As part of £1bn Wandsworth Town regeneration
A town-centre office block that has lain vacant for three years is to be redeveloped to create new homes and shops.
The project, part of the ongoing £1bn regeneration of Wandsworth Town, will see 41 flats built in Wandsworth High Street - of which 37 per cent will be affordable housing.
In addition to the creation of new homes in both buildings, the scheme also features space for new shops to move into the high street.
Wandsworth Council's planning committee gave the go-ahead for the derelict Lyon House to be demolished to make way for new buildings on the site, during a meeting on October 18.
As part of the project, the developer has agreed to contribute £125,000 towards town centre highways improvements, including helping fund a reconfiguration of the Wandsworth one-way system and enabling improvements at Carters Yard.
The council believes that switching part of the gyratory back to two-way working would relieve pressure on the high street and help it flourish - following in the footsteps Old York Road.
Thanks to the introduction of a new section of the A217 in the late 1980s, Old York Road became free from heavy traffic and it is now lined with independent boutiques, florists, cafes, restaurants, a family butcher and much more besides.
The council's planning spokesman, Councillor Nick Cuff, said: "The redevelopment of Lyon House will be a further boost to the ongoing town centre regeneration.
"Not only will it encourage new businesses to set up shop in Wandsworth, it will also create much-needed new homes - in particular a healthy number of units for affordable rent and intermediate housing."
Councillor Ravi Govindia, council leader and regeneration spokesman, said: "Wandsworth Town is benefitting from a huge amount of new investment, which has already seen the opening of a new town centre library, the transformation of the shopping centre into the Southside complex plus a host of redevelopments in Hardwick's Way, Smuggler's Way, Buckhold Road, South Thames College and overlooking King George's Park.
"These schemes bring new retail, leisure, residential, employment and educational opportunities to area and act as magnets for further investment.
"In addition, as more town centre developments come forward our funding pot for the one-way system redesign project continues to grow - and if we can tackle that, the signs point to a very healthy future for Wandsworth High Street."
A summary of Wandsworth Town 's major investment sites includes the following:
Completed Schemes -
Currently on site -
Plans approved, about to start -
Applications expected soon -