Activists who live throughout Battersa’s River Front have held a decision of the Council to reject a high height controversial.
A batter bridge (OBB), a 29 -story building in the corner of Battersea bridge Road has been the heart of a bitter dispute between residents and their developer, Rockwell Property, for the best part of 2024.
Yesterday, the Wandworth Council Planning Committee rejected the plans that included 110 homes, or what would be half for social rental, concluding that the proposal was or “excessive size” and “would interrupt the character of the coast.”
The council leader, Simon Hogg, said: “The Committee was unanimous about the damage of a 29 -story tower in this place, in breach of the Wandworth Local Plan that establishes acceptable heights for the area.”
The 59 -year -old Rob McGibbon journalist and activist Campaign against the scheme.
He said: “This planning application had more defects than floors and I am delighted that the counter saw it. This was a vote for the common sense and power of people.”
The long dispute depended on three main problems. Rockwell, who paid £ 45 million for the site, needed to build enough homes to create profits, the local authority needs affordable houses to house 13,500 people in their housing waiting list and both parts more than 4,000 objections.
The Stop One Battersea (SOBB) McGibbon campaign created to unite the opposition, obtained more than 5,000 signatures and was supported by celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.
Mr. McGibbon, who attended yesterday’s committee meeting, said: “The great credit must go to the Wandworth council officers who prepared a very detailed report that this scheme separated forensic.
“The committee meeting was full of condemnatory statements of the councilors on the Rockwell Plan and exposed all the problems it would have caused.
“This was the wrong scheme, in the wrong area, and they Faced the wrong community. “
Rockwell’s managing director Nicholas Mee responded to the Council that, according to him, had made the “incorrect call.”
He said: “110 new properties are blocked, half in social rent, demanding a lot of the affordable housing objectives of the municipality. Meanwhile, 11,000 people in Wandsworth are still waiting for a safe place to live.”
But member of Friends or Battersea Riverside, Caroline Gardiner, 68, or Albion Riverside said he doubted the developer’s commitment to affordable homes.
Welcoming the decision, he said: “While social housing is urgently needed, their designs were never economically credible. We believe that its real objective was simply to ensure planning permit to sell the site for profit.
“The committee’s decision sends a firm message to developers that future schemes should genuinely reflect the local needs, priorities and character, instead of imposing disproportionate developments driven by financial species.”
The community campaign expects to see a “realistic development” or about 10 stories that include affordable homes and community facilities built on the site.
Mrs. Gardiner said: “Now we hope that a reliable developer will get genuinely involved with us and other residents to deliver a plan that benefits the entire community. “
Rockwell will take time to digest the decision of the Council and ensure that the next steps remain in the interest of the community, he said.
He said: “This scheme still has the potential to change things for better. More than 1,800 residents and 100 local companies backed it. They know what this means: less families in temporary accommodation. A stronger local economy. A more fair district.”
Top in the photo: Rob McGibbon is in Batterseabridge (Image: Robmcgibbon/TheChelsecitizen)
