"We had a deal" - Luke Taylor MP hits back at changes to B&Q plans

Luke Taylor MP is calling for new plans for the former B&Q site in Sutton town centre to be rejected, after developers proposed a significantly taller scheme with fewer affordable homes.

He is arguing for a return to the agreed plan that was designed to deliver the best possible deal for Sutton residents.

The new application for the site would increase the development from 1,035 to 1,184 homes and raise its tallest building from 22 to 28 storeys. The number of affordable homes would fall from 355 to 265.

The changes are a significant departure from the development originally agreed with Sutton Council.

When the original proposals came before the Council’s Planning Committee in November 2023, Luke Taylor, then a local councillor, voted in favour of a scheme for 970 homes, including 337 affordable homes, with buildings reaching a maximum of 21 storeys.

That agreement balanced Sutton’s need for new homes with the need to build sensitively, provide affordable housing and secure benefits for the wider community.

The original plans also included around £6 million of developer contributions towards local improvements, including work on Sutton High Street, a new pedestrian crossing and upgrades to Manor Park.

But the latest plans would upend this. Notably - it cuts the amount of affordable housing and would see the tallest building reach 28 storeys, six floors higher than the currently approved scheme.

It comes after the Mayor of London introduced a new temporary housebuilding route earlier this year that significantly weakens the position of councils trying to negotiate more affordable housing from developers.

Luke Taylor MP met the developer in August to discuss the revised proposals and made clear that a 28-storey building was unacceptable. He asked for an alternative approach to be considered before the application was submitted. The plans have however been submitted with the proposed 28-storey tower retained.

Luke Taylor MP said:

“I’ve always said that we need to build the homes local people need for the future, but they have to be the right homes, in the right places and built in a way that works for Sutton. I still support this - but these new plans do not meet that test.

“That is why I voted for the original development in 2023. We had reached a deal which delivered hundreds of affordable homes, limited the height of the development and secured millions of pounds to benefit the surrounding community.

“These new plans are not the deal Sutton agreed. A 28-storey tower, fewer affordable homes and the loss of the local benefits we fought for cannot simply be waved through.

“I met the developer and asked them to find another way of making the development viable without building a tower of this height. Instead, the plans have been submitted unchanged.

“I will be writing to Sutton Council asking them to use every power still available to them to reject these new plans. I will also be raising this with the Mayor and the Government, because local communities need a meaningful say over what gets built in their area.”

Sutton Liberal Democrats continue to support building the homes the borough needs. The Council recently completed 92 new homes at Beech Tree Place, replacing 20 ageing flats with a much larger development of modern homes for local people.

That is the approach Sutton needs: more homes, including genuinely affordable homes, built in appropriate locations and designed around the needs of the communities that will live alongside them. The current B&Q proposals fail that test.

Residents can view and comment on planning application DM2026/00821 through Sutton Council’s planning register while the application remains under consideration.