Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has used his powers to grant planning permission for a Homebase store in Battersea to be turned into flats, despite the application twice being rejected by Wandsworth Council.

Wandsworth Council rejected applications by developers to turn the site, in Swandon Way, into 343 homes in three buildings.

The council's planning committee voted unanimously against the plans because of the height and scale of the development and its location near to a conservation area.

But Mr Khan "called in" the application and not only approved it - but increased the level of affordable housing from 23 to 35 percent, meaning 136 of the 385 homes in the approved plans will be affordable.

He said: "I’ve made it clear I am committed to increasing the delivery of genuinely affordable housing in London, especially given the pitiful legacy I inherited, and I will use my full range of planning powers to achieve this.

“This development offers a significant number of high-quality homes in a location which offers great transport links and local amenities. We have confirmed more than half of the affordable homes will be delivered up front in the first stage of construction.

“I’m also really pleased we have secured a review mechanism which could increase the level of affordable housing further – and that people who live and work in the area will benefit from a significant upgrade to Wandsworth Town Station.”

However chairman of Wandsworth Council planning committee, Cllr Will Sweet said the revised application asked for a station building two storeys higher than the original, creating a ‘far worse visual impact’.

He said in a statement: “This is a very important local concern and after me you’ll hear from residents who are rightly passionate about the permanent damage this bulky scheme would do to their quality of life.

“It would loom over the historic environment of Old York Road, Wandsworth Town conservation area and the pristine Victorian village known as the Tonsleys.

“By cramming in extra storeys not only on the station building but all over the site, the quality of accommodation is really compromised.”

Mr Sweet said residents did not object to the scheme and want more homes to be built, but argues that the current proposal will be detrimental and ‘undermines’ the ability to deliver high volumes of housing.

Meanwhile, the developer is also said to be contributing £2.5 million to a new entrance near to Wandsworth Town station and will include ‘substantial’ cycle parking, retail and commercial units and public space improvements.