Plan for more than 100 new affordable homes in Kidbrooke to be decided next week

By Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter

A proposal which would see affordable housing in Greenwich boosted by the addition of more than 100 new council homes is set to be decided next week.

Planning board members of Greenwich council have been asked to approve the scheme, which would see 117 new flats built across four blocks in Kidbrooke, at the meeting on November 17.

It is the latest initiative in the council’s mass home-building scheme to construct more affordable housing in the borough, titled Greenwich Builds.

Under the plans lodged by the council, the 117 residential units would be built across four buildings, ranging from between four to ten storeys, while a nursery, new park area, and a play space would also be constructed as part of the development.

Every single unit is set to be classed at social rent levels – the cheapest form of affordable housing offered in the capital city, with prices set by the council so they can be afforded by low-income Londoners.

The development is proposed on land in Kidbrooke Park Road – a three-minute walk from Kidbrooke railway station.

Eight objections to the project have been received by the council, including concerns that the amount of social housing would “become another Ferrier estate”, referencing Kidbrooke’s former council housing estate which was demolished in 2012.

The council responded that “measures have been taken in the design and landscaping to prevent antisocial behaviour”, and said nearby Kidbrooke Village had a range of services which could be accessed by those living there.

Pictured top: An artist’s impression of what the development could look like