The Architects’ Journal

Developed in consultation with the site’s landlord Dulwich Estate, Sport England and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the building is a ‘modern take’ on a cricket pavilion. It replaces a former single-storey 1950s pavilion, which had a footprint approximately 100m2 larger.

The pavilion on Dulwich Common for Streatham & Marlborough Cricket Club is positioned so it opens up to both the club’s cricket pitches simultaneously. It is also designed to host Hindu weddings, forest school sessions, community gatherings and a neighbourhood café-cum-bar.

Architect’s view

Any new building proposed to replace a series of existing Victorian kiosks, precariously positioned beside a deep railway cutting, must acknowledge what came before – the historic footprint, the rhythm of the street and the texture of the surrounding architecture.

The application proposes the demolition of 21 ‘underused’ post-war garages on Leaf Grove, to be replaced by six houses: two pairs of three-storey, three-bedroom homes, and one pair of two-storey, two-bedroom homes.

The practice says the scheme addresses the local need for family-sized homes, but it is constrained by several factors, including poor public transport links and the proximity of a conservation area and a locally listed house.

The project will create 92 build-to-rent homes, half of which will be affordable, alongside community facilities and space for shops on a brownfield site on Leigham Court Road. The area is currently occupied by a car park, disused toilet block, vacant synagogue and a former bowling green.

The toilet block will be replaced by a three-storey building, housing shops and community space. This will lead away from the road to the new flats spread across three blocks, ranging from four to six storeys.

Reed, the MP for Streatham and Croydon North, was appointed on Friday (5 September) to head the ministry for housing, communities and local government following Angela Rayner’s resignation as housing secretary, deputy Labour leader and deputy prime minister. He was previously environment secretary.

Rayner’s departure came in the wake of the controversy surrounding an underpayment of tax on a property purchase.