New council housing set to be built as part of Canada Water transformation

8 February 2021

Southwark Council has agreed to acquire a site in Canada Water from British Land which will see the delivery of 79 new affordable homes, including 60 homes for council rent and 39 three-bedroom family homes. The development will be fully electric featuring air source heat pumps to achieve Southwark Council’s carbon reduction targets.

The site, adjacent to Roberts Close, is conveniently located beside the Russia Dock Woodland and a few minutes’ walk away from Canada Water station. The new homes will be built by British Land on behalf of the council, with detailed planning permission already in place for the development.

The Roberts Close development will form part of Southwark Council’s New Homes programme, which aims to build 11,000 new council homes across the borough by 2042, with 2,500 of these started on site or delivered by 2022. To meet this ambitious target, the council is looking at new and innovative way to build new council homes, including buying new homes developed by others and buying land where there is the potential to deliver new council homes.

Councillor Leo Pollak, cabinet member for housing, said: “I’m delighted that we are acquiring this site and the brand new affordable housing set to be built here. These are beautifully designed, high-quality affordable homes in a prized location.

“I’m also pleased to see that there will be three-bedroom homes available for local families who are overcrowded or close to being priced out of the area. These new homes will likely rehouse over 300 people into the secure, spacious, energy efficient and genuinely affordable housing that they need.”

The acquisition has been exercised as part of Southwark Council’s partnership with British Land on the Canada Water Masterplan, which was agreed in March 2018 to regenerate and improve the Canada Water area. The Masterplan will see the delivery of new public spaces including a park, town square, offices, a new leisure centre and improvements to local transport.

British Land’s Canada Water Masterplan could deliver around 3,000 homes. A minimum of 35 per cent of these homes will be affordable housing, with 70 per cent of these available at council rent. Southwark Council has the option to purchase all the affordable housing delivered by British Land as part of the Masterplan agreement.

In line with the council’s local lettings policy, at least fifty percent of the new homes will be made available to local people on the council’s housing waiting list. The remaining homes will be let to other households in housing need in Southwark.

Construction work on the site is expected to start later this year and the development is expected to be completed by 2023.

Emma Cariaga, Joint Head of Canada Water at British Land, said: “We are delighted that Southwark Council’s Cabinet has resolved to acquire this site to build 79 council homes, which is testament to our strong working partnership At Canada Water. This represents the first step in British Land’s delivery of around 3,000 homes across the Canada Water Masterplan, of which a minimum of 35 per cent will be affordable, with 70 per cent of these available at social rent. These homes will be delivered alongside new public spaces including a park and town square, offices, a new leisure centre, improvements to local transport and much more besides.”

Page last updated: 08 February 2021