Plans to redevelop two-council owned sites in Brixton have been approved, despite fierce opposition over the displacement of more than 100 charities and community groups.
Lambeth Council has partnered with developer London Square to bring forward a mixed-used residential and commercial development at 49 Brixton Station Road and 6 Canterbury Crescent.
The plans, which were approved by Lambeth Council’s Planning Applications Committee on Tuesday, March 24, will see the delivery of 288 homes of which 98 will be social rent while the remaining 190 will be for private sale.
London Square, a property development company owned by Aldar Properties, the largest real estate developer in Abu Dhabi, also intends to deliver new workspace, community facilities and public realm improvements.
Under the plans the homes will be split across four blocks, ranging from six to 20 storeys high.
The site at 49 Brixton Station Road is currently home to Pop Brixton, a popular food and drinking spot complete with workspace units, which will be flattened to make way for one 18-storey and one 20-storey building that will provide 84 affordable and 121 private sale homes respectively.
The site located at 6 Canterbury Crescent is home to a former council office block called International House, which will be retained and refurbished with two extra storeys added on top to deliver 69 of the private sale homes. The site will also see the construction of a new six-storey building and will provide 14 affordable homes.
International House is currently home to London’s largest affordable workspace and is occupied by more than 100 not-for-profit organisations, charities and community groups with many paying reduced or peppercorn rents.
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting a petition set up by campaign group, Save International House, had urged the council not to go ahead with the plans. The petition, which had been signed by more than 1,000 people, stated that all of the charities would be displaced, with many organisations saying they won’t be able to continue their work outside of International House.
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A lot of the organisations are Black-led and carry out important work including HIV awareness, mental health support, youth crime prevention and refugee justice.
During the meeting, the committee heard from one of the tenants at International House, who said: “International House is at risk of being destroyed entirely, the [planning] officers’ report claims that a relocation strategy is on offer but there are no alternative spaces that have been sighted so far.
“Instead, the report claims that some of the uses in the proposed development could support these businesses in the future; this misrepresents the manner of the organisations based there – they are not businesses, they are largely Black-led community organisations with turnovers of under £10,000 annually and they will not be able to afford the so-called affordable workspace being provided.”
Cllr Scarlett O’Hara, who represents Brixton Windrush ward where the redevelopment is located, said the development brings “much needed” improvements to the public realm, and said the project was a large and complex one that was 17 years in the making.
She said she was aware of the “strong feelings” expressed by organisations at International House and had asked council officers to meet with them to help them “through the process over the next year”.
She told the committee: “In 2018, workspaces at International House were offered to organisations on a temporary basis or meanwhile basis at very low or even no cost, a good deal and a way for small organisations to set up and grow before moving on.
“There are some excellent organisations based here and we want to see them settle in new affordable spaces and thrive in the borough where possible together, which I know is something that many of them would like.”
When it came to closing statements, Cllr Malcolm Clark said: “I think it’s just worth stating the social, cultural and economic benefits of the meanwhile uses have been very significant and I actually think that’s a credit to the planning authority and to the way that our planning is working.
“We’ve managed to secure those benefits during this meanwhile period – that meanwhile period is now ending though I was reassured that there is still a year left in terms of the lease and therefore up to a year of further support [for] organisations affected, even though they would have been already well-aware of the meanwhile use and the timings.”
Ultimately the plans were approved by all of the Labour councillors sitting on the committee while Cllr Scott Ainslie, who is leader of Lambeth Greens, did not vote in favour.
In an official statement, London Square’s Founder and CEO, Adam Lawrence, said: “At a time when housing delivery in London is at a critically low level, our partnership with Lambeth Council will deliver much needed affordable homes and make a significant contribution to addressing housing pressures in the borough.
“We’re committed to creating homes and neighbourhoods where people of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy a great quality of life.”
He added: “This project has been a genuinely collaborative process, shaped by many months of engagement with locals, businesses and stakeholders. The approved plans reflect that input and will support what makes Brixton a special place to live and work.”
Following the approval of the application, local campaign group, Save Nour, accused the council of approving “the destruction of a crucial cornerstone of South London’s Black communities to make space for an Emirati billionaire”.
The group said: “Lambeth’s relocation offer to the tenants is insulting at best, and social cleansing at worst – proposing that they move to spaces that cost £20,000 a year. How is that affordable for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £10,000?
“We need more social housing, but the mere promise of it cannot come at the cost of the free support that has been keeping us afloat.”
