John Lewis Submit Plans for 353 rental flats above Waitrose Bromley South

The John Lewis planning application to build 353 rental flats above the Waitrose store at Bromley South has now been published on the Bromley Planning Portal. Residents and interested parties have until 4th October to file their objections or support.

The Lib Dem Councillors for Bromley Town will be opposing the application - you can read more details about the application and our reasons for opposing it (and features we support) in this article.

The development will comprise 2 tower blocks built over the Waitrose store and car park at Bromley South. All flats will be rental flats, owned and managed by the John Lewis Partnership. The existing supermarket is being retained in its current location. There will be 353 residential units offering accommodation to a projected 628 people in two tower blocks of 19 and 24 storeys with a 12 storey “hip”  linked by a 10 storey building. There will be a new public square (“piazza”) outside the store. Construction will take over 4 years.

In summary we are opposing the development on these grounds:

• height and massing - the proposed development is too high, it’s out of character for the local area, and will have an overbearing effect on the nearby low rise housing The tallest tower is 40% taller than next door Perigon Heights.
• precedent - if planning permission is granted it will be difficult to oppose applications for taller and taller buildings in Bromley town centre
• 628 new residents will have a massive effect on the town's already overstretched public services, including the nearby roads (the access road to Waitrose is already chaotic) and Bromley South train station (the fourth busiest station in south London where seats have had to be removed from platford to ease congestion)
• lack of affordable units - John Lewis are only promising 10%, but are seeking extra subsidies that may bring the amount up to 20%, still below the 35% required under Bromley's local plan
• it will not help the borough's housing problem, John Lewis are clearly aiming to import high earners into Bromley 
• how committed are John Lewis to this development?  It’s a significant change of direction for the company, and the financial projections indicate a significant shortfall of £51m on the Bromley site. What will happen if they decide to abandon their rental property venture? If planning permission is granted, the look and feel of Bromley will have changed forever whether John Lewis walk away or not. 

There are a lot of features in the development that we would support (see this article) and reiterate how disappointing it is that John Lewis did not try to seek a design that was more in keeping with the local area and that would have been more attractive to local Bromley residents.