586 Homes at Motspur Park Gasholders Decided by Sadiq Khan 2026

Key Points

• Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has “called in” a controversial plan to redevelop three gasholders in Motspur Park, south London, overturning Kingston Council’s earlier refusal.
• The application, from gas firm SGN and developer Berkeley Homes, would demolish the three gasholders on protected land and replace them with five apartment blocks containing 586 homes.
• In his letter, Sir Sadiq said the scheme could make a “significant and positive contribution” towards London’s housing targets, especially as Kingston has fallen “significantly under target” for homes built between 2020 and 2025.
• Kingston Council confirmed in 2023 that it could not demonstrate a five‑year housing supply, which has led to an accumulating shortfall in housing completions against the London Plan’s targets.
• The proposals include 175 affordable homes, which officials say would equate to about 60 per cent of the borough’s annual housing target and roughly 15 per cent of its yearly affordable‑housing need.
• Campaigners, including local groups speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), have raised concerns that the planning balance may be unfairly tilted in favour of the developer, given Kingston’s inability to show a five‑year housing supply despite worries about the site’s suitability.

Motspur Park (South London News) April 25, 2026 Gas firm SGN and developer Berkeley Homes’ plan to redevelop three former gasholders in Motspur Park with 586 homes will now be decided by Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, after he overruled Kingston Council’s previous rejection of the application. Sir Sadiq has formally “called in” the proposal, meaning the final decision will be taken by the Mayor’s office rather than the local authority.

Why has Sadiq Khan intervened in the Motspur Park housing plan?

In a letter to Kingston Council, Sir Sadiq said he had stepped in because the scheme could make a “significant and positive contribution” towards London’s wider housing objectives.

The Mayor’s office highlighted that the number of homes completed in Kingston between 2020 and 2025 has been “significantly under target,” which strengthens the case for intervening in a large‑scale housing application.

The letter also noted that the council had confirmed in 2023 it could not demonstrate a five‑year housing supply, as required by the London Plan and supporting guidance.

This has meant that the borough has been “accumulating a shortfall in housing completions” against the annual targets set out in the strategy.

How many homes and what type of housing are proposed?

As reported by London Evening Standard journalist Thomas Smith, the application would demolish the three gasholders on protected land in Motspur Park and build five apartment blocks containing 586 homes.

Of these, 175 units are designated as affordable housing, according to the Mayor’s correspondence.

The Mayor’s office added that the delivery of 586 homes through this scheme would be equivalent to around 60 per cent of Kingston’s annual housing target and about 15 per cent of its yearly need for affordable housing.

Numbers such as these, quoted in the letter, have been cited by local reporters as key reasons why the Mayor’s team views the scheme as strategically important.

What has Kingston Council previously said about the site?

Kingston Council had initially refused the application, raising concerns about the scale and density of the scheme, as well as the impact on the local environment and the fact that the gasholders stand on protected land.

Local planning officers and councillors have previously pointed to the character of the area, access to green space, and the heritage value of the gas‑holder structures as reasons for resisting the developers’ proposals.

However, the Mayor’s letter underscores that the council’s inability to show a five‑year housing supply weakens the weight given to some of these objections in the planning balance.

Under the London Plan, where a borough cannot demonstrate an adequate supply, larger‑scale housing schemes that help meet strategic targets may be treated more favourably.

What are campaigners saying about the Motspur Park gas holders plan?

Campaigners and local residents have voiced unease about how the planning process may now favour the developer, given that Kingston cannot show a five‑year housing supply.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, local groups told reporters they were concerned the planning balance would be “disproportionately skewed” in favour of SGN and Berkeley Homes, despite doubts about the site’s suitability and the high density of the proposed towers.

Some campaigners have emphasised the importance of the gasholders as part of the area’s industrial heritage and have warned that allowing the scheme to proceed could set a precedent for similar redevelopments on protected land elsewhere in south London.

Others have welcomed the prospect of 175 affordable homes but argue that the number is still too low compared with the overall scale of the project.

How does this relate to Kingston’s wider housing targets?

Kingston Council’s own housing‑strategy documents show that the borough’s annual monitoring target for new homes rose under the London Plan from 643 units per year to 964 per year.

The council’s draft interim housing strategy notes that, in recent years, Kingston has only met its housing target once in the past 12 years, and that the 10‑year target is to deliver 9,640 homes between 2019 and 2029.

The Mayor’s letter, as summarised by London Evening Standard, states that the failure to demonstrate a five‑year supply has led to a growing “shortfall in housing completions” against these targets.

This context is central to the Mayor’s decision to call in the Motspur Park application, since a single scheme of 586 homes can, in numerical terms, make a substantial dent in the borough’s annual shortfall.

What happens next in the decision‑making process?

Once a planning application is called in by the Mayor, the Greater London Authority takes over the determination, usually after a public consultation or committee stage.

Any decision by Sir Sadiq’s office can, in turn, be subject to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate if either the council or the applicant disagrees with the outcome.

The Mayor’s office has not yet announced a specific date for a final decision on the Motspur Park scheme, but local reporters following the story, including for London Evening Standard and national news outlets, expect a decision in the coming months. Residents, campaigners, and Berkeley Homes’ representatives are all likely to lobby intensively ahead of that point, with debates expected to focus on the balance between housing delivery, design quality, and the protection of locally valued land and heritage.

Background to the Motspur Park gasholders development

The Motspur Park site is part of a broader push to intensify development in south London’s “opportunity areas,” corridors identified in the Mayor’s London Plan as having high potential for housing and job growth. Kingston is designated as an Opportunity Area with an indicative target of around 9,000 new homes and 5,000 new jobs by 2041, linked to the Crossrail 2 South growth corridor.

Within this context, gas‑holder sites and other brownfield land have increasingly become targets for large‑scale housing schemes, as they are often centrally located yet underused. The Motspur Park gasholders sit on land that is protected in planning terms, which normally strengthens the case for preserving the site’s current use or limiting redevelopment.