Old Biscuit Factory plan in south London was thrown out by local council earlier this year

Grosvenor Bermondsey Biscuit factory

London mayor Sadiq Khan will now decide whether to give a £500m build to rent scheme in south London the green light after the local council refused it planning.

Southwark council said Grosvenor’s plans for a former biscuit factory at a site in Bermondsey did not have enough affordable housing when it threw out the proposal in February.

At the time, a council report said couples would have to be earning £30,000 a year to be able to move in – £10,000 more than the equivalent the lowest income households in the borough were paying in rent.

The council added: “The development fails to provide the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing and the affordable housing offered would be at a cost which would not be affordable to those in greatest housing need."

But explaining his decision to call it in, Khan said “the nature and scale” of the plans meant the scheme could have a "significant impact" on the implementation of the London Plan in terms of housing supply.

Grosvenor executive director Simon Harding-Roots said: “[We] have spent over five years working with the community and others to ensure our proposals reflect their ambitions for the area.”

The proposals for the scheme, called the Old Biscuit Factory and drawn up by KPF, also include a new school and new retail, community and dining spaces.

Khan is expected to give a decision later this year.