Construction of 276 homes was due to start this summer. Eight condition applications are still undecided, five of them lodged with the council on 25 June.
Sutton Council says construction of 276 new homes at Elm Grove will begin in summer 2026. Summer ends this month, and eight applications to clear planning conditions on the scheme are still undecided.
Six of the eight cover conditions that must be settled before building can start. Five were submitted to the council’s own planning department on 25 June, 62 days ago. (Sutton planning register)
Elm Grove is a council-led regeneration at the northern end of Sutton High Street. It replaces 73 properties with 276 homes, and the council puts the investment at £90m. Lovell Partnerships is the development partner, and every resident of the old estate has already been rehoused. (Sutton Council)
What is still outstanding
Each of these is a separate application to clear a condition. All eight are marked “Pending Consideration” on the register:
| Condition | Reference | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| 19, construction logistics plan | CLC2026/00103 | 25 June 2026 |
| 27, air quality assessment | CLC2026/00105 | 25 June 2026 |
| 31, piling method statement | CLC2026/00107 | 25 June 2026 |
| 32, borehole management | CLC2026/00108 | 25 June 2026 |
| 65, biodiversity gain plan | CLC2026/00112 | 25 June 2026 |
| 35, water network upgrades | CLC2026/00152 | 19 August 2026 |
| 40, car parking design and management | CLC2026/00143 | 3 August 2026 |
| 4, air source heat pump details | CLC2026/00148 | 12 August 2026 |
The top six are conditions of the Section 73 permission and each one bars the start of building work on a phase. Five of the six exempt the demolition and enabling works already under way. Condition 40 bites slightly later, at above-ground and superstructure works. Condition 4 is attached to the separate reserved matters approval, DM2025/01068, which fixed the detailed design.
Condition 65 is the firmest of them. Its wording is that the development “may not be begun” unless a biodiversity gain plan has been submitted and the planning authority has approved it. That is the legally binding 10% biodiversity net gain required under the Environment Act 2021.
Condition 31 requires a piling method statement agreed with Thames Water, to protect the sewers underneath. Condition 35 requires confirmation that the water network upgrades are finished, or a phasing plan agreed with Thames Water setting out how many homes can be occupied and when. (Decision notice, DM2025/00952, PDF)
Seven other condition applications have had a response issued this year, covering the phasing strategy, archaeology, the construction management plan, dust, acoustics, energy and urban greening.
Demolition and enabling works are exempt from all of these. The council says it is already on site doing that work. A building control initial notice for the site, reference IN2026/00249, is also lodged and pending.
The numbers, and where they disagree
The permission granted on 10 June 2026 caps the scheme at “no more than 282 residential units” and no more than 580 square metres of non-residential floorspace. The council’s own project pages describe 276 homes. Both figures can be true: 282 is the ceiling in the permission, 276 is the scheme as designed.
The affordable housing share is less tidy. The council’s news page says 50% of the homes will be affordable. Its own project page, two clicks away, says “up to 54%”. The same page still says redevelopment is “estimated to start in summer 2025” and puts the GLA funding at £36.170m, while the news page says summer 2026 and £33.475m. (The future of Elm Grove) Both pages are live on sutton.gov.uk today, and the council has not said which set of figures supersedes the other.
The permission also fixes the housing mix in indicative ranges: 23% to 44% one-bedroom, 29% to 47% two-bedroom, and 5% to 9% three-bedroom.
What it means for you
If you live or work near the site:
- The footpath between Elm Grove and Throwley Way has been shut to pedestrians since 30 March 2026. An 18-month temporary traffic order covers it, but the council says the closure is expected to last until the development is finished. Signed alternatives run via Marshall’s Road to the north and Benhill Avenue to the south.
- The decision notice advises that site and building works should run only from 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with none at all on Sundays or bank holidays. That is an informative rather than a condition, so the binding hours will be whatever the council approves in the construction logistics plan, which is one of the eight still outstanding.
- Condition 62 does bite. The lead contractor for each phase must join the Considerate Constructors Scheme and display its membership number, contact details, working hours and compliance certificate on the hoarding, clearly enough for a passer-by to read. If that board is not up, the condition is not being met.
- The council’s housing regeneration team takes questions on 020 8770 5012 or at estateregeneration@sutton.gov.uk.
- Anyone can read the applications and the documents behind them free of charge. Our guide to Sutton planning applications explains how the register works.
The first new homes are due for completion in 2028 and the whole scheme in 2030.
Sutton Council is both the applicant and the planning authority here, alongside Lovell Developments Limited. The Section 73 permission was granted at committee, not by officers under delegated powers.
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