In the same week that Transport for London (TfL) killed off Wandsworth’s long-promised gyratory overhaul – a scheme the council has had £27 million earmarked for since the early 2010s – it has quietly demanded nearly £50,000 and a suite of highway works from a developer building on one of the key sites that was supposed to make the gyratory redesign work.
The gyratory scheme, once billed as the centrepiece of Wandsworth’s regeneration, would have rerouted the South Circular along Armoury Way, pedestrianised Wandsworth High Street for local traffic, buses and cyclists, and introduced major safety and air quality improvements. Two public consultations, in 2014 and 2016, showed overwhelming resident support.
But with the scheme now scrapped, 2 Armoury Way is instead coming forward as a major student housing and light industrial development — two buildings up to ten storeys, 434 student rooms, ground and first-floor Class E industrial space, new public realm, cycle parking, refuse stores, and new vehicle crossovers onto Armoury Way and Swandon Way.
TfL’s New Demands
Planning documents (2024/3497) show that, despite abandoning the gyratory plan, TfL is still insisting the developer deliver a package of transport measures on the very streets the overhaul was supposed to fix. These include:
- £47,600 Healthy Streets contribution towards walking, cycling and public realm upgrades in the town centre.
- A Section 278 agreement to fund and deliver public highway works.
- A Stage 1 Road Safety Audit for any changes to the highway before detailed designs are approved.
- A Travel Plan to encourage sustainable transport among residents, plus a Delivery and Servicing Plan and Construction Management Plan to control vehicle movements and impacts during operation and building works.
Officers have noted the site’s awkward triangular shape — hemmed in by the River Wandle, railway land and neighbouring developments — which complicates vehicle access, servicing and fire appliance manoeuvring. As one officer put it:
“You’ve got an awkward landlocking which does restrict them somewhat in their site. So this is an awkward triangle…”
The gall of it
In March 2022, frustration at TfL’s inertia boiled over, with then council leader Ravi Govindia even suggesting the government hand red route control to boroughs. Now, after TfL has binned the scheme after dragging it out for more than a decade, it is still dictating costly street changes — piecemeal, developer by developer — on the same stretch of road the wider plan was meant to fix.
For residents who have lived with the congestion, pollution and safety hazards of Wandsworth’s one-way system for decades, the optics are hard to ignore: TfL says it can’t afford to deliver the overhaul it promised, but still expects cheques and compliance from developers whose projects depend on that very network.
In essence, TfL has abandoned the big fix, but is still cashing in on the mess.
Officers are advising councillors to approve the 2 Armoury Way scheme — with TfL’s transport requirements, the Healthy Streets payment, and all other planning conditions and obligations secured through a legal agreement.
Public Opposition Mounts
But the application has sparked fierce opposition from residents and local groups. Planning documents reveal 22 objections against just 2 supporters, with complaints focusing on the development’s excessive height and flagrant disregard for planning guidelines.
The Wandsworth Society delivered a scathing technical analysis showing both buildings dramatically exceed approved limits — Block A reaches 37.95m (equivalent to 12.5 storeys) and Block B hits 39.45m (13 storeys), when the Wandle Delta Masterplan specifies a maximum of 4-8 storeys for the site.
Consultation Failures Exposed
More damaging still, resident Peter Whelan has exposed serious flaws in the developer’s consultation process. Only 8 people attended poorly-advertised public exhibitions held at inappropriate times (including a bank holiday weekend) in a pub with no external signage.
Despite the developer claiming “543 people engaged,” only 15 feedback forms were completed total. Ward councillors failed to participate, and pre-application meeting recommendations remain secret. “This raises serious concerns about the legitimacy of the application,” Whelan wrote.
Planning Precedent Fears
Both the Wandsworth Society and Putney Society warn that approving buildings this far above permitted heights would set a “troubling precedent” that renders the area’s masterplan “pointless.”
Opposition appears virtually unanimous — one comment formally marked as “support” actually contains identical objections about the buildings being “too high” and lacking community need. With infrastructure already strained — GP appointments take weeks, Wandsworth Town station faces “chronic overcrowding,” and the area lacks basic sporting facilities — residents question why the council continues approving developments that ignore planning guidelines while failing to address community needs.
As one objector put it: “There is no point in having the Wandle Delta Masterplan, if planning applications which do not follow it are granted permission.”
Déjà Vu Development
The concerns echo those raised against the adjacent former gasworks site, where councillors in March approved a controversial 29-storey tower despite over 130 objections and warnings it “bulldozes through” planning policy. That decision followed a heated planning committee meeting where Councillor Humphries noted residents would be “perplexed” that the council had “barely discussed the core issues — height, volume, scale — all of which this proposal contravenes.”
With both developments now exceeding masterplan guidelines, residents fear the systematic abandonment of the very planning framework meant to protect their area’s character.
