Beckenham Estate’s revamp will bring extra homes – but in taller buildings

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A scheme to build tower blocks up to seven storeys high in Beckenham have been hit by over 50 complaints, with local residents calling the plans “intimidating and overpowering”.

Riverside Regeneration and Countryside Partnerships have sent plans to Bromley council for 275 new homes in Calverley Close, with blocks ranging between three and seven storeys tall.

Out of the 275 new homes, 65 per cent are planned to be “affordable”. The new development will include nine blocks and 20 townhouses, and involves knocking down the five existing blocks on the site to create 179 affordable homes.

Plans for the project say the existing estate is “ageing, overcrowded” and “no longer fit for purpose”. A neighbour to the site said the height of the new buildings would put locals in “almost perpetual” darkness.

He said: “I know this was raised by concerned residents and was handwaved and dismissed by sneering members of the development team. Utterly unacceptable.”

Council documents said that letters notifying neighbours of the plans were sent to 858 addresses surrounding the site last August. This came alongside a notice on the site and an initial three-week consultation, followed by another round of letters and two weeks of consultation last month.

Locals have also voiced concerns over how long it will take to build the new homes, with council documents saying the construction will last 10 years. One resident called the time frame “ludicrous”.

The neighbour said: “To put in place such a time scale, a tenth of a century without accounting for the impact on residents, is staggering and cannot be allowed. The noise, the pollution, the inconvenience would be astronomical and has not been considered at all.”

Countryside Partnerships and Riverside said: “Our initial proposals were subject to a design review with an independent panel of experts and following a public consultation in 2021, we reduced the number of new private homes and the building heights by up to two storeys.

“We have worked together with residents, the council and the local community to take as many views as possible into account and our proposed scheme includes enhanced open spaces, new cycle parking provision and car parking spaces with active charging points.”

Comments have also been made in support of the plans. One neighbour said: “Beckenham (and Bromley as a whole) is in need of more and better affordable homes and I believe this redevelopment will bring genuinely affordable and quality housing for current Beckenham residents.” Another resident said they had been a tenant in the estate since 1988, and were looking forward to moving into a brand new flat.

A spokesman for the developers said: “We believe the proposals to redevelop Calverley Close will benefit the residents on the estate as well as the local area. The proposals will address overcrowding for many of the estate’s existing households, and 96 additional homes to meet the needs of the local area.

“We are pleased that Bromley council’s planning officers have recommended the application for approval saying that the proposals ‘respond well to the surrounding context’, ‘would not give rise to any significant overlooking or loss of privacy’ and ‘would not result in unacceptable impacts on highway safety’.”

A Bromley council spokesman said: “The application will be determined at Development Control Committee, with the published committee report setting out the officer recommendation for this decision.”