Franciscan Road development would sit alongside a new primary school
Tooting MP Sadiq Khan is calling on Wandsworth Council to scrap plans to develop sheltered housing alongside a new primary school.
Planning permission has already been granted for the school on the Professional Centre site in Franciscan Road.
Viridian Housing, though, plans a four-storey 45-apartment block on the same site, reducing children’s playground space.
Mr Khan, who joined campaigners protesting against the housing development earlier this month, says it is unacceptable to build houses and flats that eat into the children’s playground.
He added: “It isn’t fair for the pupils at the new Tooting Primary School to have so little space, especially when we should be promoting sports and exercise following the Olympics.
“This is a gross overdevelopment motivated by greed rather than community need. The planning committee must reject these plans.
“I will be campaigning along with local residents to give the children the playground they deserve.”
The application for sheltered housing has provoked criticism from local residents and received more than 200 objections.
Campaigners believe the four-storey building would also block light in the playground.
The head of development at Viridian Housing, Chris Miller, says the scheme will provide specialist apartments for elderly people living in the community, to help improve their health and well-being.
It has also drawn criticism from Tooting History group which, in an online comment, said: “It will sit uncomfortably among the mainly Edwardian and Victorian dwellings around it.”
The application will be discussed by Wandsworth planners on December 13.
Nicholas Godden, Andrew Julian, Dev Trehan, William Watkinson
