Somerleyton Road, Brixton redevelopment and Oval House theatre: provisional plans released -

Reproduced here are the provisional drawings drawn up by Lambeth Council suggesting what the proposed Somerleyton Road redevelopment might look like.

Part of the Future Brixton project, it’s a major scheme involving around 15,000sqm of land that will also see the Oval House theatre having a dedicated building on the junction with Coldharbour Lane.

It’s important to note that these renderings are just illustrations of what the development might look like – they are by no means the finished designs.

The final proposals will be reached after consultation with the community and other interested parties, and if approved by government, a planning competition will be held to find the best designs. Building work is unlikely to start for at least two years.

The plan will see the redevelopment of the entire west side of Somerleyton Road. In this map Coldharbour Lane is at the top, with the Moorlands Estate to the right and Atlantic/Railton Road to the left.

Currently, some of the thinking is that there will be around 260 homes on the site, split between 60% private and 40% ‘affordable.’

The council have stated their intention to try and make the oft-abused ‘affordable’ tag have some actual relevance to the real world by possibly pegging it to 65% of the market value instead of the standard 80% rate (read more detail about this on the urban75 boards).

Of course, given the sky-high market rates, this means that the new homes will remain completely out of reach for many locals and if not carefully handled, this imbalance could lead to tensions with the large Moorlands Estate opposite.

Unsurprisingly, there will be no council housing provision at all.

One idea is to open up an arch from Atlantic Road (where the butchers and barbers/ hairdressers currently are) to give access to the theatre, with a passage running through the adjacent Carlton Mansions.

A ‘landmark’ building has been promised for the new Oval House theatre, although it’s likely to have a ton of residential apartments stuck on top. They can’t build too high on this site though, because the southernmost stub of the Victoria line runs underneath.

The proposals also show the buildings along Somerleyton Road being considerably higher than what’s currently there.

Somerleyton Passage

At the planning meeting earlier this week, there was much discussion about the famously dodgy Somerleyton Passage, with some advocating that offices and/or retail units/chemist should be built there, along with residential blocks.

Note that provision has been made to ensure that the famous ‘Nuclear Dawn’ mural remains intact and visible.

This is an important part of Brixton’s history and I’m glad to see that it looks like it will be preserved, although there has been some debate about how sightlines might be affected by the Oval House building line.

The council is inviting locals to get involved in helping to shape this project, check out the links below to get more background and information.

More info:
urban75 discussion: Council plan to redevelop Somerleyton road/ Ovalhouse Theatre to move to the site.

[View the PDF file of the proposed development] – [Future Brixton Somerleyton project]

From the Future Briton site:

The Brixton Supplementary Planning Document (or SPD) will become a guide for development in the town centre. It will let people know how we all think Brixton can change for the better and what benefits we would want to see from any investment. The draft Brixton SPD is out for consultation and you can comment on the draft document until Friday 15 March 2013. There are lots of ways for you to get involved and you can complete an online questionnaire.