Lambeth Council is considering a proposal for student housing on Albert Embankment, balancing the need for accommodation with heritage concerns.

The Lambeth Council Planning Applications Committee (PAC) convened on Tuesday 1 July 2025, to review plans for the redevelopment of 36-46 Albert Embankment, according to the meeting agenda. The project entails demolishing the existing petrol station and constructing two linked towers for student accommodation, alongside a cafe, flexible incubator space, and the refurbishment of Vintage House.

View of the Albert Embankment development site (indicated by the red arrow) from across the River Thames.
View of the Albert Embankment development site (indicated by the red arrow) from across the River Thames.Source: Planning Applications Committee papers, 1 July 2025

The proposed development aims to provide 769 student rooms with 897 beds, a cafe, flexible incubator/cultural space, retention, refurbishment, and vertical extension of Vintage House for office use, and 640 bicycle parking spaces. The PAC also discussed other planning applications, including a three-storey building with a self-contained flat at 4 Stannary Street, and the installation of shipment containers for office and storage at 36 Carlisle Lane, according to the meeting agenda.

Photograph of Vintage House, 36-46 Albert Embankment, London, which is scheduled for redevelopment.
Photograph of Vintage House, 36-46 Albert Embankment, London, which is scheduled for redevelopment.Source: Planning Applications Committee papers, 1 July 2025

Initially, the application proposed that 35% of the student accommodation would be affordable. However, the applicant revised this to 20% affordable student accommodation and a £8.02 million payment in lieu (PiL) to support conventional affordable housing in Lambeth. Affordable student accommodation is defined as accommodation let at a rental cost for the academic year equal to or below 55% of the maximum income that a new fulltime student studying in London and living away from home could receive from the Government's maintenance loan for living costs for that academic year. 1

The reports pack noted that the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Historic England had raised concerns about potential harm to the Westminster World Heritage Site2 due to the development's scale.

The reports pack also noted that the applicant was aiming for Passivhaus certification and a BREEAM rating of Outstanding for the student accommodation.

Councillor Joanne Simpson (Animal Welfare Champion) chaired the Planning Applications Committee meeting, which also included Councillors Malcolm Clark, Scott Ainslie (Group Leader), Martin Bailey (Chair of Pensions Committee), Diogo Costa (Policy Lead for Digital, Data and Insight), Saleha Jaffer (Deputy Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities), and Emma Nye.

  1. The document does not specify how the £8.02 million payment in lieu will be allocated to support conventional affordable housing in Lambeth, nor the expected impact of this investment. ↩

  2. The specific aspects of the development's scale causing concern for the GLA and Historic England regarding the Westminster World Heritage Site were not detailed in the provided documents. ↩