Peckham plans for dozens of flats referred to government as council refuses to let them be built

The Planning Committee went against officer recommendations and ultimately refused the plans

Plans to build 38 residential flats in Peckham will be decided by the Planning Inspectorate after the developer lodged an appeal because Southwark Council had missed the decision deadline.

The council’s Planning Committee unanimously voted to refuse planning permission for the development at 269 to 275 Rye Lane and 1A Philip Walk during a meeting on Monday evening (August 10). However before it had even reached the committee the developer, Hybrid Planning & Development, had referred it to the Planning Inspectorate due to the deadline being missed.

Even though the decision is out of the council’s hands, the committee still needed to determine the council’s position in relation to the appeal, which is due to be heard on August 25.

The council had until March 31, 2026 to determine the application but faced several delays which had been partly impacted by the May local elections, due to which no planning committee meetings were held from March to June 2026.

Planning officers working for the council had recommended the plans be approved, but the committee raised several concerns over the proposals and ultimately refused them.

These included there being no affordable housing proposed and concerns over the quality of accommodation, particularly for wheelchair users.

Cllr Richard Taylor, Chair of the committee, said: “The deficiencies in floorspace, outlook, daylight, privacy, noise exposure… and accessibility collectively result in an unacceptable standard of accommodation, particularly for future wheelchair users.

“[The development] fails to demonstrate that the proposed single aspect dwellings would achieve adequate passive ventilation, daylight privacy and overheating resilience. There are concerns the development has the potential to result in a significant adverse effect for those with the protected characteristics of a disability.”

Cllr Taylor went on to say the proposals fail to deliver a 35 per cent affordable housing contribution and would result in the “unacceptable loss of opportunity” to address Southwark’s acute and pressing affordable housing need.

There are currently over 18,000 households on the council’s housing waiting list, while 93 per cent of households in Southwark have a household income that requires social or intermediate housing.

Earlier on in the meeting, a planning officer said the proposals could not meet the 35 per cent affordable housing requirement due to “demonstrated viability constraints”.

It was revealed that the developer had contacted 27 housing associations but not one expressed a viable interest in acquiring on-site affordable housing.

The developer had submitted a financial viability assessment which concluded the scheme is in a £6.17 million deficit. However, planning officers said an independent review on behalf of the council found the scheme was more viable than initially assessed – though there was still a £1.85 million deficit.

The developer had previously made a £1 million payment in lieu which would help address the affordable housing need, but later withdrew the offer because of the scheme being in deficit.

The offer is still in the draft Section 106 agreement, but it will be down to the Planning Inspector to decide whether the payment is necessary to make the development acceptable.

Planning officers also pointed out that the two residential blocks would have some restricted private amenity space.

However, planning officers had still recommended the plans for approval, as they had not identified a “strong reason for refusal” when considering planning policies.

They also hadn’t identified any major impacts that would outweigh the benefits, and said substantial weight had been given when considering the development is to be built on brownfield land.

Aaron Henecke, Associate Director of Hybrid Planning & Development, told the committee: “The benefits of the development are many, from the delivery of 38 new homes on a brownfield site to the substantial improvements to townscape biodiversity, open space and drainage.

“The provision of the 38 new homes is particularly important and in light of the council’s lack of a five-year housing supply, with funding now secured, construction works are anticipated to start within a year. [This] insures the timely delivery of these much needed new homes.”

Mr Henecke said the council’s decision mattered as it had the potential to help “finally bring the site forward”, as it’s long been earmarked for development but has stalled due to “economical difficulties” which have been brought on by factors such as the pandemic.

Despite this, the plans were ultimately refused by the committee. For now, the fate of the proposals is in the hands of the Planning Inspectorate, which will be determined at a hearing later this month.

The proposals

Hybrid Planning & Development wants to build 38 new flats on Rye Lane and Philip Walk in Peckham.

If approved by the Planning Inspectorate, the developer says it will start construction work within a year of receiving permission.

Of the 38 homes, 14 are one-beds, 17 are two-beds, while seven are three-beds. The 38 homes would be split across Block A and Block B, which would be five storeys and six storeys respectively. A total of 152 sqm of commercial floorspace is also proposed at ground-floor level on Rye Lane.

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