Controversial plans to redevelop three South London gasholders with towers up to 16 storeys tall have been turned down.

Kingston Council refused proposals from gas firm SGN and developer Berkeley Homes to demolish three gasholders in Motspur Park for five apartment blocks with 586 homes, including 175 affordable homes.

The scheme, which proposed towers ranging from eight to 16 storeys tall, attracted fierce opposition from residents, who argued the buildings would be too high, overlook people's homes and change the character of the area.

They said the proposed development was too dense, given the area's limited access to public transport and other services, while existing infrastructure would not cope with such an influx of people.

Berkeley had been working on the plans since 2017 with SGN, which owns the site. They submitted identical planning applications to Kingston and Merton councils as the site spans both boroughs, although most of it sits in Kingston.

Former Motspur Park Gasholders site. (Credit: Berkeley Homes (West London) Ltd, provided in Kingston Council documents)

The site is designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), which means it should be protected from "inappropriate development".

Kingston's Planning Committee rejected the application on Wednesday (March 11), despite officers recommending it for approval, after agreeing its mass, height and scale would harm the openness of the MOL and it was out of character for the area.

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Rob Packham, land director at Berkeley Homes, said the plans offered a "direct, deliverable and significant contribution" to address Kingston's housing crisis, with the borough unable to demonstrate a five-year housing supply.

He said: "Beyond just meeting housing need, these proposals are shaped by a vision to transform a redundant, closed-off site into an exceptional new neighbourhood that will offer so much to so many.

"It will offer a genuine mix of housing for everyone, surrounded by beautiful landscape and welcoming and permeable green spaces."

Mr Packham said the scheme had been rigorously tested and found to follow regional and national planning policies, while delivering major social, economic and environmental benefits.

He said 200 trees would be planted as part of the development, contributing to a biodiversity net gain of over 25 per cent, while the closed-off site would be opened up to the community and new links would connect residents to nearby train stations.

He added: "The design and the character of this scheme has been rigorously tested by independent experts, including Kingston design officers, the GLA [Greater London Authority] and Design South East, who have confirmed they believe it is acceptable."

CGI of the plans for the former Motspur Park Gasholders site. (Credit: Berkeley Homes (West London) Ltd, provided in Kingston Council documents)

One objector told the meeting that application documents showed "poor modelling, selective assumptions and downward adjustment of numbers that significantly understate the true impact of this scheme".

She said: "When the numbers don't add up, and the modelling is so selective, when resident impact is so severe and the benefits are purely commercial, the council should know that a scheme of this scale on such a marginal site is against policy and should be refused."

Another objector said the height of the proposed buildings went against policy. The meeting was told Kingston's emerging tall buildings strategy only identifies Kingston, Surbiton, Tolworth and New Malden as suitable for tall buildings up to 10 storeys in height.

The resident said: "The GLA confirms that, despite [the site's] industrial past, it carries the highest level of protection. Development must preserve spatial and visual openness – this scheme does not."

He added: "These towers represent overdevelopment. They will substantially harm the area's character and openness and strain limited infrastructure."

Councillors also criticised new government rules which set out a more flexible approach to building on MOL in London to deliver more housing.

Lib Dem councillor Roger Hayes said: "We have a very, I think, long and rich and proud tradition in Kingston of taking people with us and we don't do that by telling them what's best for them, and we don't do that by hiding behind bad planning policy, and I'm afraid this government is forcing bad planning policy on us.

"There are occasions when we simply do not have any choice because if we don't do it, they will come and do it for us. This is an occasion when I think we should stick our head above the parapet and say 'enough, let's make a stand'."

Independent councillor James Giles added: "I'm quite clear that we as a committee do, as Councillor Hayes said, stick our head above the parapet and say this development, this scheme, is not good enough for Motspur Park."

Planning documents argued the site was previously developed brownfield land and that while the scheme would result in a "marked change" to the openness of the MOL, this would not be substantial.

The three gasholders were built in 1924, 1932 and 1954 and were used to store gas for distribution until they were replaced by modern methods of gas storage. They have stood redundant since 2007 and were decommissioned by Ofgem in 2012.

Merton Council is yet to make a decision on the identical application submitted to the authority.

The GLA will now decide whether to call in the application to override Kingston's refusal and make the final decision. The developers could also appeal Kingston's decision at the Planning Inspectorate.