“Wholly unacceptable” 500+ home Bexleyheath Town Centre development to be decided tonight
Plans for a development of 518 homes in Bexleyheath town centre opposite Cineworld cinema will go before Bexley’s Planning Committee tonight.
You can see an in-depth look at plans here. There have been some revisions since then.
Plans to pedestrianise the northern end of Highland Road have been dropped.
The colonnade, as seen above, has been removed.
Window size increased in places.
Car parking spaces reduced from 44% to 40% of properties.
GLA complaint
Just 20.8% was to be so-called “affordable” housing, and that was made up of 100% shared-ownership. Shared-ownership is a wheeze whereby today’s buyers pay for around a 30% stake in a property for the same price that would have bought an entire home in previous decades, such is price growth over the past 10-20 years.
Shared Ownership is a way to prop up high prices. Buyers then have to fork out rent in addition on many occasions.
Where will it end up? A 5% stake? 2%? Or will prices reduce to long term average when comparing wages to prices?
What is affordable?
The GLA have called the use of shared-ownership alone and low percentage of affordable homes “wholly unacceptable”.
They stated they were “robustly” looking through the viability assessment provided by developers to justify that level.
Since then, the percentage has increased to 22% with 73% being “affordable” rents yet there is little on what type of “affordable”. There’s now many variables, with some still out of reach to those even on average wages of £30k a year.
When someone in a skilled job that pays well cannot afford an “affordable” flat then does the term mean a thing?
Almost all UK developers will claim a profit margin of at least of 20% is needed or a project is unviable.
The meeting commences at 7:30 pm at Bexley Civic Offices in Bexleyheath. The agenda is here where you can view proceedings on a webcam.
The 13 storey Bellway Tower blocks application was passed in full. 4 councillors voted for and 4 voted against so the Chair had the casting vote for. They also said their votes were meaningless as the London Mayor can overrule the votes against and build it…. what exactly is the purpose of Bexley Planning and the Councillors if the London Mayor can overrule on everyting?
Game over. Bellwayheath is born. Even the best graphic artists couldn’t make it look less than a grey and brown carbuncle, even after transporting it to the southern hemisphere and depicting the northern face in blistering summer sunshine. But then they always struggled with sunlight projection estimates.
The newly re-elected councillors had a duty to follow their own advice – as recent as May 2017 – that clearly stated 4-8 storeys were maximum for this area. The mayor’s irrational frenzy to build anything at any cost needed to be exposed for what it is: the Councillors needed to do their duty, and this is a desperate betrayal.
It will be interesting to see the aspirationals drawn to Bellwayheath with views of carparks on three sides and the busy Albion Road on the other. Oh and with only a 40% dwelling-to-carparking-space ratio. So Bellway want money, Sadiq wants a legacy (no matter how delusional – what is his London going to look like when he finishes?) and somewhere in between we sad acts that have been living there already wanted the character we had chosen to buy into when we moved to Bexleyheath in the first place. Whose side did the Councillors come out on, exactly? Count the comments for versus those against… did that really make no difference whatsoever?
wouldn’t it be better to have some more family oriented maisonettes than these awful eyesores which would be better for families and for it to be more of a community, instead of these awful buildings that are blighting the landscape around London but I guess community isn’t considered by people dealing with this. Money talks, it doesn’t matter what we all think at all. We can’t change a thing so anyone who objects wouldn’t be listened to.
The people who buy these flats are buying the rinsed and rung out idea of luxurious city centre living. The builders and local authorities are only interested in the money that pours in and parents generally don’t want to live high up in small spaces without access to safe, outside spaces.
London is become a forest of bland high rise buildings and it’s horrible.
These high rise flats are not good for families. I really think it is all a bit money grabbing without a thought for anyone.
Sadly this ‘property goldrush’ is only going to turn areas such as Bexleyheath into areas akin to the 1960s council estates, only much with less parking and slightly less concrete. And are there plans for upgrades to doctors/schools in the area?