Doon Street doomed says Tory ex-mayoral candidate

"The decision will not survive the planning process," forecast Steve Norris when speaking on Tuesday night during the London Influentials debate organised by the Evening Standard at the Royal Society of Arts.

He was responding to a question about the Mayor of London's 50 per cent affordable housing target for all new developments.

Neale Coleman, the Mayor of London's director of regeneration, responding to criticism that the Doon Street plan had no affordable housing said it had been "a difficult call" but stressed that there had to be flexibilty.

The 329 private apartments in a 43-storey tower are part of a scheme by social enterprise Coin Street Community Builders to fund a leisure centre and swimming pool on the lower levels. Shortly after Lambeth Council approved the controversial proposals it was announced that the communities secretary Hazel Blears had ordered a public inquiry.

Earlier Sir Terry Farrell, architect of the controversial Founder's Place development alongside Archbishop's Park which has just survived a public inquiry following numerous postponed planning meetings, called for an improved planning system.

"Those already housed stand in the way of new housing," claimed Sir Terry.

A member of the audience who said that she lived in Coin Street described their social housing model as the perfect solution to housing in London. She added that the area already had plenty of health clubs.

Rowan Moore, director of the Architecture Foundation, described Coin Street Community Builders as "a decent bunch of people trying to do a good job".