Students will pay less rent if they are good to their over-55 neighbours

By Grainne Cuffe, local democracy reporter

Students will pay less rent if they are good neighbours to their over-55 neighbours in a block which has been given planning permission.

The development, to be owned and run by Phoenix Community Housing, will involve the demolition of 16 vacant bedsits in Melfield Gardens, near Beckenham Hill station, to be replaced with 32 flats in two blocks between three and six storeys.

Residents aged 55 and above are set to live in 30 of the homes, with two, four-bed flats set aside for postgraduate students.

The older residents will pay London Affordable Rent, while the students will pay intermediate rent.

The eight students will also spend a number of hours per week helping the older residents, offering their company and taking part in activities with them.

According to the planning statement: “A key benefit of this scheme was the ability for older residents needing regular care and support to live independent lives in a secure, socially inclusive environment.”

A communal garden room is also planned as part of the development.

Irene Craik, director of Levitt Bernstein, the architecture firm behind the scheme, said: “We are delighted to announce that we have secured planning permission for Melfield Gardens, a highly sustainable, intergenerational housing scheme on a constrained site in the London borough of Lewisham for Phoenix Community Housing.

“It will provide 30 flexible and affordable homes for residents aged 55 and above, and two, four-bedroom homes for eight postgraduate students from Goldsmiths, University of London.

“In return for being ‘good neighbours’, the students will be charged a lower rent.

“Each will spend a number of hours assisting older residents, offering company or participating in the cultural and recreational activities that will take place in the communal spaces.

“As well as learning from this innovative social pilot, the client is keen to achieve a fully certified Passivhaus building as the first step towards a zero carbon future.

“This fabric-first approach demands design rigour and excellent teamwork, so we have worked closely with sustainability consultants Etude throughout the process.

“The scheme is split into two subtly cranked buildings that partially enclose a pedestrian-prioritised central green space which retains public routes through the site to Beckenham Hill Station.

“The new residents will access their homes from this space, and the shared entrance cores, external decks and front doors will overlook it, increasing the sense of community.

“A shared ‘garden room’ sits at the foot of the western building, wrapping around into the protected garden to the rear for residents and their visitors.”

The planning application was approved in March, 2021.