The Camberwell Society

Society for those living, working or interested in Camberwell

The Planning sub-committee reviews all SE5 planning applications received by Southwark and Lambeth Councils that have an impact on the Camberwell area. Applications are reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate to their surroundings and that sufficient information has been submitted with the application.
Members comments received prior to discussion at the next meeting are always recorded and considered

Regularly we host developers and their designers with their proposals both at pre and at planning application stage and review their proposals and provide considered suggestions.

Through the work of the sub-committee, the Society has been instrumental in saving many buildings of note including Addington Square, Denmark Hill Station and part of Windsor Walk. The Society has also been instrumental in influencing new development to make a positive contribution to the area, and works with local residents and tenants groups where there are common issues. The current composition of the Planning sub-committee is: Tim Gaymer, Anthony Kyrke-Smith, Elizabeth Borowiecka, Jason Leech, Robert Potz, Jonathan Hunt, Paul Cohoon, Somayya Yaqub, Michael Galt and Tom Harvey. Potential new members are welcome to attend a meeting as an observer initially. The Society is currently under represented by members from the Myatt Fields and Brunswick Park areas.


Meetings of the Planning sub-committee are usually held in the evenings at monthly intervals.

If you wish to contribute to the work please contact planning@camberwellsociety.org.uk

24/AP/0023 - 121 Grosvenor Park, construction of a 3-storey 3b5p dwelling

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23/AP/2786 Camberwell Green Magistrates Court

  • The changes made to this scheme between the consultation stage and the application stage are a disappointment. The old magistrates court building has potential as a centre for community activity which had been reflected in the consultation stage plans: co-working spaces, studios, a gym and changing rooms, a recording studio and a café.
  • The application plans have exchanged most what would have made the building a local centre for work and recreation for a 150 room Zedwell hotel with no windows, no restaurant or function rooms and no visible presence on the street.
  • This constitutes a serious missed opportunity in the development of this prominent site and, although hotel rooms may be in demand locally from, for example, visitors to the Camberwell hospitals, it is not clear that the accommodation proposed would prove attractive.

The residential element of both proposals (144/152 flats and maisonettes, 35% of which are to be affordable) is to be welcomed, as is the 4.1 Urban Greening Factor and the re-use of the existing concrete frame. The scale of the building is also considered appropriate.

The activities proposed for the open space at the front of the building do not inspire confidence as thought through options: market stalls, outdoor café seating, exhibitions, performance facilities and skateboarding jumps.

The consultation scheme proposed lines of trees with benches around them seems a more compelling idea for a communal outdoor space.

For these reasons the Camberwell Society objects to this application.

23/AP/1661 & 1662 Camberwell Police Station Section House, London SE5 8QU

Proposed extensions, alterations and change of use of the former Camberwell Police Station Section House ‘rear building’ (sui generis) to Nursery (Use Class E f)

The Camberwell Society has no objection to the conversion of this building to a nursery for pre-school children and the basic strategy of removing internal partitions to create spacious rooms seems a good one.

There are some aspects of the design that might be improved:

The form and position of the new first floor extension suggests a glass belvedere, opening up the room behind to views of the outdoors. It was a surprise therefore to find that its proposed use was for WCs. We suggest that the these would be better positioned below the second floor WCs, so that the extension can achieve its potential as a feature which enhances the building and improves the experience of those using it.

The room with no windows on the ground floor, between Rooms 1 and 8, would benefit from having some windows or glazed doors, and the lantern in the corner of that room would perhaps make more impact in the reception area.

The plans for the outdoor play space for the children lack conviction. We think that the application requires a landscape scheme which would change the existing bleak hard surfaced outdoor space to a play garden with trees, shrubs, flowers, soft surfaces and dedicated age appropriate play equipment.

For these reasons the Camberwell Society objects to this application.

23/AP/0330 10 Love Walk SE5 8AE

Demolition of all existing buildings on site and comprehensive redevelopment to provide a part-three and part-four storey new care home (Class C2 - Residential Institutions), including up to 63 bedrooms each with wet room, plus cycle parking, refuse/recycling storage, mechanical and electrical plant, new sub-station, landscaping and green/living walls, amenity areas, perimeter treatment and associated ancillary works. | 10 Love Walk London Southwark SE5 8AE

The Camberwell Society’s view is that the applicant’s account of their design intentions to meet the requirements of the proposed elderly residents did not correspond to the design that they have submitted for planning. The applicant’s stated mission is:

“Personalised care is provided in “households” where care rooms are arranged in small social groupings with their own lounge, dining area and ancillary spaces including support facilities”.

This is not what the drawings show: the building consists of two slab blocks of 3-4 storeys, the elevations characterised by repetitive arrangements of window openings and masonry.

The bedrooms are arranged along corridors, two thirds of which have no natural lighting. The communal rooms also lead off these corridors, and are mostly barely bigger than the bedrooms they are intended to serve. The only dining room is on the ground floor.

There is extremely limited access for the residents to outdoor space, most of which is on the Love Walk and Kerfield Place ground floor street frontages, and probably beyond the unassisted reach of residents suffering from dementure. More use could be made of roof gardens, which could provide amenity space close to the bedrooms.

The applicant’s stated objective to provide a series domestic scale groupings of bedrooms and communal facilities, each with its own recognisable character, where the residents could feel at home, is a worthy one. This is not the design to achieve such an objective.

The likely impact of the proposal on this prominent site adjacent to the Conservation Area was thought to be damaging. The immediate surroundings of the care home is characterised by two storey detached houses, pavilions in a landscape, in which environment this three and four storey block would be an unsympathetic addition.

The Camberwell Society objects to this application.

