A block of ‘pocket flats’ approved in South London will stop an exodus of NHS staff from the capital by allowing them to get onto the property ladder, a nurse has said. 

Lambeth Council  has approved the construction of 35 one-bedroom flats by affordable housing developer Pocket Living on the site of an ex-bowling green in Streatham.

House hunters will be able to snap up the flats on Leigham Court Road for 20 per cent less than market prices. Only people living or working in Lambeth will be able to buy them. 

Aeron Suarez, a nurse at King’s College Hospital, said the discounted apartments were the only chance he had at getting on the property ladder in London. 

Speaking at a planning meeting on February 22, the 34 year old said: “For an NHS employee like myself it can take a long time to afford a home so I really got excited when I heard about Pocket Living as a given opportunity for key workers like me to get into the property ladder.

“With property prices as high as they are in the borough, being able to own one of the 35 20 per cent discounted homes in Leigham Court Road is realistically the only way for me to own a home which is near my work and a community I feel I belong to. 

“People often say if I want to buy a property that I should leave London… but being close to my workplace, my friends… is very important for my own personal growth and wellbeing.

“Key workers are the beating heart of Lambeth but without suitable housing you risk losing them.”

But Streatham resident, Jennifer Dixon, criticised the planned development, saying it was affordable in name only and would mean locals lost green space. She said: “This development removes a community asset. This robs thousands of residents the potential for community open space.

“The development is branded as genuinely affordable housing. It is not. Sadiq Khan has ditched that Tory definition of 80 per cent of market rate. They are not for families. They are for single people. They are for the top 10 per cent earners in the UK. Teachers, nurses, policemen cannot afford this. This is not affordable.”

Developer, Pocket Living, said the homes will give local first-time buyers the chance to get on the property ladder, when they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford market prices. Potential buyers must not own another property and the flats will be available at 20 per cent less than market prices for the first six months they’re on sale. 

Pocket Living said it has over 1,000 people registered on its database interested in buying one of the homes. A listed building will be partially demolished to provide access to the planned flats.

Councillors approved the appartments by  majority vote at a planning meeting on February 22.

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