Plans for a 25-storey tower across the road from Abbey Wood station have been approved by City Hall, three months after Bexley Council threw out the project.

The block, between Sedgemere Road and Harrow Manorway, will include 228 new homes.  None will be for social rent – instead 34 would be on offer for between 68 and 74 per cent of market rents, with 27 for London Living Rent, which is about two thirds of market rents, both of which count as “affordable” housing. The rest will be for private rent.

Bexley Council said the block would  breach a 15-storey limit it had set for the area in its local plan, and would be too tall compared with a 21-storey block next to Sainsbury’s opposite, inside the borough of Greenwich. It also said that it would harm views from Lesnes Abbey.

The council said the scheme would “stand in stark contrast to its surrounding open skyline” and would include flood risks because of issues with drainage.

But other tall blocks have already been approved in the area, including Peabody’s plans for South Thamesmead and a 17-storey block on the site of the PDSA pet hospital – an earlier version of which was originally rejected by Greenwich before being approved by City Hall seven years ago.

Render of block from Sainsbury's
None of the new flats will be for social rent, but some will qualify as “affordable”. Image: Grid/Abbey Wood Sedgemere Ltd from Bexley Council documents

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan called in the application, and Jules Pipe, his deputy mayor for planning, approved slightly revised proposals after a meeting last week. 

But Adam Kindred from CBRE, the planning consultant for the scheme, accused Bexley of failing to take into account the introduction of the nearby Elizabeth Line station.

“The functional relationship between this part of Bexley and London has changed substantially,” he said. “The response of Bexley is too grounded in what has gone before rather than to acknowledge the well established direction of travel for Abbey Wood.”

Pipe said: “We’re all aware of the urgent need to deliver more homes and particularly genuinely affordable homes if we’re to tackle the housing crisis and boost economic growth.

“Throughout his tenure, the mayor has been committed to delivering new homes for London, and while we face unique issues in the capital and the government recognises the scale and the breadth of our housing delivery challenge, it expects London to take steps to boost its output.

“Achieving this is dependent on the approval of well-designed developments with good levels of affordable housing. We must ensure that we take opportunities available to us to build more housing and affordable housing.”

View of Lesnes Abbey without new building, with it, and with all new buildings
Lesnes Abbey now (top), with the new block (middle), and a view including all approved blocks (below). Bexley Council said the new block would damage views of the abbey. But Greenwich, Bexley and City Hall have all already approved tall buildings for the area. Image: Montagu Evans/Grid/Abbey Wood Sedgemere Ltd via Bexley Council documents

Pipe did acknowledge the potential impact of the development on Lesnes Abbey, noting that the “public benefits delivered by the scheme … would clearly and convincingly outweigh the identified heritage harm”.

City Hall is under increasing pressure to deliver more housing in London. Only 30,000 homes have been completed in the past 12 months, even though the capital is expected to deliver 440,000 of the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2030.

Kumail Jaffer is the Local Democracy Reporter covering London’s mayor and assembly. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.

📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.