Second airspace development approved in Bermondsey

The London Borough of Southwark has given planning permission for a project to build new flats on top of existing flats in Bermondsey.Apex Airspace and Lambeth & Southwark Housing Association (LSHA) have gained planning to build 30 affordable homes on top of and in between existing residential buildings Antony House and Roderick House in Bermondsey, with the assistance of HTA Design.The development will include ‘bookends’ at each end of the existing buildings, a new central core connecting the buildings, and a double-storey rooftop extension. A bespoke steel structure has been developed to carry the weight of the new homes, enabling the existing buildings to carry the extra loading of the new homes.The infill element will effectively turn the two existing buildings into one.The new homes will be a mixture of one and two-bedroom modular prefabricated apartments.With the buildings’ roofs already due for major rework, the project will save LSHA around £400,000 in replacement costs over the next three years. In addition, the creation of new homes has the potential to generate balance sheet leverage of approximately £4m, which could be used to fund more new homes, Apex says.This is the second airspace development that Southwark has approved in recent weeks. Last month we reported that it had gioven Skyroom approval for of a four-storey upwards extension in St James’s Road, Bermondsey.Apex Airspace reckons that it has identified the potential for airspace development to provide up to 180,000 new homes in the capital. Chief executive Arshad Bhatti said: “Our collaboration with LSHA demonstrates our ability to unlock a previously unknown supply of affordable housing for the wider community in Bermondsey through this redevelopment and be able to deliver policy compliant rented accommodation in inner London.