Southwark Council proposes transport tariff for new developments

The draft SPG outlines the overall development plan for 301 acres across south London. The guidance includes plans for 4.7 million square feet to be used for new development. Thiswould almost double the number of retail units that are currently available in Elephant and Castle.

Prepared by Southwark Council and the Greater London Authority, the draft SPG would provide an agreed approach that would form the basis on which forthcoming planning applications will be assessed.

The guidance proposes increasing the number of retail units and shops to almost 500,000 sq ft to meet a projected rise in expenditure with an aim of "clawing back" expenditure from centres outside of the borough. The draft SPG states that increased and better shopping facilities will act as a driver for regeneration of the centre.

The draft SPG also outlines proposals that will assist the Council's in meeting its target to provide 4,000 new homes with a minimum of 1,400 affordable housing units. However, the draft guidance says that the current reduction in social housing grants makes the delivery of affordable housing "more challenging".

The draft SPG outlines aims to create 5,000 new jobs to meet targets set out in the London Plan by encouraging the development of more offices, hotels, small businesses and improving evening and cultural activities. A number of "tall buildings" are also planned within the area in order to help "stimulate regeneration" and create a "distinctive place", according to the draft SPG. The sites are not yet agreed.

The SPG outlines a proposed new transport tariff that will support the regeneration of the area. Developers will be expected to pay a tariff towards improving the service that is available on London Underground, increasing the Northern Line's capacity in the area and reconfiguring the local road network.

The proposed tariff would be over and above any separate section 106 payments that may be agreed between the Council and developers. Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act enables local planning authorities to secure, or developers to offer, restrictions on the use of land or operation of a development or to make contributions to local facilities or infrastructure in connection with a development.

The tariff would be charged on developments that cover more than 1,000 sq ft at a rate of £9.67 per sq ft for residential buildings, £6.04 per sq ft for student housing and £13.48 per sq ft for hotels, with no charge for offices.

Transport for London has estimated that it would cost about £85 million to install extra lifts to the Northern Line station entrance at Elephant and Castle. The preferred option of escalators is unlikely to be viable due to the extra cost and because they take up more space, the Council said.

"As we have argued for some time, it is very important that the cost of that is spread across all developments in the area. The SPG introduces a strategic transport tariff to ensure that all developments coming forward in the area will make a contribution towards the cost of that," said councillor Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration.

The Council has estimated that the new transport tariff could raise around £50m for transport improvements over the next 20 years and has said it will have to work with Transport for London and developers to bridge the gap.

Formal consultation on the draft Elephant and Castle SPG was launched yesterday and will be open for responses until 7 February 2012. The Council hopes to adopt the final document in March 2012.