Scheme involves demolishing flats and 1920s building

DSDHA has secured planning approval for an 11-storey development of 333 homes in the heart of London’s upmarket Belgravia district.

The plans for the so-called Cundy Street Quarter, drawn up for developer Grosvenor, include 88 affordable homes, 170 later living homes and 75 homes for open market sale.

Cundy St Elizabeth Place 3 - May 2020

The first homes will be ready in 2026

The scheme has attracted controversy because it requires the demolition of the art-deco inspired Cundy Street flats, designed by TP Bennett, and the 1924 Walden House building.

The scheme secured resolution to grant consent by Westminster council’s planning committee on Tuesday night after officers recommended it be given the green light, despite the opposition of the Belgravia Society, which had described it as “overdevelopment”.

Grosvenor said the plans will deliver affordable homes that are 50% larger than existing units, adding that the buildings will take just a twentieth of the energy to run as the existing development.

Grosvenor said the development will enable the “transformation of a closed-off site with no public amenities, dominated by car parking and unmodernised affordable housing into a handsome, open, low-carbon part of Belgravia”.

The council said 79 residents and businesses had objected to the plans, with 14 offering support.

The approval will see Grosvenor, which owns much of Belgravia and Mayfair, invest £10m in new public realm and open space, with the scheme including 27,000 sq ft of green roofs.

Grosvenor has promised to deliver the affordable homes first in the scheme, with the first homes due for occupation from 2026.