By Zoe Jewell, editor
A chef’s school, a gym and a community kitchen are just some of the suggestions for a major new development at Somerleyton Road in the centre of Brixton.
council officers will present a report to Lambeth’s Cabinet members on Monday night (July 8) on the progress of the Somerleyton consultations and seek permission to take the project forward.
Senior councillors will be asked to approve the outline for development at the site, and to give officers the green light to start looking for a developer to carry out the work.
They are also expected to enter into a formal agreement with the Oval House Theatre over the project’s new home on the road.
The key question at the moment remains the type of housing on offer at Somerleyton and the extent to which rents will be truly affordable.
Neil Vokes, council officer, said: “We’ve done a feasibility study and the report will recommend 280 properties on the site. As a minimum we can say 40% of these will be affordable. We will do our best to get as many as possible at target rent, the council social rent. We are looking at models to increase the affordable housing.”
In the late summer, the council plans to publish a detailed brief for developers, which will contain requirements for anyone wishing to bid for the site.
The development is complex because it has a number of partners on board – the council has overall say, but it has partnered with Brixton Green, a local community group, to put together the plans. Oval House Theatre, which will move to the site once it is built, is also a key decision maker in the discussions. Other groups, such as Carlton Mansions Housing Co-Operative and the Southwyck House Residents Association have been consulted to varying degrees, alongside members of the public at local events.
