However, campaigners complained that less than one tenth of the homes would be classed as ‘affordable’.
This means that the rental rates for those homes will be set at 80% of market value. The rest will be rented out at market value.
Local Liberal Democrat councillor Julie Ireland called the amount of affordable homes in the development “frankly derisory”.
Both Bromley Council and the London Mayor’s office say that 35% of housing in all new developments should be affordable.
Ms Ireland also criticised the John Lewis scheme’s height and said extra residents would worsen road traffic and clog up the train network.
John Lewis has said council tax and “local spend” will increase by £70m in the development’s first decade.
Investment firm abrdn, which is working with John Lewis on the development, said the housing would be “an anchor for town centre regeneration and wider community investment”.
Eventually, John Lewis and abrdn plan to build 1,000 new homes across three sites, including the Bromley one.
John Lewis first revealed plans to start building homes in 2020 under its former boss Dame Sharon White to diversify its revenue.
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