Councillors approved Berkeley's taller plan for the former B&Q site on 4 November, with 1,184 homes and 265 affordable. The Cheam care home was deferred.

Sutton’s Planning Committee has approved Berkeley’s bigger plan for the former B&Q site on Sutton Court Road. The scheme now has 1,184 homes and a 28-storey tower.

The council published the decisions on 5 November, the morning after the meeting. Councillors voted to grant permission for application DM2026/00821, subject to the conditions in the officers’ report and a deed of variation to the existing section 106 agreement.

Two other applications were on the same agenda:

  • 10 Hillcroome Road, Sutton: granted. The council can now turn the empty house into emergency housing for up to six single-parent families.
  • 32 The Avenue, Cheam: deferred. The plan to replace the fire-damaged care home with a 15-bed dementia home will come back to a later meeting.

The council has not yet published the minutes, so the votes and the reasons for the deferral are not public. It apologised for “a technical issue with the livestream” that stopped residents watching the meeting online.

What was approved on the B&Q site

The site, branded Sutton Garden Square, already had permission for 1,035 homes. The developer, St George West London, part of the Berkeley Group, asked to change that permission. We set out the plan in full before the meeting.

According to the officers’ report, the approved changes are:

  • 1,184 homes instead of 1,035
  • the tallest building, A1, rising from 22 storeys to 28
  • building A2 rising from 19 storeys to 22, plus a new 15-storey block
  • 265 affordable homes instead of 355, all of them for social or London Affordable Rent, with at least 60% at social rent
  • shared ownership and other intermediate homes dropped, so the scheme has 48 more rented homes than the 217 in the old permission

Measured by habitable room, the affordable share falls from 35% to 24%. Officers accepted that this “weighs against the proposal”. They backed it because rented homes are what Sutton most needs. Independent viability consultants hired by the council found “broad agreement” that the approved 35% scheme no longer paid its way.

Who objected

The officers’ report counted 47 representations from the public. The main concerns were:

  • the loss of 90 affordable homes, and fewer three-bedroom homes (152 down to 125)
  • taller towers overshadowing Manor Park
  • parking and cycle storage for 1,184 homes
  • pressure on GPs, schools and St Helier Hospital

Transport for London’s planning team said it did “not support” the proposal. It objected to the cut in cycle parking, the extra car parking and the planned crossing.

One late objection arrived after the report was written. The committee addendum records a letter from the Burnell and Lewis Residents Association. It asked the Greater London Authority to reconsider its decision not to consult again on the changed scheme, and asked the council to defer the decision. Officers said their recommendation was unchanged, and the committee went ahead.

What the developer must pay

The money promised under the original section 106 agreement carries over through the deed of variation. The report lists:

Obligation Amount
Carbon offset payment (estimate) £506,858
TfL bus priority improvements £332,940
Carshalton Road and Chalk Pit Way crossing or signal upgrade up to £200,000
Manor Park improvements £100,000
High Street improvements at the A232 junction £75,000
Public art on the site up to £25,000
New controlled parking zone consultation £15,000

The report also sets a deadline of 30 April 2027 for the deed of variation to be signed. The permission is not issued until it is.

The NHS had asked for £2,596,716 towards health services, and Network Rail for £100,000 for Sutton station. Officers turned both down. They said health is already funded through the council’s Community Infrastructure Levy, and Network Rail had not shown what its money would pay for.

What it means for you

  • If you live near Sutton Court Road: the approved towers are taller than the ones permitted before. The officers’ report and the full list of conditions are on the committee page. The developer’s wind study found a new “moderate adverse” pedestrian safety effect at the Chalk Pit Way and Carshalton Road crossing. Amended condition 42 requires the wind mitigation in the updated environmental statement to be in place before the main structure of any building goes up.
  • If you are on the housing register: the 265 affordable homes are all for rent. Lettings are made through the council’s register; our housing register waiting times story explains how that works.
  • If you objected to the Cheam care home: the application is still live. Watch the Planning Committee meetings list for the date it returns. The next meeting is on Wednesday 2 December.
  • If you wanted to watch: the council says it will put recordings on its website, but did not say whether any of the 4 November meeting was saved.

All planning applications across the borough are tracked on our Sutton planning applications page.

Sources