Legal & General has seen plans for a £300m build-to-rent scheme in Woolwich railroaded with a refusal from Greenwich Council’s planning committee this week.
Councillors rejected proposals to convert the former industrial and office buildings on Beresford Street, SE18, into 595 flats at the committee on 4 May. They criticised the size of the scheme, the design and the lack of affordable housing.
L&G exchanged contracts to acquire the east London site in 2018 from MacBean Developments, led by British businessman Steve Yat Lung Sun. The deal was conditional on the site receiving planning.
The refusal comes despite planning officer recommendations to grant permission. L&G will now await a formal response from the council before deciding on any next steps.
It comes amid a recent rush of large BTR and mixed-tenure schemes in the outer borough, with Criterion, Lincoln and MGT and developer Montreaux all planning substantial schemes.
However, Greenwich has been a notoriously challenging borough for developers, with a number of high-profile rejections at committee including Rockwell’s Charlton Riverside and more recently refusing detailed plans from Berkeley Homes at Kidbrooke Village.
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