Sutton’s Planning Committee approved a 28-storey Sutton Garden Square scheme on 4 November with 90 fewer affordable homes than the existing consent.
The council published its grant on 5 November. Application DM2026/00821 cuts affordable homes to 265, against 355 already permitted on the former B&Q site on Sutton Court Road.
Land Registry records show a median price paid of £446,500 across 1,965 sales in the London Borough of Sutton in the 12 months to August 2026, against £500,000 across 73,746 sales in Greater London and £285,000 across 671,521 sales in England over the same window.
St George West London said build-cost inflation, the Building Safety Levy and BS 9991:2024 had “materially affected the deliverability of the consented scheme”. Council-appointed viability consultants found “broad agreement” that the consented affordable target no longer paid its way.
Rent-only affordable, fewer family homes
Measured by habitable room, the affordable share falls from 35 per cent to 24 per cent. Sutton Council planning officers said that “weighs against the proposal”, but backed the plan because rented homes are what Sutton most needs. Shared ownership and intermediate homes are dropped; three-bedroom homes fall from 152 to 125.
All 265 affordable homes are for social rent or London Affordable Rent, with at least 60 per cent at social rent. That shifts the mix to rent-only on a scheme enlarged from the homes already permitted.
Flats already dominate SM1 4
Land Registry records show flats made up 51 per cent of 129 sales in postcode sector SM1 4 in the 12 months to August 2026, against 37 per cent of 1,965 sales across Sutton borough. Homes in SM1 4 sold for a median of £350,000 in that window; flats there sold for a median of £270,000 across 66 sales.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
Flats in Sutton sold for a median of £285,000 across 718 flat sales in the borough window, with 16 new-build sales among 1,965 transactions, about 1 per cent of the total.
The approved towers add height on a street that already trades heavily as leasehold flats. Land Registry records show no new-build sales in SM1 4 in that same 12 months, including none among the 66 flat sales.
Objections and the April 2027 deed
Forty-seven public representations cited the loss of affordable homes, overshadowing of Manor Park and pressure on local services. Transport for London’s planning team said it “does not support” the proposal. Officers refused an NHS request for £2,596,716 and a Network Rail request for £100,000 for Sutton station, calling a separate health payment “double counting”.
The amended permission is not issued until a section 106 deed of variation is signed by 30 April 2027. Carbon offset, bus priority and crossing payments from the original agreement carry over.
Amended condition 42 requires wind mitigation before main structure works. The council had not published committee minutes as of 7 November 2026.