A controversial development on Putney High Street has further angered residents when it was revealed this week that the complex will no longer offer affordable housing.
Plans for the six-storey shopping and residential block were revised after complaints but the proposed proportion of affordable housing has dropped from 19% to zero.
This is despite council targets that state new developments aim for 33% of new builds to be affordable.
Better Putney are one of the community groups campaigning against this development which their spokesmen Keith Hawkins described as a ‘poorly thought through development’.
Mr Hawkins said: “”It is way out of scale – and the lack of affordable housing shows the greed of the developers.
“They may well have over-paid for the site, or need to pay out to those businesses with their long leases, but that is no excuse to propose a development with fundamental flaws.”
The revised plan is a storey smaller than the original proposal, however Putney residents still have a number of concerns.
They are worried that the new development will block sunlight from the high street and that it will lead to further pollution on the high street.
Mr Hawkins also highlighted how the space set aside for community ventures is near an entrance to the delivery area for trucks and refuse collection, which he described as an obvious safety hazard for mothers and young children.
Putney residents themselves have been voicing their opposition in force on the council website.
Elizabeth Balsom, of Coalecroft Road, said: “From the drawings it is hard to discern between the original and the revised; they resemble one of those ‘spot the difference’ puzzles you find in children’s comics. The envisaged edifice is utterly lacking in charm.”
Registered architect Finna Ayres said: “As proposed this is a GREEDY BUILDING. It trades on its location, cramming in so many flats that most of them would have a poor level of amenity.”
Meanwhile Shan Karwtowski described the proposal as ‘an ugly prison block’ and said it would do nothing to enhance the appeal of the high street which she believes is already renowned for traffic congestion, pollution, noise and general grime.
The major development on the High Street will be going to a planning meeting on July 14 and residents can register their comments and objections until July 6.
Image of artist’s impression courtesy of GRID architects report /Wandsworth council
