Green light from London council for £330m plan to build 1,250 homes

Aitch Group has been given the green light for a £330m investment in Belvedere park by a London council, to build 1,250 homes in Bexley.

The east-London based property group will turn the industrial land into a series of apartment blocks with a hectare of green space. 

It’s good news for London’s property sector, which has a chronic under-supply of houses – the number of new houses completed in 2024 has, somehow, fallen by 20 per cent year on year. 

England’s house building pipeline is at the lowest level since records began 17 years ago. 

“We are delighted to have secured outline planning consent for the New Belvedere project, which underscores our commitment to delivering transformative developments that resonate with the needs and aspirations of local communities. 

This project represents a significant opportunity to revitalise the area, providing much-needed housing, community facilities, and economic stimulus,” Laurence Quail, Managing Director at Aitch Group said. 

It will feature a variety of housing types, at different price points. 

The development, which Aitch said is in alignment with Bexley Council’s Local Plan Allocation, aims to “seamlessly blend residential, commercial and communal spaces”. 

London’s affordable housing problem

Only 15 per cent of the homes built will be affordable, according to Aitch, which is far lower than Bexley Council’s aim of 50 per cent affordable homes, as stated in their local plan.

In theory, the London Plan requires that 50 per cent of new housing from all sources should be affordable, defined as a price of at least below 20 per cent the market rate.

Recent years have seen the delivery of affordable homes stall as housing associations have been beset by high build cost inflation, regulatory uncertainty and an under-resourced and convoluted planning system. 

Last month, the property group won an appeal to drop affordable housing from their Croydon scheme. 

The project will use architects from PRP, planners from Litchfields, and environmental consultants from RPS Group.