Councillors backed a five-storey block of 20 flats opposite Sydenham Wells Park on 12 August, against 41 objections. The developer will pay £67,246 instead of building affordable homes.
A five-storey block of 20 flats at 27 Longton Avenue, opposite Sydenham Wells Park, was backed by Lewisham’s Planning Committee B on Wednesday 12 August. The site already had permission for eight homes. The new scheme adds a storey and 12 more flats, and provides no affordable housing on site.
The committee resolved to authorise the Head of Planning to grant permission, subject to conditions and a legal agreement. If that agreement is not signed by 12 February 2027, officers can refuse the application instead.
What was approved
The application, reference DC/25/140733, is from Tengu Ltd, with Stantec as planning agent and Craftworks Architects as designer. According to the officer’s report, it comprises:
- 20 flats: 11 two-bedroom and 9 three-bedroom
- five storeys, about 14.6 metres to the parapet and 15.2 metres to the lift overrun
- a car-free scheme with no off-street parking
- 42 cycle spaces, 40 of them long-stay for residents
- private gardens for the ground-floor flats and balconies above
- a communal garden, children’s play space and the retained woodland at the rear
The plot is 0.27 hectares on the southern side of Longton Avenue. A detached house built in 1927 stood there until it was demolished in October 2023, under a 2020 prior approval. The house had been locally listed.
From 8 homes to 20
Permission for a four-storey building of eight duplex flats on the same site was granted on 4 April 2025, reference DC/24/135090. That building would have been about 11.6 metres tall.
The new scheme is 2.9 to 3.5 metres taller and has two and a half times as many homes. Officers said the extant permission “remains capable of implementation” and was a material consideration in their recommendation.
The site has a longer history. Schemes for eight three-bedroom homes were refused in 2016 and 2018 and went to appeal. The council’s reasons then included the loss of a building that “makes an important contribution to the character of Longton Avenue”.
41 objections and three local groups against
The council sent 104 consultation letters on 28 July 2025 and wrote again on 24 March 2026, after the applicant submitted a revised daylight and sunlight report. It received 55 responses: 41 objections, 8 in support and 6 general comments.
Three organisations objected:
- the Longton Avenue Residents’ Association, on scale, overdevelopment, parking, privacy, daylight, wildlife and flooding
- the Sydenham Society, which called the scheme overdevelopment, out of keeping with the Sydenham Ridge Area of Special Local Character, and asked for refusal
- the Sydenham Hill Ridge Neighbourhood Forum, which raised the encroachment towards the Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, natural springs, parking and doubts about whether 20 flats are financially deliverable
Supporters pointed to the need for family housing, the efficient use of brownfield land and the biodiversity improvements to the woodland.
A local meeting was held online on 7 January 2026, chaired by Councillor Peter Bernards. Ten residents attended. The published minutes record questions on drainage on a sloping clay site with seasonal springs, on why the scheme could not stay at four storeys, and on where residents’ cars would go. The applicant’s drainage consultant said the modelling did not include natural springs, citing borehole data, and described an attenuation tank sized for a 1 in 100 year storm plus 40 per cent for climate change.
The council’s own Conservation Officer also advised that the proposal “would fail to preserve the character and appearance” of the Sydenham Ridge Area of Special Local Character because of its height, scale and massing. Planning officers acknowledged that view but concluded the harm was limited, given the extant permission, the retained woodland and the landscaped setting.
No affordable homes, and a payment of £67,246
Lewisham’s Local Plan seeks 50 per cent affordable housing on sites of 10 or more homes. This scheme offers none on site. The council’s Strategic Housing and Growth Team said in its consultation response that it was “disappointed”, and set out the scale of need:
- 2,599 households in temporary accommodation arranged by the council, over 800 of them in nightly paid accommodation
- over 10,100 households on the housing register
- market rent in Lewisham over £1,275 a month, up more than 50 per cent since 2011
The applicant submitted a viability assessment arguing the scheme could not support affordable housing. The council’s independent reviewer, JJV, disagreed on values and costs. After three rounds of exchange, the two sides settled on a sales value of £10,575,000 for the 20 flats and a build cost of £6,297,375. JJV’s final addendum found a surplus of £62,778 above the benchmark land value. Converted to a payment made when building starts, that becomes £67,246 towards affordable housing elsewhere in the borough.
The legal agreement will also secure:
- an early-stage viability review if the scheme has not substantively started within two years
- a late-stage review at 75 per cent occupation, which could capture more money if sales values rise
- a Local Labour and Business contribution of £10,600, at £530 per home
- a Local Business, Employment and Skills Plan, approved before work starts
Officers wrote that this “represents the maximum reasonable affordable housing contribution that can be secured from the development”.
Why the housing target weighed so heavily
The report says Lewisham’s housing completions stand at 32 per cent of its requirement under the government’s Housing Delivery Test. Below 75 per cent, the national presumption in favour of sustainable development applies, which tilts decisions towards approval where the benefits outweigh the harms. Officers gave “significant weight” to the 20 new homes, nine of them family-sized.
Daylight to the house next door
The revised daylight report found that four side windows at 25 Longton Avenue would lose a large share of their skylight:
| Window at No. 25 | Before | After | BRE category |
|---|---|---|---|
| W6, ground floor rear | 26.82% | 10.13% | Major adverse |
| W7, ground floor middle | 26.21% | 8.38% | Major adverse |
| W8, ground floor front | 27.72% | 11.45% | Moderate adverse |
| W8, first floor rear | 36.17% | 13.15% | Major adverse |
The figures are vertical sky component, the share of the sky a window can see. The neighbour’s right-of-light consultant argued the affected snug is deep enough that these windows light a distinct part of the room. Officers accepted the point but concluded the rooms still pass the daylight distribution test and would “remain adequately lit overall”.
Parking and drainage
Longton Avenue has unrestricted on-street parking. The applicant’s overnight surveys recorded a parking stress of about 34 per cent, with 111 spaces free at the busiest time. Removing the site’s two vehicle crossovers would add kerbside space. The Lead Local Flood Authority raised no objection subject to conditions on the revised drainage scheme.
Historic England’s archaeology service advised on 21 July 2026 that no archaeological work is needed, even though the site sits within the former Sydenham Common priority area.
What it means for you
If you live on Longton Avenue, High Level Drive or Westwood Hill, the decision is made in principle but the permission has not yet been issued. The planning register still shows the application as registered rather than decided. Formal permission follows the signing of the section 106 agreement, which has a target date of 12 February 2027.
The conditions attached to the permission will govern construction hours, materials, drainage, tree protection and the management of the woodland. Once the decision notice is published on the council’s planning portal, the full list will be in it. Our guide to planning applications in Lewisham explains how to track an application and how conditions are discharged.
Objectors have no right of appeal against a grant of permission. The applicant would have one if the scheme were refused.
The 20 flats will count towards the borough’s housing figures when built, not when approved. Officers noted that the eight-home permission from 2025 remains live, so the site could still be developed under the older scheme if this one does not proceed.
For context on how the wider market has moved, our monthly report on Lewisham house prices tracks the Land Registry average for the borough. Parking in the streets around the park is covered in our guide to parking in Lewisham.
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