Vauxhall Square mega-scheme gets council backing

Plans for a major mixed-use development at Vauxhall Square in south London have been backed by Lambeth councillors, paving the way for seven buildings rising to 69 storeys in a phased development programme.

The high-density scheme would deliver 1,097 homes alongside 1,164 co-living units and 699 purpose-built student rooms, as well as offices, a hotel and a range of commercial, leisure and community uses.

Lambeth's resolution to approve the application is subject to completion of a Section 106 agreement and referral to the Mayor of London.  The development would replace all existing buildings and structures on the site, with six buildings arranged around a new publicly accessible central garden and a seventh constructed on a smaller site to the south.

The tallest element would be a 69-storey residential tower containing 500 homes for market sale, with retail accommodation at ground-floor level.  Two further towers would rise to 61 storeys.

One would provide 355 Build to Rent homes alongside 120 Discount Market Rent properties, while the second would contain all 1,164 co-living units, supported by co-working and retail space. A publicly accessible gym and swimming pool are also proposed within the co-living building.

A 45-storey purpose-built student accommodation building would provide 699 studios. Rather than providing affordable student accommodation within the scheme, the proposals include a financial contribution towards conventional affordable housing elsewhere.

The planning documents acknowledge that the development would add more student accommodation to an area where provision is already concentrated, but conclude that PBSA is an important component of the wider project's viability and delivery.

A separate 20-storey building would provide 122 Social Rent homes, while a 17-storey mixed-use building would contain offices and retail space on its lower levels and a 250-bedroom hotel above.

The final two-storey element would connect two of the residential buildings and provide a cinema and retail accommodation, with children's playspace at roof level.

Overall, 25% of the scheme's 1,097 conventional homes would be affordable.

The planning assessment gives substantial weight to the project's contribution to Lambeth's housing supply. On the council's methodology, the combination of conventional housing and other residential accommodation represents the equivalent of 2,204 net additional dwellings.

That figure is equivalent to 152% of Lambeth's annual housing target and around 15% of its total target over the plan period to 2028. The council delivered 39% of its housing target during the three years between 2022 and 2025 and is currently subject to measures resulting from the Government's Housing Delivery Test.

The proposals would also reshape the public realm across the site, introducing new pedestrian routes and connections through the development alongside landscaping and the central garden.

Six of the seven buildings are classified as tall buildings under planning policy and have been designed to form part of the existing and emerging Vauxhall tall-building cluster.

The planning documents conclude that the brownfield site can accommodate the proposed density without causing unacceptable harm to surrounding heritage assets, following townscape and views testing and a series of design reviews.

The development is intended to be delivered in phases, with individual construction packages covering the seven plots.

If the remaining planning stages are completed, Vauxhall Square would represent a substantial addition to the continuing transformation of the wider Vauxhall and Nine Elms area, combining several forms of residential development with employment, hospitality, leisure and public space on a single central London site.