Innovative affordable housing developer Pocket Living has secured a resolution to grant planning permission from Southwark Council for two new developments in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area.
As two linked planning applications, the two schemes, Ossory Road and Credon House, will deliver a combined total of 139 new homes on a mix of tenures.
Across the two sites, Pocket will provide 50% affordable homes prioritised for local people, of which half will be for social rent and half will be discounted sale for local first-time buyers.
The 117-home development at Ossory Road will include Pocket discounted homes specifically for first time buyers who live or work in Southwark and earn under the Mayor of London’s income threshold for affordable housing.
At Credon House, a total of 22 homes will be provided all of which will be for social rent, forming part of the Council’s wider objective to supply over 11,000 social homes by 2043.
Located in an area renowned historically for its light industry, both sites will also provide over 500m² of workspace. This will include a proportion of affordable workspace at Credon House, as well as light industrial space at Ossory Road, all of which will be available to local businesses.
This planning decision continues Pocket’s positive partnership with Southwark Council. In 2019, Pocket delivered the award-winning Varcoe Road development of 57 Pocket discounted homes, which was the first of its kind along the Old Kent Road.
Pocket Living’s aim is to help young middle-earning Londoners achieve their dream of owning a home by transforming brownfield sites into award-winning, affordable developments.
Thomasin Renshaw, Pocket Living’s development director, comments:
“We are really pleased that this decision will enable so many local people in Southwark access to high quality housing of a mix of tenures. We know, however, that there is still more that needs to be done to tackle the housing crisis for the next generation. Greater acceleration in the unlocking of small brownfield sites, like ones in the Old Kent Road area, will allow us and other SME developers to deliver more affordable homes for a variety of needs.”