£150m regeneration gets go ahead for Beckenham's GlaxoSmithKline site (From News Shopper)
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£150m regeneration gets go ahead for Beckenham's GlaxoSmithKline site
8:01am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in News By Robert Fisk
An artist impression of what the homes will look like.
A £150M regeneration scheme for the old GlaxoSmithKline site has been given the green light after 14 months of public consultation.
Under the plan by property developer Altessen up to 179 new homes will be built on the land along with a doctor’s surgery, a village green with a bandstand and footpaths and cycle paths.
The homes on the 26.6 acre site, off South Eden Park Road, Beckenham, will be of varying sizes and include 64 three to four bedroom houses, 36 five bedroom houses and 25 six bedroom houses.
Thirty-six apartments are proposed with a mixture of two and three bedrooms.
The development will also comprise of 79 affordable units with 46 affordable rent and 33 shared ownership in a mix of one, two and three bedroom units.
The regeneration also includes a community hall, a pre-school and a sports academy, which will use the existing pavilion.
Coaching at the academy will cover a range of sports and will be in partnership with groups including Kent Cricket Board, FA Academies and Park Langley Tennis Club.
Altessen (a joint venture between Altyon and Essential Land) hopes to finish the building work by 2015.
Portfolio holder for renewal and recreation Councillor Peter Morgan said: “This land has been unused for a number of years and this new scheme will transform the site and deliver a high quality living environment, which will add to the distinct character of Beckenham.
“Rejuvenated leisure facilities and well thought out housing will enhance the local area, which underpins our aims for the borough.
“Consultation with local residents has been ongoing throughout the entire process, with residents rightly demanding a first rate scheme in keeping with its key location.”
bnorther says...
11:58am Thu 23 Aug 12
For example, the local Primary School to me 3 years ago had a catchment area of 0.7 miles from the school. This year its down to 0.4 miles and this is after they increased the yearly intake from 60 to 90 by adding a port-a-cabin in the playground.
Some of that increase can be explained by the baby boom that has happened over the last few years, but much of it is also due to the countless flats that have been put up on sites where there were one or two homes.
Near the school, as an example, there was one large house that was demolished, and a complex of 14 flats was placed there instead. This is fine, but it has an impact on the local schools, hospitals, parking, roads, drainage (yes many are victorian and cannot deal with extra load), to name a few.
We cannot just keep building flats and houses everywhere and not upgrade the surrounding services.