An application for a development of homes and business space with no affordable housing was deferred at a planning committee meeting.

The development at Bell Green would see a six, seven and eight-storey building with 23 apartments and space for businesses on the ground floor.

But councillors were concerned the development did little to address the housing crisis.

The committee was unable to question the financial viability assessment – which set out why the developer could not provide affordable housing – as it was undertaken by an independent company.

The committee deferred its decision for six weeks, requesting a representative from the company attend the next meeting.

Developer IMA Projects Two Limited would provide affordable housing if it made more than 17 per cent of profit on the scheme, according to its financial viability statement.

This would most likely be through s106 funding – money which could go towards housing on other sites.

Cllr Jim Mallory said the developer’s ability to generate revenue was “almost irrelevant” to the council’s commitment to provide affordable housing, and was concerned how the council would enforce the developer's contribution to affordable housing in the borough.

Addressing the council’s report on the scheme, he said: “I did find a lot of that almost incomprehensible, partly because I have a real weariness of this whole issue around ‘we will wait until we find whether they are making a profit or not.’

“I found most of that depressing,” he said.

A local resident and business owner was against the development, and said developers would struggle to fill the business space which could contribute to anti-social behaviour in the area.

“I own a shop locally. I know that rent is so expensive that they are going to be unoccupied for a long time. We have a lot of gang violence along that street and on that estate and I know that before long all that gang violence is going to spill out into those empty shops,” she said.

She was also concerned on the pressure the development could add to local services.

“Whenever you put lot of people in a tiny space with no support links, all that happens is you’re going to get a ghetto.”

Sydenham Society chairwoman Annabel McLaren addressed the committee with residents’ concerns, which included height and massing, closeness to the road, over-development, and lack of amenity space for families.

Cllr Liam Curran addressed the committee as a resident and as a representative for Sydenham, sharing concerns on air pollution.

“It [the proposed development] is so close to the pavement, short of making residents suck on the exhaust pipes as they go past, you couldn’t get a higher level of particulate to nitrogen oxide there,” he said.

A Lewisham Council officer was confident the council would be able to recover funding from the developer, should the site make a profit.

“If profitability changes, sale value grows or material values decrease between now and then we have every right to make developers open their books to show what profit developers make,” he said.

“There is no way profit would be delivered and the council not see a contribution.”

S106 money is funding given to the council by developers to ensure planning permission which must be spent on specific projects like affordable housing, and cannot be added to the council’s general budget.

Lewisham Labour’s manifesto pledges “to achieve 50 per cent genuinely affordable homes in developer-led projects”.