Hundreds of homes could be built on former Sydenham gas works site

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Six tower blocks, up to 15 storeys tall, could be built on a former South London gasworks site.

Developer Barratt London has submitted plans to redevelop part of the old Bell Green Gas Works in Sydenham, and construct 261 flats, as well as shops and offices.

Most of the 46-acre ex-gasworks, which shut in the late 1980s, has already been built on. Bell Green Retail Park opened on part of the former site in 2013.

Two giant metal gas holders, built in 1882 and 1890, were finally dismantled in 2020, after being decommissioned eight years earlier.

Under the plans submitted to Lewisham council, six blocks of flats would be built across three buildings on the site. The buildings would range from five storeys to 15 storeys in height.

Of the 261 planned homes, 140 or just over half would be two-bedroom flats. A total of 88, or around a third of the flats, will be one-bedroom, while the remaining 33 will be three-bed.

The developer intends for 35 per cent of the homes to be affordable. Of these, 70 per cent would be at London Affordable Rent, which City Hall considers to be a type of social rent but can be more expensive than traditional social rents.

The remaining affordable properties would be shared ownership, where a person buys a share of the property and pays the rest of the house’s value in rent.

According to planning documents, the development’s affordable homes are dependent on Barratt London receiving grant funding.

New floor space for shops and offices would be provided on the ground floor of some of the blocks. The proposed development would also include 4,000 sq metres of new public space. No parking would be included as part of the project, except for eight Blue Badge spaces for disabled people.

Planning documents read: “The proposals are the result of a comprehensive and high-quality master planning process, which seeks to both respect and enhance the site’s existing relationship with the adjacent Livesey Memorial Hall which comprises a Grade II listed building and its curtilage.”

The proposals would deliver “significant high-quality housing within Lewisham, including much needed affordable homes and family-sized homes, helping to meet the borough’s needs,” the documents add.

Lewisham council will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

Pictured top: Ariel view of the Bell Green Gas Works in the mid 20th century (Picture: Lewisham council planning documents)