An exhibition was held at Sydenham library, and feedback was also invited via the project website on the Commonplace platform.

Residents’ concerns and suggestions helped shape the architect’s proposals. These included comments about the garage area being a hotspot for anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, but also concerns about heavy vehicles, construction noise and the overall size of the development.

We have committed to ensuring noise, traffic and disruption are well managed and residents are minimally affected. We will put in place a robust construction management plan throughout the building of the new homes. We will also ensure the proposed development respects the privacy of the surrounding buildings. A detailed assessment of privacy, daylight and sunlight found that the impact of the proposals on neighbours will be kept to a minimum.

For example, the entire building has been set a little further back in the site than originally planned.

The appearance of the building, designed by Stephen Taylor Architects, is the result of a careful study of the surrounding context in order to create high-quality architecture made of robust, durable materials that weather well and age gracefully over time. The aim has been to establish a familiar yet contemporary appearance that adds to the varied character of the street.

This development is part of Lewisham Council’s ‘Building for Lewisham’ programme, which is delivering new social homes across Lewisham. The programme is mainly being delivered by Lewisham Homes.

Housing is in short supply across Lewisham and creating new council homes is crucial to addressing the growing pressure on Lewisham Council’s waiting list. Lewisham Homes was responsible for building the first new council-owned homes in Lewisham for nearly 30 years in Spring 2015, and we are continuing to build new homes for Lewisham.