Development

The future of Darrick Wood

UPDATE DECEMBER 2024: Planning Appeal Granted

After a long wait, Keniston has finally learnt the outcome of our appeal against the refusal of our planning application to build 26 new homes on the site near the top of Isabella Drive. Our appeal has been successful, and we now have planning permission to go ahead and build the flats. It has been a long journey to get to this point, but we are obviously pleased that the Planning Inspector agreed with the case we made and with the original recommendation by the planning officer, to allow the application.

We know that not all existing residents will welcome the news that the development is going ahead, especially those living closest to the site. As with any building project, there will be some noise, disruption and inconvenience during the construction period. We aim to work closely with the contractor when appointed to minimise the impact of this on current Darrick Wood tenants, and we invite all interested residents to work constructively in partnership with us to get the best outcomes for everybody.

A reminder of our purpose

Keniston has persisted with this project over several years to help contribute to meeting the acute needs in Bromley for more good quality genuinely affordable housing. The human cost of this shortage is huge:

• In Bromley there are 1,500 households in temporary accommodation. Most of these are having to live outside Bromley, away from their       schools, friends and family. Overall, there were 3,201 households on the waiting list in Bromley for 2023/24.

• Across England, there are 160,000 children in temporary accommodation, an increase of 15% just in the last year.

• London councils are spending £4 million every week on temporary accommodation, when what is really needed are permanent homes.

As a smaller housing association, we cannot make a big impact on this on our own but together with other social landlords we can make a difference. That difference will change the lives of those we can provide a safe, secure and permanent home for.

Benefits for all

A welcome condition of planning permission is that we will be enhancing landscaping and facilities on other open spaces on the estate. Numerous residents gave us useful comments on the proposals made by our landscape architects LUC originally. At the time, we made sure that the details were not set in stone, so that there would be an opportunity for residents to have a more detailed say, before any changes are made on the ground. We will re-activate this with our landscape architects in due course, and we will let you know how you can get involved.

Another planning condition is that we will be installing several Electric Vehicle Charging Points at different points on the estate. We know there is a growing demand for these, which will only increase in the future. There will be an opportunity to involve residents in helping to decide where these will be placed, to make this work for everyone.

As our plans move forward, we will provide updates on the process, the timescales, and how existing Darrick Wood residents can get involved in working with us to get the best outcome for everybody. We look forward to working in constructive partnership with you. As always, we are interested in your comments and feedback.

All newsletters regarding the development can be found here: https://www.kenistonha.co.uk/about-us/publications/future-of-darrick-wood/

Contacting us

You are welcome to contact us by using the dedicated email and phone line below:

futureofdarrickwood@kenistonha.co.uk

Leave a comment on: 01689 664514

Bickley site

We are working with our architects BPTW on plans for the redevelopment of new housing on the site of Robert Whyte House. The details are being worked up, but over the coming years we are aiming to replace the existing building with two new blocks providing a total of 39 new homes. These will be a mixture of general needs and housing for older people, all to be let at social rent to local people.