A campaign group set up to promote the development of affordable housing has failed in a Court of Appeal bid to block the redevelopment of London’s Elephant & Castle.
Jerry Flynn of the 35% Campaign has been challenging Southwark Council’s decision to grant planning permission to development company Elephant and Castle Properties to redevelop the site of the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre and the London College of Communication.
The campaign seeks to hold Southwark to what it says is the council’s minimum policy requirement of ensuring developments have a minimum of 35% affordable housing, 70% or which is social rent.
Specifically, the group objects to the council allowing developer Delancey to build 979 build-to-rent homes because, they say, while 35% are classified as “affordable”, only 116 of them will be social rent. This is an increase from 33 social-rented homes in the original 2016 application.
The case has made its way though the court system. In December 2019, High Court Judge Mr Justice Dove ruled against them. Campaigners had argued that Southwark’s planning committee hadn’t been properly advised by planning officers when it made the decision to green-light the scheme.
The campaigners attempted to appeal the ruling, and in a hearing in March argued that Dove J had erred in law when he made his 2019 ruling.
However, in a judgment handed down on 28 May, and made available last week, the campaigners lost again.
In the ruling, Court of Appeal judge Sir Keith Lindblom said that Dove J was right to conclude that Southwark Council probably would not have been able to convince the developer to increase the amount of social housing, and the council would still have granted permission for the development as it was proposed.
Flynn said: “We are naturally disappointed that the court has not found in our favour, but we can be pleased with the victories we have had in our fight with Delancey and Southwark. There was zero proper social rented housing to begin with and it is only by the efforts of local people that we have the 116 homes now promised.
“But this socially rented housing still has to be delivered and Delancey’s track record shows that it is practised in passing these costs back to the public purse. We will continue to campaign to make sure that we get the promised 116 social rent units and that Southwark does not have to pay for them.”
A spokesman for Delancey’s Elephant & Castle town centre team said: “We appreciate that there have been differing opinions to the proposals, however we would like to reassure all parties that we take our responsibilities in delivering the new town centre extremely seriously.
“We will continue to work tirelessly to build the trust and confidence of the local community and other stakeholders as we move forward with the plans to rejuvenate what is already ne of London’s most dynamic and vibrant places.”
R (on the application of Jerry Flynn) v (1) The London Borough of Southwark Council and (2) Elephant and Castle Properties Company Ltd
Court of Appeal (Lindblom LJ, Baker LJ, Lewis LJ) 28 May 2021
