Bakerloo line extension: Street where two new TfL Tube stations are planned could get 1,000 new flats

More than 1,000 new flats are set to be built in tower blocks up to 33 floors high as part of regeneration plans for Old Kent Road.

The proposals include replacing a petrol station and derelict industrial warehouses on the Old Kent Road in Southwark with student flats, affordable homes and shops.

The road is integral to a long-term Transport for London (TfL) plan to extend the Bakerloo line between Southwark and Lewisham.

The project would connect the line further into southeast London, extending it from Elephant & Castle, through Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate, and on to Lewisham.

On Old Kent Road there would be two new Tube stations - Burgess Park and Old Kent Road.

The Old Kent Road is due to undergo a huge transformation over the next 20 years, which could see 20,000 new homes built. Several high-rise projects are already in the pipeline along the road.

Regal London’s plans would see 941 student flats spread across two tower blocks.

The tallest 33-storey block would contain 641 apartments for students, with a smaller 19-storey building having space for another 300 students.

Another two buildings planned for the site would include 200 flats.

A 15-storey tower block would contain 75 shared ownership homes, properties where a person buys a percentage of a house and pays rent on the remaining amount.

A 20-storey building would contain 125 social rent homes, the cheapest type of property where rent is linked to local incomes.

The proposed development was praised by council officers for the amount of housing it provided at the time.

But planning documents submitted for the new development, known as Devonshire Place, say that since then the soaring cost of building has forced the new developer to re-evaluate options for the site.

The new plans slash the number of homes in the development by more than half to just 200 and propose mainly student flats on the site instead.

The number of affordable homes built on the site under the updated proposals is unchanged as all the 200 flats planned are considered to be a type of affordable housing.

Planning documents submitted to the council read: “Devonshire Place supports Old Kent Road’s strength as a place to live, work and do business, recognising its inner London character and accessible location.

“The proposed development facilitates the growth anticipated by the Bakerloo Line Extension, driving regeneration and providing better connections to the wider London economy and between existing communities.

“[The] 941 best-in-class student bedrooms and 200 new affordable homes across different tenures – all delivered through a design-led approach to site optimisation – contribute towards meeting objectively assessed housing needs for Southwark and London.”

A date has not yet been set for the application to be decided.