Vinegar Yard Public Hearing

Please note that this is a re-notification following the previous notification on this application which took place in November/December 2021. It came to the Mayor’s attention that some hard copy letters may have been returned to the sender by Royal Mail. We are undertaking this further round of consultation to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to let the Mayor know their views on the proposal.

The planning application reference 18/AP/4171 (‘the Application’) was submitted to the London Borough of Southwark on 15 April 2019 by St Thomas Bermondsey Ltd (‘the Applicant’) for the following development:

‘Redevelopment of the site to include the demolition of the existing buildings and the erection of a 5 to 19 storey building (plus ground and mezzanine) with a maximum height of 86.675m (AOD) and a 2 storey pavilion building (plus ground) with a maximum height of 16.680m (AOD) with 3 basement levels across the site providing a total of 30,292 sqm (GIA) of commercial floorspace comprising of use classes B1, A1, A2, A3, A4, D2 and sui generis (performance venue), cycle parking, servicing, refuse and plant areas, public realm (including soft and hard landscaping) and highway improvements and all other associated works.’

The Application is accompanied by an environmental statement in accordance with the EIA Regulations.

On 24 August 2020, the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration & Skills, acting under delegated authority issued a direction to the London Borough of Southwark that the Mayor will act as the Local Planning Authority (City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE) for the purposes of determining the Application.

Subsequent to the Mayor’s direction, on 17 November 2021 the applicant submitted revisions to the Application, including:

• Providing 8,207 sq.m. of office floorspace.

• 13,552 sq.m. of medical floorspace or 13,882 sq.m. of research and development floorspace.

• Increasing the affordable workspace from 1,200 sq.m. to 3,067 sq.m.

• Retention of the existing warehouse to accommodate retail and community space.

• Removal of the music venue and subsequent reconfiguration of the proposed building layouts and public realm, providing 165 sq.m. of public garden space.

• Revising the overall height of the building from 86.7m AOD to 97.14m AOD, to facilitate the increased floor to ceiling heights required to accommodate medical uses.

The Applicant has submitted other information under Regulation 25 of the EIA Regulations in relation to the Environmental Statement which accompanied the Application. In addition, the Applicant submitted an addendum to the Planning Statement in January 2022 which seeks to provide further clarification on various matters including the use classes and floor areas within the proposed building / retained warehouse and the internal layout and elevational differences between the proposed alternative medical or research and development use options. The bullet points set out above are amended from that in the earlier notification following clarifications from the applicant in the addendum to the Planning Statement.

The proposed development, which is slightly amended from that in the earlier notification, will now be described as follows:

“Redevelopment of the site to include the demolition of existing buildings, retention, refurbishment and use of the warehouse as a retail and community space and the erection of a ground, mezzanine and 18 storey building (with plant at roof) and 3 basement levels, comprising new office space, a medical or research and development space, flexible retail at ground floor and affordable workspace, alongside cycle parking, servicing, refuse and plant areas, soft and hard landscaping, highway improvements and all other associated works”

Hard copies of the revisions to the Application detailed above can be inspected by members of the public at all reasonable hours between 10am and 4pm on Mondays to Fridays and by prior appointment outside these hours if this can be facilitated between 20 January 2022 and 21 February 2022 at 169 Union Street, London, SE1 0LL. If you wish to view the hard copy documents by prior appointment, please contact us on [email protected] or by phone 07702 825 054 to arrange an appointment. Copies of these documents are also available online at:



• London Borough of Southwark website at: https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/ (using ref: 18/AP/4171).

• GLA website via the link below.

How to comment

Representations about the revisions to the Application and/or the other information should be submitted in writing by post, email or online by 21 February 2022:



• Online via the link below.

• Email: [email protected]

• By post: The Planning Team, Greater London Authority, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE.

Consultation period

The consultation period runs until 21 February 2022. The Application will not be decided before this consultation period ends. Comments received after this date, but before a decision is made, may still be taken into account; but failure to meet this deadline could result in your comments not being considered.

We are undertaking this further round of notification to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to let the Mayor know their views on the proposal. If you have already submitted comments to the GLA electronically by email or online these will be taken into account. If you submitted a hard copy letter by post to the GLA we would suggest you check whether your hard copy letter was received by emailing us on [email protected] with your details and we can confirm, or alternatively call 07702 825 054. If there is no answer please leave a voice message. If you wish to raise any additional points please submit a further comment.

All representations you have previously made on this application received by the London Borough of Southwark will also be taken into account.

You can comment on the application by following the link below or by:

• Email: [email protected]
• Post: The Planning Team, Greater London Authority, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE

On 29 July 2020 Southwark advised the Deputy Mayor that it was minded to refuse planning permission for the application.

On 24 August 2020, having considered a report on the case, the Deputy Mayor notified Southwark that the Mayor would act as the local planning authority for the purposes of determining the planning applications (under article 7 of the Mayor of London Order and the powers conferred by Section 2A of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act).

On 21 December 2020, having considered an update report on the case in light of amendments, the Deputy Mayor notified Southwark that the Mayor would continue to act as the local planning authority for the purposes of determining the planning applications (under article 7 of the Mayor of London Order and the powers conferred by Section 2A of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act).

The local authority reference for this case is 18/AP/4171. The GLA references are:

• Stage 1 - 2019/4822
• Stage 2 - 2020/6208
• Stage 2 update - 2020/6913
• Stage 3 - 2020/6665

You can view the Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 2 update online here using the above mentioned references

A public consultation was held between the 18 November to 17 December 2021. As above, it came to the Mayor’s attention that some hard copy letters may have been returned to the sender by Royal Mail. If you have already submitted comments to the GLA electronically by email or online these will be taken into account. If you submitted a hard copy letter by post to the GLA we would suggest you check whether your hard copy letter was received by emailing us on [email protected] with your details and we can confirm, or alternatively call 07702 825 054. If there is no answer please leave a voice message. If you wish to raise any additional points please submit a further comment. All representations you have previously made on this application received by the London Borough of Southwark will also be taken into account.