The last ten years has seen a flurry of high-profile, high-density, high-rise developments approved in Southwark - but how have they benefitted the local community? The following table shows the major schemes approved over approximately the last ten years and the number of social rented homes provided in each development.
| Neo Bankside | Sampson & Ludgate House | Elephant One | SouthBank Tower | Heygate estate | | ------------ | ------------ |-------------|------------ | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| | 217 Homes
0 Social rent | 490 Homes
0 Social rent | 646 Homes
0 Social rent | 193 Homes
0 Social rent | 2704 Homes
82 Social rent |
| One the Elephant | One Blackfriars | 251 London | Strata Tower | The Quill | | ------------ | ------------ |-------------|------------ | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| | 284 Homes
0 Social rent | 274 Homes
0 Social rent | 270 Homes
0 Social rent | 408 Homes
0 Social rent | 119 Homes
0 Social rent |
| E&C Shopping Centre | Wood Dene estate | Quebec Quarter (CW) | Water Yards (CW) | Mulberry Business Park (CW) | | ------------ | ------------ |-------------|------------ | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| | 979 Homes
116 Social rent | 333 Homes
54 Social rent | 366 Homes
51 Social rent | 1046 Homes
34 Social rent | 770 Homes
23 Social rent |
| 360 Tower | 18 Blackfriars Rd | Shard Trilogy | Blackfriars Circus | Chambers Wharf | | ------------ | ------------ |-------------|------------ | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| | 457 Homes
0 Social rent | 288 Homes
61 Social rent | 148 Homes
11 Social rent | 336 Homes
0 Social rent | 587 Homes
0 Social rent |
| 240 Camberwell Rd | Camberwell Green | Tuke St School | One Tower Bridge | Bermondsey Exchange | | ------------ | ------------ |-------------|------------ | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| | 164 Homes
18 Social rent | 101 Homes
0 Social rent | 122 Homes
6 Social rent | 356 Homes
0 Social rent | 205 Homes
0 Social rent |
Total: 11,863 New Homes
Social rented: 456 (3.8%)
Southwark's planning policy says that 35% of all new homes must be affordable of which 70% must be social rented, except for certain areas such as Elephant & Castle/Camberwell (where the split is 50% social rented/50% shared ownership). Just over half (6135) of the 11,863 homes in the schemes listed above are in areas with a 50/50 tenure split requirement, the remainder require a 70/30 split.
On this basis it can be said that had Southwark stood firm and forced these schemes to comply with policy then it would have secured approximately 2,500 social rented homes in total. In the event it secured just 456. Had it stood firm there would have been 2,000 extra social rented homes available to those on its housing waiting list.
In a small number of the schemes, developers have provided a 'commuted sum' in lieu of providing affordable housing. However, as pointed out by local news site SE1 these commuted sums are often equal to the price of just one of the penthouse apartments. The total amount received in commuted sums to date is £60m[^1].
It is also fair to say that some of the schemes have provided 'affordable rent' instead of social rent, which is anything up to 80% of market rent (approx 500 in total). We have not included these because they are not affordable to the majority of Southwark residents, especially those on the housing waiting list. There also remains a question about whether the small number of social rented units secured at planning approval are actually being provided as such. Our research would suggest otherwise.
Footnotes: [^1]: Confirmed in paragraph 73 of this Oct 2018 Cabinet report.