Council approves Folgate sale for new homes

Southwark Council has approved plans to sell the Folgate site on Old Kent Road to deliver 200 new homes.

Southwark Council has agreed to sell the Folgate Site at 711-733 Old Kent Road to Weston Homes.

Subject to planning consent, Weston Homes plans to develop a residential scheme on the 0.9-acre site, which represents a significant investment of around £80m.

The decision was made by Southwark Council’s Cabinet at a meeting held yesterday at the Livesey Exchange, PemPeople’s new community space on Old Kent Road (itself a project supported and funded by the council).

The Folgate site is set to provide 200 mixed-tenure homes, comprising 50% affordable housing, half of which will be designated for social rent.

The existing industrial building on the site will be refurbished to include 30,000 square feet of commercial space and the Victorian shop frontages will be preserved.

The development, which is opposite a site safeguarded for a one of the new Tube stations on the Bakerloo Line Extension, could also accommodate new healthcare services supported by NHS South East ICB.

Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, said:

“The redevelopment of the Folgate site will be another positive step in our efforts to renew the whole Old Kent Road area, delivering the genuinely affordable homes, green spaces and infrastructure that we need.

I’m really excited to be moving forward with Weston Homes on a plan which will deliver 200 new homes with 50% being much-needed affordable housing and at least half of those being social rent – vital for those residents who are on Southwark’s housing waiting list.

The scheme will also refurbish and reuse the locally listed Victorian building and its shop frontages on the Old Kent Road and has the potential to deliver a new state of the art Health Centre, which we hope to deliver working in partnership with the NHS.”

The Cabinet meeting took place on 4 February 2025 at the Livesey Exchange on Old Kent Road.

The full report is available on the council website.

A video of the meeting is available on YouTube.