Southwark Council’s masterplan for redeveloping Monopoly’s cheapest property space is contentious as campaigners feel it’s a missed opportunity for more social housing
One of London’s biggest redevelopment projects will have nowhere near enough social housing to make a serious dent in the waiting list, campaigners say.
Southwark Council’s Old Kent Road Area Action Plan spans 20 years and promises 20,000 new homes, with nearly 60 per cent classed as affordable. But it’s the definition of ‘affordable’ that forms the central argument for those opposed to the scheme in its current form.
With the decision following a hearing with the Planning Inspectorate looming, Save Old Kent Road and SHAPE (Southwark Housing and Planning Emergency) organised a recent demonstration and marched down the Old Kent Road to protest against the proposals.
They say there has been “no commitment” on the exact number of new council homes, and fear there will be a significant number of towers over 20 storeys which are going to be “mostly not affordable”. Of the proposed 20,000 new homes, the council has a target of delivering 7,000 affordable homes, which would include social rented homes and other types of rents set at a percentage below market rates
Campaigners from Save Old Kent Road say up to a quarter of these (5,000) at most could be social rented, arguing this isn’t nearly enough when considering there are 22,000 households on Southwark Council’s waiting list and 10,000 residents in temporary accommodation. Business owners and residents the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to agreed that the reality will be most people won’t be eligible for, or won’t be able to afford, the ‘affordable’ homes planned.
Campaigners argue the second half of the 20,000 homes are dependent on the Bakerloo line extension, for which funding has not yet been secured.
Liz Wyatt from Housing Action Southwark Lambeth (HASL), says many of the group’s members have been in temporary accommodation for almost a decade, and that a shortage of family-sized council homes is “particularly severe” in Southwark and rarely appear on the housing waiting list.
Liz told the LDRS: “With the Old Kent Road regeneration, Southwark Council could finally guarantee our communities the high-quality, safe, secure family-sized council homes we need.
“This would immediately put an end to the housing nightmares Southwark residents are living through – the constant uncertainty of temporary accommodation and wondering where you will be sent next, dangerous levels of overcrowding, and hazardous damp and black mould.
“Instead, their current plans will push working-class communities out of London and worsen the violence of the devastating homelessness crisis.”
She went on to say: “The Old Kent Road ‘Area Action Plan’ might pass the council’s unambitious target for 35 per cent affordable and social housing, but in reality developers are building massive sites on the Old Kent Road with as little as 12 per cent affordable and social housing.
“And everyone knows that developers have destroyed the meaning of the term ‘affordable housing’ as the definition can mean a rent that is 80 per cent of market rent. The only housing that is genuinely affordable is council housing.”
‘We’ll work to get the best deal’
Leader of Southwark Council, Cllr James McAsh, has said the Action Plan represents an opportunity to tackle the housing crisis and build more “genuinely affordable” homes in the borough.
Cllr McAsh says currently 59 per cent of new homes being built in the Old Kent Road area are “affordable” with 41 per cent being social rent.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “This is much higher than the average across London – but there is plenty more to do. We will do our best to raise these numbers even further.
“We will build on the success of the Tustin Estate – which recently saw the completion of 162 new council homes – and the 215 council homes being started on the Ledbury Estate.
“We will work with developers to get the best possible deal for our borough, with our plans shaped by residents’ priorities. Under this administration, Southwark Council is accountable to the people of Southwark.”
Last month, the council’s plans were examined by a Planning Inspector. They are currently going through all the evidence in order to make their decision. The LDRS understands the Inspector’s report is due in September 2026.
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