London’s principal representative bodies, the Greater London Authority and the Government Office for London, are embroiled in a territorial battle over a proposed development in the south west of the capital.
The Merton Abbey Mills site has laid empty since 1986. The planning dispute centres on the number of affordable homes to be included in its redevelopment.

London mayor Ken Livingstone (pictured) gave his consent for the project a fortnight ago. Last year he instructed Merton council to refuse the initial application by developer Countryside Properties, because he said he wanted more affordable housing included.

But as Livingstone voiced his approval, the government office said it would call for a public enquiry into the development. It explained it was unhappy with the £3.7m Livingstone had agreed that Countryside would pay the council instead of building social housing on the site.

A GOL spokesman said that there were three parts to the application and that it had decided to “call in” one section due to concerns over the provision of affordable homes. He added that the office was yet to make a decision on the other two sections of the submission.

A spokeswoman for Livingstone said: “[The mayor] has said before that he feels that where he and the local authority are in agreement about a planning application, the government should not intervene.”

Merton council said that it “reacted with dismay” to the government office’s decision and was understood to be writing to DTLR secretary Stephen Byers to express its concerns.

Rick De Elbay, managing director of Countryside’s commercial division, told Housing Today that he was “surprised and disappointed, given that we had met the council’s [housing] requirements perfectly”.

He added that the delay meant that those desperately in need of affordable housing in the Merton area would have to remain on the council’s housing list for at least another “12 to 18 months”.

De Elbay said he had received no indication that the GOL was considering calling in part of the scheme. He added that he had “never heard of this type of thing happening before”.

Source

Housing Today