Leathermarket CBS’s application for permission to build 40 genuinely affordable new homes on the Lawson Estate is now available through Southwark’s online planning register. Residents are encouraged to express their support for the plans by submitting a comment online. Simply visit this link and enter the reference 17/AP/4661 into the search box.

If you have any questions or concerns, or you would like to discuss the new homes with one of CBS’s Community & Communications Officers, we would love to hear from you. Please contact:

Jane Mepham
jane.mepham@leathermarketcbs.org.uk
020 7450 8025

Rachel Brain
rachel.brain@leathermarketcbs.org.uk
020 7450 8026

The CBS is a not-for-profit organisation whose directors are democratically elected by members. If you live or work in the Leathermarket CBS area and are interested in the future of your estate, we would love to have you involved as a member. As a member, you will be kept up to date on what’s happening with the Leathermarket CBS projects, have the chance to vote for the CBS board of directors, and have a voice on the work happening in your neighbourhood. We need your input to help ensure that the CBS is serving the best interests of the community! To register as a member, just click here and fill in the form with your information.

If you’d prefer, you can also fill in a form by dropping in at the Leathermarket JMB offices or by getting in touch with Rachel Brain at 020 7450 8026.

Are you in our area? If you live in a property managed by Leathermarket JMB, or if you live in or near the areas highlighted on this map, you are among our local residents. If you are not in this area but are still interested in the work of the Leathermarket CBS, please contact us to chat about options.

Following a successful design collaboration between Leathermarket JMB residnts and Bell Phillips Architects, concluding with a final meeting on 15^th November 2017, the Leathermarket CBS team are proud to announce that we have submitted our plans for new homes on the Lawson Estate to Southwark Council for approval.

The plans include 40 genuinely affordable new homes for Leathermarket JMB and Southwark residents. A block of flats up to eight storeys high is proposed along Deverell Street and six family mews houses are proposed beside Nashe House. The plans also include a redesigned communal garden and play area, as well as the re-provision of all existing car parking spaces.

The entire planning application can be viewed and commented on online – just click here and enter the reference 17/AP/4661  into the simple search box. Residents who are excited about the plans are highly encouraged to share their support by making a public comment on the application. For more information on the new homes, please feel free to contact the Leathermarket CBS Community and Communications Officers at any time:

Jane Mepham
jane.mepham@leathermarketcbs.org.uk
020 7450 8025

Rachel Brain
rachel.brain@leathermarketcbs.org.uk
020 7450 8026

A successful partnership – Community-led development of council-rent homes built in the shadow of the Shard

Marklake Court, a community-led development by Leathermarket Community Benefit Society (CBS) in partnership with Southwark Council in the heart of London Bridge, provides 27 high quality homes – designed by the award-winning Bell Phillips Architects in partnership with the local community.

The development has seen local people empowered at every stage of the design process, and on completion the homes will be managed by tenants themselves as part of one of the most successful tenant-managed organisations in London, Leathermarket JMB.

Studies show that council tenants, like everyone else, prefer autonomy in decision making about their own homes and local environment. With this in mind, the future tenants have been asked to participate on all elements of the project from blueprints to final finishes. Those living locally will get first choice on the properties.

The new homes are targeted at downsizers, meaning that larger homes are released back into the community for families who need them – in all, over 100 families could benefit from the scheme.

Councillor Mark Williams, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This is a hugely significant development as it epitomises what Southwark Council wants for its council tenants – genuinely affordable, very high quality homes in a spectacular location that benefit the local community and have a wide-reaching positive effect for others in the borough. Every step of the design of this scheme has seen tenants’ involvement and I am delighted that Leathermarket JMB will be continuing this process with their management.”

John Paul Maytum, resident Chairman of Leathermarket CBS, said: “Involving residents right from a blank sheet of paper at the very start has enabled us to get the very best outcome for this site. Residents are much happier than with the traditional development approach, because they’ve shaped the design – from the size and layout of the building right down to choosing brick colours and the interiors of flats. This allows us to open up sites that the Council couldn’t do on its own and really tackle the pressing need for new council-rent homes in this area.

We’re delighted that Southwark Council has given the vision, commitment and practical support to make this scheme a shining example of what new council house building can achieve when it embraces a spirit of true partnership with residents.”

The Leathermarket CBS team, led by development managers at igloo Regeneration, is this week celebrating that Buxton Building Contractors Ltd have reached the highest physical point of construction and the homes are really beginning to take shape.

A planning application for a second partnership scheme, on the former Joseph Lancaster Nursery site, has been submitted to the Council this December.