This meeting was about deciding whether to grant planning permission to two major applications in the borough. The meeting also included the formal approval of the minutes from the previous meeting held on 12 November 2024.

257-283 Ilderton Road London Southwark SE15 1NS

This application was for the demolition of the existing building, a vacant warehouse, and the construction of a new building for mixed use, to include:

• 592 student rooms arranged as both cluster flats and studios;
• 7,977 square metres of commercial/business floorspace, made up of light Industrial workspace / incubator units (Use Class E(g)(iii)) in the form of “Fab Labs” and self-storage (Use Class B8);
• a cafe (Use Class Sui Generis) at ground floor level; and
• a cycle workshop (Use Class Sui Generis) at ground floor level.

The site is located within the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area, at the junction of Sharratt Street and Ilderton Road. The proposed development would be a car-free scheme, with only disabled parking and operational/servicing parking spaces provided.

The report pack considered the principle of the proposed use, with particular attention to:

• the need for Purpose Built Student Accommodation in the area;
• the affordable housing offer, noting that no on-site affordable housing is proposed;
• the quality of student accommodation proposed, with a supporting Student Management Plan submitted by the applicant to detail how the scheme would be managed;
• the suitability of the location given its proximity to existing student accommodation and the transport connections to higher education providers;
• the impact the development would have on the local community and the highways network; and
• the environmental performance of the building.

The report pack identified a number of benefits associated with the application. For example:

• it would bring into active use a vacant brownfield site in a highly accessible location;
• it would deliver 7,977 square metres of light industrial and self-storage floorspace, in excess of the existing industrial floorspace quantum on the site;
• all of the light industrial floorspace would be offered at affordable rent levels, which represents a benefit in an area with a recognised demand for affordable workspace;
• a publicly-accessible cafe would be provided;
• a cycle workshop would be provided and the operator would offer bike repair services to members of the public;
• free exhibition space would be offered to local communities for at least 200 hours each year;
• it would deliver a financial contribution of £20.7 million to be put towards the delivery of affordable housing off-site;
• it would provide 14 new street trees;
• it would be a car-free development, thus helping to reduce reliance on cars and encourage sustainable modes of transport;
• it would achieve the 0.4 Urban Greening Factor score required by the London Plan;
• it would deliver 350.07% biodiversity net gain;
• it would deliver carbon dioxide savings of 39% over a notional building; and
• it would be built to BREEAM Excellent standard.

The report pack set out the financial contributions that would need to be secured through a legal agreement in order to mitigate the impacts of the development, including the following:

• £20.7 million to be put towards the delivery of affordable housing off-site;
• £534,600 towards public transport improvement including local bus service investment;
• £100,000 towards improvements to the nearby bus stops;
• £30,000 towards provision of new Legible London signage;
• £18,789 towards expansion of one or more TfL cycle docking stations in the vicinity of the site;
• £57,462 to the Carbon Green Fund to offset the development’s carbon emissions; and
• £242,720 towards the delivery of public open space off-site.

It is important to note that the report pack also identified some negative impacts that the proposed development would have, including the following:

• loss of a vacant warehouse;
• the design, scale and massing of the development, whilst considered to be acceptable overall, would result in some less than substantial harm to the setting of the Grade II listed gasholder nearby;
• no affordable housing would be delivered on-site, although a payment-in-lieu is proposed;
• the proposed development would cause noticeable reductions in daylight to some of the windows serving the surrounding properties; and
• the development would be situated within Phase 2 of the Old Kent Road Housing Phasing Plan, meaning a Grampian condition would be attached to the permission, linked to the delivery of the Bakerloo Line Extension.

To address some of the matters raised, the report pack recommended that a number of planning conditions be imposed on the permission if granted. Examples include:

• requiring the submission of a Construction Environmental Management Plan to manage construction and demolition works;
• limiting the hours of operation of the commercial units and cafe to minimise noise nuisance;
• restricting the uses of the commercial units to those agreed in the application;
• requiring compliance with the submitted ecological reports;
• requiring compliance with the submitted arboricultural reports;
• requiring details of the external lighting scheme to be agreed to ensure compliance with standards for minimising light pollution;
• requiring details of the proposed extraction and ventilation strategy for the cafe and commercial kitchens to be agreed to minimise the risk of odour nuisance to neighbours;
• requiring details of the measures to secure the development against crime to be agreed with the Metropolitan Police;
• requiring the final cycle parking layout to be agreed;
• requiring the final Travel Plan to be agreed;
• requiring a Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Strategy to be agreed;
• requiring the developer to pay a Delivery and Servicing Monitoring Fee;
• requiring details of the electric vehicle charging points to be agreed; and
• requiring details of the car parking management strategy to be agreed.

