London is getting its first new town centre in 50 years — but at what cost?

16 streets, a town square, and a completely new high street form part of a fresh vision for Canada Water in Southeast London.
In this urban dream world, residents are treated to wineries, padel courts, and rock climbing.

Close by, there are 130 acres of parks and wetlands, and what developers British Land describe as ‘luxury’ apartments, ranging from studios up to three-bedroom flats.
There’s a concierge service on hand, and roof gardens for panoramic city views.

But against this shiny backdrop, the reality of this new hub – dubbed London’s first new town centre for 50 years – is complex.

Now that the masterplan has been approved, with responsibility for delivering it shifted from Southwark Council to City Hall, the quota has dropped to 9%.

It comes after British Land submitted an application to amend plans, together with a letter warning Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, that any further delay would ‘significantly impact their potential to deliver the substantial benefits that the scheme provides’.

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‘Developers enjoy laws that protect their profit margins’

If their predictions project they won’t make a profit ranging between 15 and 20%, they’re legally permitted to reduce the number of affordable housing units to account for that shortfall.

Naturally, community unions like ACORN are concerned about what this means for the social fabric of local neighbourhoods.

‘Other businesses are used to playing by the rules and taking risks, but developers enjoy laws that protect their profit margins,’ Anny says.

‘ACORN has campaigned where housing developments have had little or no affordable housing, and this has been unacceptable to local residents, who worry about this pushing up rents in the area, and new developments not serving existing community need.’
But, as Anny says, even where ACORN has succeeded in pushing councils to deny planning permission directly because of a lack of affordable housing, developers are able to appeal the committee decision – and, very often, win.

This can end up being costly for the council in question.

She says: ‘We want to see a national minimum for all developments to be designated social housing.

‘At the moment, many councils are desperate to attract developers to help them meet their local housing plans, and if developers aren’t happy with their demands around social housing, they can say that they will go and take their business to another local authority happy to negotiate on this.’

London’s cataclysmic housing crisis

Those struggling to afford private rents don’t always have the option of accessing council housing, either, as the UK’s council housing stock has slowly been depleting over the last 70 years.

But still, it’s being compromised.

What is the definition of affordable housing?

Technically, there’s no legislation that sets out the definition of social housing, which arguably doesn’t help matters.

However, as the House of Commons Library says, the most common definition comes from the National Planning Policy Framework, which includes ‘housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market.’ This might include things like:

Better than nothing?

But as Benham and Reeves’ director, Marc von Grundherr, explains, this actually isn’t the case.

He says the benchmark is generally 35% for affordable housing, and 50% on public land.

Despite this, he believes the decision to allow the Canada Water plans to proceed is ‘understandable.’
‘The concern is that if large developers are repeatedly allowed to renegotiate affordable housing commitments after securing consent, it risks undermining confidence in the planning system and raises questions about who these developments are really being built for.

Following last week’s decision, she said: ‘The affordable housing proposed in the next phase of Canada Water is a huge disappointment given the affordable housing numbers that this scheme was designed to deliver.

He concludes: ‘There’s a risk that developments of this kind accelerate displacement, deepen inequality and create places that feel designed primarily for wealthier incoming buyers.’
Metro has contacted British Land and the Greater London Authority for comment.

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.