Plans to build more than 380 homes in tower blocks up to 17 storeys tall next to Kingston Station still have not been decided more than three years on after facing "long delays".

The scheme to transform Canbury Place car park and nearby land was submitted to Kingston Council in September 2019 but it is still awaiting a decision after undergoing major changes.

Developer Kingston Gate Properties Ltd revealed in May last year it would be willing to raise the level of affordable housing proposed to 35per cent, or 137 homes, if it meant planning permission would be granted earlier as the scheme had already faced "long delays". But the planning application is still waiting to be approved or rejected by the council.

A report from the Greater London Authority (GLA) in May 2022 said the council had recommended refusing planning permission and informed the Mayor of London. The GLA confirmed the following month it would not take over the application and it was content for the local authority to decide. The application is currently "pending consideration" on the council's website.

Kingston Gate Properties originally proposed building 445 flats along with a gym, nursery, offices and shops in two phases on the site – with the car park and 12-52 Kingsgate Road included in the first phase, and 13-43 Richmond Road in the second. The buildings would have reached up to 25 storeys tall. The site is next to Kingston train station.

The developer slashed the proposed number of homes to 389 and the maximum height of the buildings to 17 storeys in 2020 after councillors raised concerns about height.

A statement submitted to the council in May last year said Kingston Gate Properties stood by its previous affordable housing offer which proposed 61 affordable homes across the scheme, or 73 if only phase one is developed.

But the developer said it would be willing to raise the level of affordable housing to 35pc, or 137 homes across both phases, if the move would secure a recommendation for approval by council officers and "timely grant of planning permission allowing an early start on site".

The statement read: "The applicant now finds itself in exceptional circumstances, faced with long delays in trying to deliver a residential-led mixed-use development on this site, with associated holding costs and increased uncertainty. If the application was refused, it would also face further delays and costs resulting."

The revised application also includes the introduction of a left-hand turn from Sopwith Way into Richmond Road as part of the first phase and a minor realignment of the southern part of Seven Kings Way to allow the widening of the footway and new trees.

WSP Indigo, agent for Kingston Gate Properties Ltd, has been contacted for comment.