The officer recommendation was for the planning committee to grant planning permission for the application subject to a legal agreement being completed, and referral to the Mayor of London.

110 The Queens Walk, London, Southwark, SE1 2AA

This application proposed the alteration and extension of an existing office building (Use Class E(g)(i)) on the south bank of the River Thames, near Tower Bridge. The site was formerly used as City Hall by the Greater London Authority, but is now vacant. The report pack recommended that the application be approved, subject to a number of conditions and referral to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State.

The proposed development would:

• partially demolish the existing building and extend it, with a new depth of 56.1m compared to the current 41.9m, and an increased height of 50.4m from 49.8m;
• increase the total Gross Internal Area of office floorspace from 18,165.9 sqm to 18,618 sqm, an increase of 452.1 sqm;
• introduce 3,380 sqm of flexible commercial floorspace (Use Class E), with units at both ground and lower ground floor levels, which would be accessed via the adjacent “Scoop”;
• alter the appearance of the building, with a new facade and landscaping scheme;
• make alterations to the adjacent “Scoop”, to include a new access ramp, lifts and hard and soft landscaping; and
• remove the existing garage to the south of the site, which would be donated for re-use elsewhere in the borough.

The report pack set out the details of the proposal, and considered a number of factors in making its recommendation. These included:

• the principle of the development in terms of land use;
• the impact of the proposed extension to the building on Borough Open Land;
• the changes in design and heritage impact;
• landscaping, urban greening and biodiversity;
• the provision of toilets and refuse storage;
• designing out crime;
• pedestrian movement throughout the site;
• the impact of the development on Potters Field Park;
• the transport and highways impact;
• the impact of the development on the amenity of adjoining occupiers;
• archaeology;
• fire safety;
• flood risk;
• air quality;
• energy and sustainability; and
• the financial contributions to be secured through a legal agreement.

The report pack noted a number of benefits associated with the application. These included:

• it would bring back into active use a prominent, centrally located, vacant office building;
• it would deliver an uplift in employment generating floorspace;
• the proposed commercial units would activate the southern part of the site, which is currently underutilised;
• the proposed changes to the “Scoop” would make it more accessible to members of the public;
• it would deliver high quality public realm improvements, including soft landscaping, seating and lighting;
• it would provide new trees and areas of soft landscaping, which would enhance the visual amenity of the area, while also contributing to the green infrastructure and biodiversity of the Opportunity Area;
• the existing non-compliant access ramp would be replaced with a lift that would comply with Building Regulations requirements, making it more accessible to ambulant disabled people and those using wheelchairs and buggies;
• the scheme would deliver a 16.95% uplift in BNG;
• the scheme would achieve an Urban Greening Factor score of 0.206;
• it would deliver a carbon dioxide saving of 32% over a notional building;
• it would be built to BREEAM Excellent standard; and
• it would comply with other industry-led accreditation schemes relating to sustainability and wellness.

The report pack set out the financial contributions that would need to be secured through a legal agreement in order to mitigate the impacts of the development. These included:

• £372,154 to the Carbon Green Fund to offset the development’s carbon emissions shortfall;
• £12,000 towards local street tree planting;
• £5,580 towards the monitoring of the Travel Plan and Delivery and Servicing Plan; and
• £12,000 towards new Legible London signage.

The report pack also identified a number of negative impacts associated with the proposed development. These included:

• the proposed changes would cause some less than substantial harm to the setting of Tower Bridge, and to a lesser extent to the setting of the Tower of London World Heritage Site;
• it would fail to deliver the 40% on-site carbon reduction target set out in Policy P70 of the Southwark Plan;
• the development would result in a shortfall in cycle parking spaces;
• there would be an increase in construction related activity which would impact on items such as noise and traffic; and
• the Environment Agency would maintain its objection on the basis that a condition for a flood defence raising strategy was not recommended for approval by officers.

The report pack recommended that a number of conditions be imposed on the planning permission if granted, for example:

• requiring the submission of a Construction Environmental Management Plan;
• limiting the hours of operation of the commercial units and The Scoop to minimise noise nuisance;
• requiring the external lighting scheme to be agreed to ensure compliance with standards for minimising light pollution;
• requiring the final cycle parking layout to be agreed;
• requiring the submission of a ventilation strategy to ensure acceptable air quality and to mitigate odour nuisance;
• requiring compliance with the submitted ecological reports;
• requiring compliance with the submitted arboricultural reports;
• requiring details of the security measures to be agreed;
• requiring the applicant to produce a Parking Management Plan; and
• requiring the submission of a Travel Plan to reduce reliance on cars and promote sustainable forms of transport.

The officer recommendation was for the planning committee to grant planning permission, subject to a legal agreement being completed, and referral to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State.