Ex-Grand Designs boss slams ‘insulting’ plans for 877 flats in 20-storey towers as ‘horror show’ for ‘low rise town’
A FORMER Grand Designs boss has claimed the plans for 877 flats in 20-storey towers are an insult to the area.
Ann Lalic, who spent ten years working on the hit Channel 4 show, called the proposals a “horror show” for the “low rise town”.
She told Southwark News: “On the show, you see how a small house affects everyone in the area and that’s what strikes me about this horror show – the impact on everybody around it.”
The 20-storey high towers will replace the Aylesham shopping Centre in Peckham, South London, which is home to a Morrisons supermarket.
Ann said her time working on the architectural programme opened her eyes to the “state” of the UK‘s housing situation.
This has “clarified why the Ayelsham development is so very wrong,” she said.
The designer added: “The people who are buying those houses won’t be shopping in Peckham, they are using them to park their money.”
Berkeley Homes, the developers, scaled back its original plans for 27- storey tower blocks.
But campaigners remain concerned that the latest proposals will still tower over the “historic low-rise” area, dwarfing iconic building like Jones and Higgins.
The department store opened on the corner of Rye Lane and Peckham High Street in 1867 and became a key member of the “Golden Mile” of shops that rivalled Oxford Street.
A petition launched by Aylesham Community Action (ACA) requesting Berkeley and Southwark Council rethink the plans has gathered over 3,000 signatures.
The petition has demanded that existing shops be protected, and more green space and social housing are created.
The Southwark Housing and Planning Emergency has organised a march from Peckham to Elephant Castle nearby in protest of the plans.
Southwark council said: “There is a huge need for more genuinely affordable homes in Southwark, and it’s very disappointing that Berkeley Homes has lowered its offer of affordable housing on the Aylesham Centre site.
“Peckham is one of many areas in our borough with a severe need for genuinely affordable homes. There are more than 4,000 households in Peckham and the nearby area on the waiting list for social housing.
“Good homes transform lives, and every affordable home not built is a lost opportunity to give local people a decent place to live.
“The new proposal would also see the loss of a Community Land Trust, which would provide community-led housing and is part of the Local Plan site policy for the Aylesham Centre site.
“We are clear about our expectations that all planning applications in Southwark must meet the needs of our borough, including our policies and requirements for green space, local business, transport and genuinely affordable housing.
“This is a live planning application and I cannot comment further.”
Berkeley Homes has been approached for comment.
This comes as other furious locals in South London say their “beautiful” shopping centre will be ruined by a 16-storey “massive splodge” tower block being built on their high street.
Bustling Penge High Street will be in the “shadow of darkness” according to concerned residents.
They’re fighting back against the developers and council who have given permission for the build to go ahead.
Locals Mike Payne, 63, and Lee Knight, 70, claim thousands of people will be negatively affected by the tower.
Mike said they’d be forced to live in “perpetual darkness”, while Lee said homeowners would be left with “worthless flats”.
Lee said: “Everybody wants housing but we don’t want this.”