Tube station to have 15-storey tower built on top with hundreds of homes

Plans for a 15-storey student tower on top of Southwark Tube station and 44 council homes in a block next door have been approved by councillors. The 429 student rooms in the proposed building above the Jubilee Line station will bankroll a nine-storey social housing block and new community hall on the Styles House estate.

The 44 council homes will be built by Transport for London (TfL) in partnership with developer Helical plc but owned and managed by Southwark Council. Previous redevelopment plans from 2021 consisting of an office block on the Tube station and a residential block on the adjoining estate site stalled due to the introduction of updated fire safety rules in 2023. The regulations required new residential buildings taller than 18 metres (approximately six storeys) to have two staircases.

The 14-storey block of 25 council homes planned for the Styles House estate was unable to accommodate a second staircase. James Owens, representing the Tfl and Helical plc at a Southwark planning meeting on Wednesday (March 5), said the new proposals for the two sites would bring an end to the deadlock.

He said: "This application provides an opportunity to end any uncertainty faced by Styles House residents and deliver a great number of council homes and the new community facility all on the applicant's land and all at no cost to the council."

Mr Owens added that while offices were originally envisaged above Southwark Tube station, the council's own targets for new office space in the area had already been exceeded. By contrast, he noted: "There continues to be a need for safe, well maintained and well managed places for students to live, which in turn frees up existing housing."

As part of the new scheme, a payment of over £15.6 million will also be made towards providing additional affordable housing elsewhere in the borough. The student block will include a variety of sizes of ensuite rooms, as well as communal facilities such as a gym, a wellness room and events areas. Of the planned 44 council homes, 15 will be one-bed, 13 two-bed, 15 three-bed and one four-bed.

Victor Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat councillor for Borough and Bankside, said he 'welcomed' the council flats and new community hall—noting that there are 2,853 families on Southwark Council's housing waiting list in SE1.

But he said the council had failed to consult residents properly on the increase in student numbers nor provided adequate infrastructure to accommodate the extra students. A Planning Committee formed of four Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor approved the application unanimously.

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