Housing approved above Southwark Jubilee line station 25 years after station opened

Plans for student housing have been approved above the Southwark station box 25 years after the Jubilee line’s eastern extension completed.

In total 429 student rooms and 44 homes are to be built under a Places for London (TfL’s property arm) joint venture following the scrapping of an office proposal.

It’s quite the downgrade in terms of architectural quality but at least something will be built after a quarter of a century’s inactivity.

Like other stations built on the Jubilee line extension it was supposed to see new development above and around upon the commencement or service. That was in 1999.

Building at Jubilee line stations

Ideas came and went. Nothing was built. Bermondsey station to the east still sees nothing but a box. The long-planned oversite development is AWOL.

It’s a common theme with TfL sites and another oft-mentioned location is above Woolwich DLR station which opened sixteen years ago.

TfL don’t expect to start until the late 2020s in Woolwich so that’ll be a full 20 years of eyesore vacant plots across prime town centre sites.

Different line, same delays

TfL’s development progress above the Elizabeth line also leaves much to desired.

Plans were first revealed a full 11 years ago. All these years later and a revised joint venture with Berkeley Homes for Armourer’s Court has been approved but there’s been no start on site.

Of course the station box needed to be complete first – which it was achieved around 2017-18. That doesn’t excuse the subsequent lack of progress.

While the blame can be laid at TfL in part a lot comes down to them lacking the ability to fund. Under the last government they did seek funds to increase their housing pipeline up to 40,000 from 20,000.

That didn’t happen and this Labour government have yet to do anything differently. TfL plots are of course already in public hands with one major element of building new homes absent in terms of high land accumulation costs. Still many sit idle.

It seems an utter waste for many TfL/Places for London plots to be built out so slowly.

Major housing problems

As an aside some truly horrible numbers on new housing construction came out today from both surveys in the industry and planning data. The private sector is shrinking fast while skills and jobs are being lost and businesses go under.

Now would be a perfect time to support public organisations such as TfL to build while supporting small and medium (SME) firms in advance of an improvement in the fortunes of private builders.

Including social housing in development would also help reduce vast sums being spent on housing benefit for those in expensive private rentals and in temporary accommodation.

Sadly much like the prior Conservative government the Labour incumbents seem ideologically opposed to funding mass public building hoping the private sector will solve most ills – while much of the sector is in a desperate position. All we’ve seen in eight months and one budget is token sums.

Even if the hope is that the private sector goes gangbusters after planning reform – as Labour do – you need the workers and companies still there to do it. Failing to support public organisations like TfL to build new homes mean they won’t be.