Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Mayor of London gives green light for Cane Hill redevelopment

19 Jun 2014, 5:08 pm

The office of the mayor of London has given approval for housebuilder Barratt Developments' 677-home redevelopment of the former Cane Hill Hospital site in South London's Coulsdon.

Proposals for the site include up to 677 homes, 25% of which will be affordable. The scheme proposes to retain and refurbish a chapel and a water tower on the site for mixed uses and a lodge for residential use. A farm building will be relocated and converted for residential use and further residential units may be provided by the part rebuilding and reuse of an administration building. Between them, the retained buildings will provide up to 17 residential units, with up to another 660 homes to be newly built on the site.

The retained buildings will provide a total of 2,660 sq m for non-residential uses under the proposals, including a mixture of shops, restaurants, businesses and leisure facilities. A new gateway building will provide a further 3,000 sq m for office or hotel uses under the scheme. There are also plans for new roads, car parking and a farm operation.

The 83 hectare site was brought forward for development by the Homes and Communities Agency in late 2011 and Barratt signed a contract with the Greater London Authority (GLA) in August 2012 for its redevelopment. A planning application was submitted to Croydon Council in August 2013 and recommended for approval by the Council's planning committee on 3 April.

In making its decision, the Council considered that the benefits of the scheme, including its contribution to housing targets, the public access it offered to green belt land and its contribution to the regeneration of Coulsden town centre, provided the "very special circumstances" required to justify development within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

A GLA statement on 18 June confirmed that the mayor's executive director for development, enterprise and environment supported the Council's decision to grant permission for the redevelopment.

"The development of Cane Hill, one of London's most infamous abandoned sites, is part of a major release of public land being conducted by City Hall, with 86 % of our sites now underway or being actively marketed", said the mayor in a statement. "This decision marks the next chapter in Cane Hill's fascinating history, providing 675 much-needed new homes in this part of South London."