John Lewis has received approval for its inaugural housing project, gaining permission to construct 350 flats above a Waitrose store in Bromley, South London. The Bromley council approved the proposal on Thursday evening.

The plan involves retaining the existing Waitrose supermarket at ground level and building three residential blocks of 10 to 24 floors, which will house around 320 rental flats and 30 affordable homes.

Katherine Russell, who oversees John Lewis’s rental housing initiatives, expressed satisfaction with the approval, calling it “a milestone.” She pointed out the advantage of build-to-rent schemes, noting that they allow for quicker project realisation as homes do not need to be sold.

The development will be financed by asset manager Abrdn as part of a £500 million joint venture with John Lewis, aiming to construct 1,000 homes. John Lewis plans to own and operate the rental properties.

Despite recent shifts in strategy under outgoing chair Dame Sharon White, John Lewis remains committed to property development as part of its broader business strategy.

Other retailers are also venturing into housing development. Asda, for instance, has teamed up with Barratt Homes to build 1,500 homes in Acton, highlighting a trend of integrating residential projects with retail spaces.

Developing brownfield sites like this one in Bromley aligns with political goals to increase urban housing. These projects are typically more acceptable than building on undeveloped land, although they can still face local opposition.

In Bromley, the project garnered 144 statements of support, compared to 109 objections. Russell Pedley, co-founder of Assael Architecture, which designed the buildings, stressed the importance of political backing for such initiatives. He remarked that bold decisions are necessary to drive growth and acknowledged the challenges inherent in brownfield development.

This development could be mentioned at upcoming property networking events in London and other construction networking events across the UK.

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