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First, we had the Asda village. Now, Waitrose and John Lewis have announced plans to build tower blocks of flats in south London. Could a supermarket be your next landlord?
John Lewis has been given the green light from the council to build 350 flats, and a new Waitrose, in Bromley, south London. Out of the 350 new apartments, just under 10 percent of them will be affordable. John Lewis has pledged that 30 of the rentals will be affordable homes. The homes will be available for renting only and John Lewis said locals will be prioritised when it comes to letting the flats.
The development will see three residential towers of 10, 19 and 24 floors built, amounting to a total of 353 homes. Alongside the housing will be a swanky ‘state-of-the-art Waitrose’ store, to feed all the new residents.
Plans also feature new public green spaces, a cafe and amenity spaces for local community groups and schools to use as well as cycle and pedestrian links through the site linking it to the high street and surrounding area
Bromley Council received 147 letters of support from locals, but also 109 formal objections. One residents’ group raised objections that the cluster of towers would be ‘overbearing’ and ‘damaging to the local environment and amenity of nearby residents’. But councillors approved the scheme after hearing of the ‘very significant contribution to the housing supply in the borough making efficient use of land’.
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