Inspector approves former Brixton Fire Station redevelopment plans

The Inspector granted planning permission on appeal for the scheme, under which the site will be redeveloped to create three new flexible commercial units as well as nine flats. The proposals by Blackrock Workspace Property Trust were refused by Lambeth Council in March.

The Inspector noted in his report that the buildings on the site, which were "vacant and dilapidated", were unsuited to modern business needs "without major internal and external refurbishment" and that the site represented an "important opportunity for regeneration in Brixton town centre".

The proposals did not include any provision of affordable housing. The Council's Core Strategy policy set out that affordable housing would be sought on sites "capable of accommodating 10 or more homes" and the Council had argued that the residential element of the scheme could be "subdivided differently to create more, smaller units, including some affordable housing".

However Blackrock said that the proposed unit sizes were only marginally above the minimum sizes set out in the London Plan. It also said that its viability assessment had demonstrated that, without the sale of the nine market flats, the scheme would be unviable and could not be delivered.

The Inspector agreed that the scheme relied upon the nine market flats to make it viable and deliverable and said that, even without affordable housing, the scheme would make a "significant contribution to the borough’s general housing needs".

"The proposed flats themselves would fully comply with all the relevant local housing standards, and the residential block would make a worthy replacement for the dilapidated modern offices currently on that part of the site. I conclude therefore that the scheme should not be required to make provision for affordable housing," he said.

The Council had also raised concerns that the proposed flexible commercial units could lead to a net loss of employment floorspace from the site. However, the Inspector said he considered those concerns to be "largely unfounded".

He noted that the site had not provided any jobs or contributed to the local economy "for some considerable time" and said that the new commercial units would "amply" compensate for employment loss on the site and generate new economic activity and provide jobs.