Final masterplan : Belong in Bermondsey.com

Final masterplan
- The site
- The design team

Final masterplan

Following two years of engagement and four phases of consultation we submitted our final masterplan to Southwark Council this October. The full documentation can be viewed here by entering reference number 17/AP/4088. A summary of our proposals is given below and more information is available to download here .

Consultation timeline

Our Vision

The masterplan aims to embody the energy and life of the area; celebrate its past, connect its communities and create opportunities.

This is a residential led proposal that will deliver almost 1,350 new homes for rent alongside a new secondary school facility, employment, cultural and retail uses, knitted together through a network of high quality open spaces and new routes.

Masterplan Key

1. The School
2. Keeton’s Road
3. Clements Road
4. Retained Warehouse Building
5. St James’s Road Junction
6. The heart of the site
7. Southwark Park Road and Drummond Road
8. The Arches (Network Rail)

1. The School

A purpose built new secondary school facility of exemplary design quality from specialist educational architects Cottrell & Vermeulen Architecture.

The building would step up to six storeys in the middle, to provide a high quality learning space which facilitates the school’s house system of education, and create a series of terraces which can be used for different functions throughout the school day.

Out of hours community use of the school’s facilities would be encouraged, opening up sports facilities, activity studios and learning spaces to all.

2. Keeton’s Road

The traditional street pattern on Keeton’s Road would be reinstated to create a more convenient direct new route between Bermondsey Station and The Blue.

Two conjoining brick townhouses, one facing onto Keeton’s Road and the other onto Drummond Road. The building on Keeton’s Road would range from five to seven storeys whilst the Drummond Road building would step from seven to ten storeys.

At ground floor there would be a mix of uses, including new homes, convenience retail, an affordable workspace, and flexible community space, potentially for use as a multi-use arts venue. The community space opens out onto a large public space on Clements Road for civic use populated with trees, planting and seating.

3. Clements Road

There would be a new open space on the corner of Drummond and Clements Road, including a play space for different age groups with a crèche and child friendly play-café looking out over it.

Two brick built warehouse style buildings would frame the space, and reflect the increasingly industrial character of the surroundings. An eight storey building on Clements Road sits adjacent to another eight storey building on Drummond Road, which steps up to fourteen storeys towards the centre of the site.

4. Retained Warehouse Building

The large original warehouse building on Clements Road would be retained and refurbished creating a special and unique new space for Bermondsey that could host cultural and community activities.

New office space would occupy the centre of the building’s first and second floors with warehouse-style homes around the edges. Additional storeys would be added to the top of the building for more new homes varying between two, three and five storeys to create a staggered height away from Clements Road.

A roof terrace would be recreated where factory workers once enjoyed tea breaks, but now open for public and resident access. Greening, seating and a garden café would create a hidden oasis enjoying fantastic views across the London skyline.

5. St James’s Road Junction

A triangular shaped brick building, of between twelve and fifteen storeys, at the junction of Clements Road and St James’s Road would house fitness and leisure uses at ground floor and office spaces on the lower floors with associated lobby space on Clements Road.

6. The heart of the site

A cluster of three taller buildings form a local marker at the heart of the new development, and indicate new routes through to The Blue.

The buildings, ranging from eight to twenty-eight storeys would be formed of reconstituted concrete tinted to reflect the different shades of Bermondsey’s industrial colour palette.

There would be an emphasis of food and drink uses at ground floor, creating a lively and bustling core to the site and supporting a vibrant evening economy.

The buildings are framed by a series of public spaces designed for people to sit and relax.

West Yard is the largest of these spaces, and envisaged as a green oasis designed as a space for people to sit and relax, seating would spill out from the food and drink uses in the surrounding buildings.

7. Southwark Park Road and Drummond Road

Another triangular shaped residential building, which at thirteen storeys, marks the southern gateway to the site and the start/end of the Low Line.

At ground floor would be a creative entrepreneurial use, such as a brewery to help fill in this gap on the ‘Bermondsey Beer Mile’ and support bringing more footfall to the area and The Blue.

8. The Arches (Network Rail)

165 Network Rail owned arches form the section of the railway viaduct adjoining the south western boundary of the Biscuit Factory.

These arches are in poor physical condition and have been underused for a long-time with a vacancy rate of over 50%.

Network Rail will submit a planning application for the refurbishment of these arches and aims to create a new employment and leisure destination for Bermondsey with a wide range of spaces for light industrial and workspace alongside retail, restaurant and leisure uses.