Kidbrooke Park Road North

Kidbrooke Park Road is a two-phase masterplan by HTA Design that transforms a former RAF site and disused school grounds into a new, civic-led neighbourhood. The first phase, Kidbrooke Park Road North, delivers 122 homes for social rent alongside public realm, a nursery, and a community centre. It will be followed by Kidbrooke Park Road South, adding 330 more affordable homes and a central courtyard to complete the regeneration.

Kidbrooke Park Road North occupies a triangular site bounded by railway lines, a busy arterial road and suburban housing. Its triangular shape and complex boundaries posed a significant design challenge. The team used this geometry to inform massing, maximise daylight, and create legible routes and green spaces that connect to the wider landscape and local context. Taller blocks sit centrally to reduce visual impact, while legible routes and new public spaces connect residents to Cator Park, the local allotments, and Kidbrooke Station.

A ten-storey tower marks the entrance to the neighbourhood and houses a community centre at ground level. A five-storey block links north and south-facing open spaces with dual-aspect homes. A seven-storey L-shaped building integrates the nursery and play spaces, while a four-storey block forms a calm transition to the two-storey homes opposite.

At Kidbrooke Park Road North, a series of repeatable architectural elements underpin the success of the scheme. Each residential block is built around standardised, modular floorplates, which allow for both construction efficiency and internal variety. Apartments and maisonettes follow a consistent spatial logic, ensuring buildability while enabling different typologies to sit comfortably together.

Precast balconies are used throughout, with two types tailored to context: projected balconies define the taller pavilions and signal their civic scale, while inset balconies articulate transitions in height and bring visual depth. These balconies are independently supported to prevent thermal bridging and offer integrated shading.

Vertical service risers are concealed within building cores, keeping deck access clean and unobstructed. The façades follow a controlled grid, balancing material repetition with considered detailing.

This focus on repetition is not about uniformity, but about clarity. It allows resources to be used where they matter most—on light, space, comfort and durability. In this way, the architecture of Kidbrooke Park Road North shows how thoughtful repetition can unlock enduring value in public housing.

The scheme includes a 417sqm nursery and a 50sqm community centre, both designed in direct response to local needs identified through consultation with residents and community groups.

The nursery, located at the base of Block C, is positioned beside gardens and key pedestrian routes. It exceeds GLA standards and has been designed to support early childhood development. The community room, situated at ground level in Block A near the site’s main entrance, acts as a flexible civic hub. It offers a space for resident-led activities and local programming. Both the nursery and community space benefit from natural light, passive ventilation, and long-term adaptability.

The homes at Kidbrooke Park Road North have been designed to meet the pressing housing need in Greenwich, particularly for larger, family-sized affordable homes. The first phase delivers 122 homes for social rent, all owned and managed by the council.

The mix includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and maisonettes. Over 30% are three-bedroom family homes, and 10% are fully wheelchair-accessible, exceeding GLA policy requirements. Larger homes are dual aspect and deck accessed, with generous balconies and private front doors that help activate the public realm.

All homes meet or exceed national space standards, providing practical, comfortable living environments. Floorplans are designed for flexibility and adaptability, with layouts that maximise daylight, storage, and views out. Across the site, acoustic design mitigates noise from roads and railways without compromising daylight or thermal performance. Combined with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, this ensures good air quality and year-round comfort.

Brick is central to the design approach at Kidbrooke Park Road North. It brings unity across distinct buildings, references the historic architecture of nearby Blackheath.

Each block has its own form and massing, but the consistent brick palette provides cohesion. A soft mud multi-stock brick was chosen for its subtle variation in red and orange tones, complemented by natural cement mortar with bucket handle joints. Together, they create warmth, depth and a crafted character.

A key design move was shifting the brick piers from the centre of the façade panels to the edges of window reveals. This adjustment deepens the architectural expression, creating a brick-and-a-half reveal that reinforces solidity. Light mortar emphasises horizontal coursing, while balustrades and soldier courses introduce a gentle vertical rhythm. This detail is repeated over 350 times across the scheme, demonstrating how simple components can deliver architectural quality at scale.

On the five-storey maisonette terrace, brick piers between balconies give privacy, shade, and visual rhythm. Brick is also used to frame entrances, define shared thresholds, and anchor outdoor amenity spaces. The on-site energy centre is similarly brick-built, ensuring that even technical infrastructure complements the architectural language.

The landscape masterplan at Kidbrooke Park Road North connects large areas of open space with local ecological networks and everyday routes. It supports the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Biodiversity Action Plan and enhances the wider green infrastructure by linking Kidbrooke Playing Fields, Cator Park, Sutcliffe Park, and the railway-edge allotments, creating a biodiverse nature corridor across southeast London.

