An application to demolish old NHS buildings in New Malden for 92 flats and no affordable homes has been deferred from today's committee (Tuesday, 11 November), and will be heard at a future committee.

This is to allow further consideration of new representations received by officers.

The proposals would see the transformation of part of the derelict Rose Lodge complex, on Kingston Road, which the NHS deemed surplus to requirements in 2012.

It comes more than a decade after South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust sold Rose Lodge and the Roseland Resource Centre, which were part of the complex and shut in 2013, to developer KK Investment Ltd in 2014.

They are currently used as houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Kingston Council officers last week recommended the proposals for approval, which would see the buildings demolished for two linked blocks up to eight storeys tall, with 92 flats and a 32-space basement car park.

The developer said the scheme did not propose any affordable housing as independent assessments had found this would be unviable.

Planning documents said the scheme would "optimise housing output" on brownfield land and fit in with "the local context in terms of height, mass, orientation and visual appearance".

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In a new report recommending the scheme for approval, officers said that while they would prefer it to include affordable housing, the developer had offered a contribution of £753,000 towards building off-site affordable housing.

Officers said the new homes would help to meet the borough's housing needs, which was particularly important as the council could not demonstrate a five-year housing supply.

The report said: "The proposed development optimises a brownfield site within an emerging residential corridor, delivering 92 homes with a strong mix of family housing and accessibility standards, where Kingston is experiencing an acute housing shortfall."

It added: "The adverse effects of the development are limited and do not significantly or demonstrably outweigh the substantial public and planning benefits delivered."