Canada Water scheme that was switched from office to resi set to be approved next week

A redesign of a major commercial scheme in Canada Water is set to be approved by Southwark council next week.

TP Bennett’s revised application for half of the Dockside Canada Water scheme, which has transformed two buildings from offices to student accommodation and affordable housing, has been recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers ahead of a council meeting on 29 April.

It comes four months after the four-block scheme’s developer Art Invest Real Estate submitted its rethink of the development, which had originally been entirely commercial and had been granted outline approval in 2023.

The other half of the site, plot A, consisting of a 25-storey office building designed by BIG and a 12-storey office block designed by HWKN, remains unchanged.

TP Bennett’s proposals for plot B would see the construction of a 26-storey tower containing 742 student beds and an eight-storey residential block containing 75 affordable homes.

AIRE has said the changes “represent a natural evolution of the scheme and respond to a clear need for additional places for students to live in Southwark”.

Purpose built student accommodation is among the most buoyant property sectors in London, with the market growing by 12% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to planning firm Turley.

Southwark council’s planning offices described the scheme as “exemplary in design” and said it would make a positive contribution to the surrounding townscape.

The project team on plot B also includes project manager Gardiner & Theobald, masterplanner BIG, civil and structural engineer Ramboll, landscape architect Townshend, planning consultant DP9, facade engineer Arup, transport consultant WSP and heritage consultant Tavernor.

The plot’s changes are part of a wider shake-up of the Canada Water development area following British Land’s decision to radically redesign its neighbouring scheme.

The developer announced plans earlier this year to increase the height of 11 buildings on its 3,000-home site by up to 13 storeys, including all residential buildings, which would be made taller to accommodate second staircases.

The two projects together would create a substantial new high rise district in south-east London, with construction on British Land’s Allies & Morrison-designed development already well underway where Mace and Wates have been working for several years.