22/04096/FUL - 61 Lilford Road London SE5 9HY - Demolition of the existing buildings and redevelopment of the site to provide a multi let industrial estate comprising Use Classes E (g) (ii) and (iii), B2, B8 and Sui Generis with cycle parking, hard and s

22/04096/FUL

Camberwell Society objects to this planning application for several reasons.

Unfortunately, Camberwell Society were not engaged as part of the applicant's community engagement, so were not able to comment on this proposal before an application was submitted.

The height of the proposed building is out of keeping with the surrounding context. The proposed ‘landmark’ element of the building will be overbearing towards residential properties to the south. The western elevation is significantly taller than the existing building, and will be overbearing towards the residential gardens to the west of the site.

The proposed industrial use and employment increase is supported, however the vehicular trips generated by ‘dark kitchens’ would have a significant detrimental effect on neighbours, including increased noise and traffic. The significant increase in vehicle movements to support dark kitchens will have a negative impact on air quality, to the detriment of neighbouring residential properties and local residents.

The scheme does not adequately improve biodiversity. The proposed UGF factor of 0.21 is insufficient. A factor of 0.3 at minimum should be required.The scheme could be improved by incorporating green SUDs, which would act to improve biodiversity on the site.

The architectural resolution of the building is poor. The scheme lacks reference to its context, including the adjacent Minet conservation area. The scheme proposes a poor, inactive frontage to Lilford Road, with minimal and poor quality landscaping. There is a lost opportunity here to provide a public benefit, through meaningful landscaping or public art.

For these reasons, the Camberwell Society objects to this application.

Show more posts

24/AP/0023 - 121 Grosvenor Park, construction of a 3-storey 3b5p dwelling
Demolition of an existing single-storey dilapidated workshop building and the subsequent construction of a 3-storey 3b5p dwelling. | Rear Of ...
23/AP/2786 Camberwell Green Magistrates Court
The changes made to this scheme between the consultation stage and the application stage are a disappointment. The old magistrates court ...
23/AP/1661 & 1662 Camberwell Police Station Section House, London SE5 8QU
Proposed extensions, alterations and change of use of the former Camberwell Police Station Section House ‘rear building’ (sui generis) ...
23/AP/0330 10 Love Walk SE5 8AE
Demolition of all existing buildings on site and comprehensive redevelopment to provide a part-three and part-four storey new care home ...
22/AP/3864 Display of a temporary externally illuminated advertising shroud during refurbishment works until the 18/11/2023. | 20-23 Camberwell Green London Southwark SE5 7AA
It is clear from recent past experience that applications for permission to erect scaffolding shrouds and advertisements on the front ...
22/AP/1095 - Construction of a residential block on Wyndam Road and residential block and replacement church on Redcar Street
22/AP/1095 - Construction of a part six, part five storey residential block on Wyndam Road and part five, part four, part three storey ...
22/AP/2497 Land Rear Of 213-215 Camberwell New Road London SE5 0TJ
Construction of two-storey residential mews to provide x2 two bedroom homes with private terrace, waste storage, green roof and solar ...
22/AP/2069 Land Rear Of 163 Camberwell Grove London Southwark
Demolition of a garage and construction of a two bedroom house - re-applicationThe Camberwell Society considers that the revised application ...
21/AP/4490 | 56-60 Comber Grove London Southwark SE5 0LD
21/AP/4490Redevelopment of an existing community centre (Class F) to provide a six storey building with community centre (Use Class F) at ...
21/AP/1254/5: 5-7 COTTAGE GREEN AND 69 SOUTHAMPTON WAY LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 7ST
COMMENT ON REVISED PROPOSALS MAY 2022Two changes have been made to the proposals:1. Reduction in the height of blocks A and B towards the ...
Champion Hill, Seavington House 22/AP/0174
Demolition of 16 garages and 10 bedsits and redevelopment of the site for the construction of 5 terraced three storey houses and a 19 unit ...
21/AP/1342 | Burgess Industrial Park Parkhouse Street London SE5 7TJ
Application Reference: 21/AP/1342Address: Burgess Industrial Park Parkhouse Street London SE5 7TJProposal: Demolition of the existing ...
21/AP/3255 – 137 Camberwell New Road
21/AP/3255 – 137 Camberwell New RoadErection of a two-storey rear extension in connection to the conversion of a single dwellinghouse ...
219 Camberwell New Road, London SE5 0TJ Ref 21/AP/3278
Construction of mansard roof extension to provide a three-bedroom flat, including the demolition of the existing ancillary buildings to the ...
21/AP/2982 37 Denmark Hill: Conversion of a store to provide a one bed residential unit
There is apparently development potential on this site, but this scheme does not make good use of it. What is proposed is a confusion of ...
21/AP/3468 32 Love Walk: Demolition of existing building and redevelopment to provide 5 residential dwellings
The committee mostly thought this a promising proposal. The new flats would take the place of a very dilapidated house not thought to have ...
21/AP/1342 | BURGESS INDUSTRIAL PARK - CAMBERWELL UNION - 386 RESIDENTIAL UNITS
Application Reference & Link: 21/AP/1342Address: Burgess Industrial Park Parkhouse Street London SE5 7TJProposal: Demolition of the existing ...
21/AP/1651/2 ​75-77 SOUTHAMPTON WAY, LONDON SE5 7SW
Application Reference & Link: 21/AP/1651Change of use from a 11-unit HMO (Hostel) (Sui Generis) into 6 self-contained flats (C3 Use Class), ...
1-13 SOUTHAMPTON WAY, SE5 7SW
Application Reference & Link: 21/AP/0451 The Camberwell Society provides an objection to this proposal. Whilst the Principle of Development ...