Lendlease is set to fight Southwark Council’s decision to reject its application to build an eighteen-storey office block in Elephant and Castle.
The council refused planning permission for the Elephant Park development due to its “excessive height, mass and bulk”, with one councillor comparing it to Ayer’s Rock, in October last year.
Lendlease has now applied for an inquiry into the decision which would see a government inspector decide whether to overrule Southwark Council and let the build go ahead.
The inspector will make their decision based on relevant legislation and policies, evidence submitted, appeal documents, and any other relevant material.
Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, could override the inspector’s decision although this is rare.
If an inquiry does take place, it’s likely to begin after summer and Lendlease estimates it would take eight days.
The planning application was for Plot H1, the final plot of the highly controversial Elephant Park scheme built where the Heygate Estate once stood.
The office block, which councillors were asked to consider during the planning committee meeting on October 4, differed wildly from the planning site’s original purpose.
Under the Section 106 agreement, signed in 2013 between Southwark Council and Lendlease, Plot H1’s ‘principal land use’ was “residential”.
But, having built 2,689 homes on Elephant Park, with 25 per cent affordable, Lendlease had already fulfilled its housing obligation.
This allowed the developer to apply for 48,750 sqm of office space, almost ten times more than the 5,000 sqm outlined in the original masterplan.
In his concluding remarks on October 4, Committee Chair Cllr Livingstone said the application had been refused “due to the excessive height, mass and bulk of the application, causing harm to the character and appearance of Elephant Road, Elephant Park and Walworth Road”.
Mayor Sadiq Khan could have used his devolved powers to override Southwark Council’s decision after it was made but chose not to.
A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “We’ve been working in partnership with Southwark to deliver a thoughtful and community-led regeneration at Elephant Park for over a decade and have submitted an appeal regarding our application for a new office building.
“When complete it would have the potential to provide work for around 4,000 people, include a new community health hub, support the growing economy of independent retailers, first rate leisure amenities and world class education already in the surrounding area; and build upon the sustainability commitments already made across Elephant Park.”