Plans to deliver a new South London neighbourhood with hundreds of new flats have progressed, after a developer purchased the site earlier this month.

London Square has announced they have finalised their purchase of the former Electrobase site in Crayford, Bexley borough, to deliver a set of seven residential tower blocks between six and eight storeys tall.

The site is planned to provide 559 new homes in a £180million project, after London Square purchased the site from Skillcrown and Purelake NewHomes.

The developer said in a statement that the 240 homes in the development will be available for shared ownership and social rent.

The area is also planned to include a new riverside walk along the River Cray and children’s play areas.

The plans were originally approved by Bexley Council at a meeting on April 13, before planning consent was finalised in August.

At the meeting, Conservative Councillor Kurtis Christoforides criticised the placement of many of the scheme’s affordable flats in the eastern block, which reportedly would receive the least natural light.

Cllr Christoforides said: “What this development does then, is just asks us to put all the people that need affordable housing in the least desirable block with terrible light.”

Planning officers said in response that the location of the affordable housing block was not by design.

They also said the project had been designed to provide a series of buildings of a similar height instead of a single tall building.

Robert Lancaster, head of planning for Bexley Council, said at the meeting: “[The eastern block] is the one that’s closest to the town centre and one closest to amenities, and there’s always a balance of a whole range of factors going into the desirability of property, of which daylight is just one.”

Adam Lawrence, Chief Executive of London Square, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Our latest acquisition shows our commitment to Greater London to provide much-needed new homes in Crayford.

"This will be our first site where one team will be looking after all customers, whether affordable through Square Roots [the company’s independent housing provider] or private for sale, demonstrating our ethos that we will provide everyone with a high quality home and service, irrespective of tenure.”

He added: “We are delighted that the site now has full planning permission and we will be pressing ahead to deliver an attractive, well-connected place where people will want to live, helping to transform this area of Crayford for the existing local community and businesses.”