Plan submitted to build 63 new student rooms in New Cross Road

By Grainne Cuffe, Local Democracy Reporter

A developer has submitted plans to build student accommodation in New Cross, within the boundary of Lewisham council’s Achilles Street regeneration proposals.

If approved, the plans from developer Summix will see the William Hill betting shop and Flames Kebab House in New Cross Road demolished to make way for 63 student rooms.

The proposals include two blocks, one four storeys in height and the other six storeys, as well as 54 cycle spaces, a courtyard, and two shops.

The council is proposing to knock down 87 homes and 15 businesses around Achilles Street to build 450 new homes and “up to 150 new council homes”.

According to Summix, the proposals will not “fetter” the council’s regeneration plans.

A spokesman said: “The key aspiration of this masterplan is to utilise future development to open up the site, improve pedestrian connections and create buildings that properly address the street edges and surrounding context.

“Our scheme not only doesn’t fetter the ability for this masterplan to come forward, but should actually catalyse the wider regeneration by committing to new development to improve the area,” they said in their planning statement.”

The site is five minutes from Goldsmith College’s main campus, which is on the corner of Lewisham Way and New Cross Road.

The developer said there was a rising need for student accommodation and that it was making the housing crisis in London even worse.

According to the planning statement: “The Goldsmiths College campus has seen significant investment in its infrastructure and this will be an ongoing trend in years to come.

“In 2018, Goldsmiths College spent £46.5 million on capital expenditure, focusing on increasing its building capacity.

“To accommodate this increase in infrastructure and a higher number of students joining each year, students need accommodation and in particular PBSA bed spaces.

“The rising number of full-time students in higher education has meant that traditional student halls of residence have been unable to accommodate the increase in demand for student bed spaces.

“As a result a number of students have to settle in shared accommodation in the private rental sector when they are unable to access traditional student accommodation.

“This has used up general building stock, further exacerbating London’s housing crisis.”

The application will be decided at a date yet to be set.

A spokesperson for Goldsmiths, University of London said: “This application is independent of Goldsmiths. We have not had contact with the developer, have not submitted a letter of support and have no plans to do so.”

Pictured top: The site in New Cross Road where the accommodation could be built