London Square, Bermondsey
Number/street name:
Rich Industrial Estate
Address line 2:
Crimscott Street
City:
London
Postcode:
SE1 3DS
Architect:
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Architect contact number:
0207 251 2571
Developer:
London Square.
Planning Authority:
London Borough of Southwark
Planning consultant:
DP9
Planning Reference:
15/AP/2474
Date of Completion:
Schedule of Accommodation:
170 x on-bed, 154 x two-bed, 81 x three-bed
Tenure Mix:
35% affordable, 65% private
Total number of homes:
406
Site size (hectares):
2.1
Net Density (homes per hectare):
220
Size of principal unit (sq m):
Smallest Unit (sq m):
55
Largest unit (sq m):
125
No of parking spaces:
Scheme PDF Download
Planning History
The masterplan for the Rich Estate site in Bermondsey received planning approval in 2016 from Southwark Council. The development of the former industrial estate for London Square will provide 406 new homes and 225,000 square feet of workspace including a new permanent home for Tannery Arts, a charity working to promote access to contemporary art and Southwark Studios, a local arts charity group. Forming part of the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area (OKROA) the development is to be the exemplar housing scheme upon which all other developments will be based in the area.
The Design Process
The masterplan for London Square Bermondsey sees the regeneration of a run-down and disjointed industrial estate in central London, bringing many vacant and under-used buildings with historic value back into use. The site includes some of the last remaining examples of buildings for the tannery trade, an industry that came to define Bermondsey in the 19th and early 20th century. From the early twentieth century, the site was used by Crosse & Blackwell as its main London processing and canning factory. The scheme refurbishes these existing buildings and supplements them with new ones to provide new commercial, retail and residential uses.
The masterplan provides for more than 400 new homes, 35% of which will be affordable and social housing, with a new commercial hub of approximately 20,000 sqm dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises. This allows the retention of two resident artist groups - The Drawing Room/Tannery Arts and Southwark Studios - who have been on site for the past 20 years and with whom the design team has collaborated on parts of the scheme to create a better sense of place.
Following an invited competition, the masterplan and delivery of the project is supported by Coffey Architects and Studio Egret West Architects.
A sequence of green spaces renews land previously contaminated by centuries of industrial use. The new landscape comprises of the planting of more than 100 trees across the site, and the creation of new public and private open planted spaces.
Key Features
Inspired by the found spaces in Bermondsey, nestled between existing building, AHMM’s masterplan creates tight alleys between the buildings to reveal delightful moments in development; a feature common to Bermondsey and are used successfully at LSB in a contemporary manner. AHMM worked closely with Coffey Architects and Studio Egret West on elements of the masterplan, Phase 1 & 2 are now complete and Phase 3 is due to start in 2025.