A central green space, shared by both the North and South phases, forms a key organising element of the neighbourhood. Alongside this, a network of semi-private communal gardens, totalling 2,070sqm, offers places for residents to meet, relax, and play. These spaces are framed by planting, specimen trees and informal seating, providing quiet areas for rest as well as more active zones.

Over 2,500sqm of age-specific play space is provided across the site, exceeding the GLA’s 10sqm per child benchmark. Play areas are embedded into the public realm and include natural and interpretative elements made from timber and stone, with spaces designed for children aged 0–4, 5–11, and 12–17. These complement nearby play provision at Cator Park, creating a wider play network.

After the removal of two metres of contaminated soil and all existing vegetation, 175 new trees were planted, including species such as hornbeam, cherry, and lime, set within a meadow-planted understory to enhance biodiversity. Rain gardens at the base of each building collect and filter runoff as part of a comprehensive SuDS strategy, while extensive green roofs contribute to both amenity and environmental performance. Together, these elements raise the site’s Urban Greening Factor to 0.60, well above the GLA’s 0.4 benchmark.

Kidbrooke Park Road North is a net zero carbon development that exceeds Greater London Authority targets and sets a benchmark for civic-led environmental performance. Designed with a fabric-first approach and all-electric strategy, the scheme achieves over 70% reduction in regulated carbon emissions compared to Part L 2013 baseline, surpassing the London Plan’s 35% target.

The new Energy Centre unlocked space for additional homes by relocating plant from one of the residential blocks. The compact facility houses three 205kW air source heat pumps (ASHPs), electric boilers, and thermal storage to meet all heating and hot water demand across the site. It is future-proofed for connection to a district heat network and features acoustic barriers to minimise noise near residential buildings. Brick and metal detailing reflect the surrounding architecture, ensuring a coherent streetscape.

Photovoltaic panels are installed across the roofscape with a total capacity of 131.92 kWp, generating 86,628 kWh per year—enough to meet 23% of total energy demand and contributing to the scheme’s 100% on-site provision for domestic heating and hot water.

Each home benefits from Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) and passive solar design. The layout prioritises dual-aspect units (80%), eliminates north-facing single-aspect homes, and integrates shading through balconies and overhangs to minimise overheating. Dynamic simulation modelling confirms robust performance:

• 45% of rooms exceed BRE daylight factor targets
• 3% of windows meet BRE sunlight standards
• 83% of amenity areas receive 2+ hours of sunlight during summer

Located on a brownfield site adjacent to railway lines and busy roads, the homes are acoustically modelled to manage noise while maintaining energy performance.

Car parking is minimised across the scheme, with a focus on walkability and sustainable transport. Residents are well-connected to public transport and local services, reducing reliance on private cars and supporting the borough’s goal of reducing carbon through active travel.

Our planning team applied their expertise in affordable housing to both sites leading to unanimous approval for the first phase – Kidbrooke Park Road North, following their presentation to a virtual committee during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collaborating with the design team, they ensured alignment with national, regional, and local policies and Greenwich Build’s design guide. Their expertise allowed our design team to address challenges around building heights, net-zero carbon targets, and integrating public spaces.

Their detailed knowledge of the London Plan helped maximise site potential allowing us to deliver on strategic policies such as Policy H1 which prioritises use of brownfield sites close to excellent transport links as a strategy to increase London’s housing supply.

Throughout the pre-application process we engaged with stakeholders to refine the design, addressing key feedback points to ensure optimal outcomes for residents and the community. Initial pre-application feedback focused on improving the site’s green space by repositioning roads and adjusting block typologies to increase access. We responded by expanding communal spaces and enhancing connections between Kidbrooke Park Road North and South. Further refinements were also made to improve pedestrian and cycle access, along with relocating key buildings to improve sunlight conditions and reduce overshadowing.

The project was shaped from the outset by a programme of creative engagement that employed a wide range of events and activities to gather valuable insights and inspiration that informed every aspect of the design. During the pandemic, we pioneered our first virtual workshops to ensure ongoing participation and transparency and maintain progress against the programme.

As construction began, we launched an extended collaboration with students from the neighbouring Thomas Tallis School to create a public artwork under the theme ‘Live Your Best Life,’ marking 30 years since Stephen Lawrence’s death near the site. This initiative provided young people with a platform to express their perspectives on social justice, equality, and aspirations for the future. Displayed prominently on the site’s construction hoarding, the artwork serves as both a tribute and a powerful reminder of the importance of diversity and opportunity in the built environment.

The unveiling was a significant moment, bringing together students, community members, and the media for shared reflection and celebration. As part of this engagement, two students, Amy and Love, gained work experience at HTA, reinforcing our commitment to creating opportunities for the next generation.