Childers Street, Deptford: Lewisham refuses change of use for 'luxury' student accommodation

Aitch Group evicted 150 tenants from the 83 homes at Vive Living, Childers Street in December 2024, claiming that it needed to refurbish the building.

The firm had marketed Vive Living to young renters as "somewhere you can put down roots".

The property giant told the BBC that there was no need for planning permission for the "multi-million pound refurbishment".

But less than a year later, Aitch Group's student housing arm YourTribe was advertising "boutique luxury" student flats at the address.

Its latest adverts feature drone footage of the Childers Street building promoting "YourTribe Deptford: The Luxe Collection".

But the conversion requires a change of use for all 83 homes, and Lewisham planning officers have twice refused it.

Aitch Group is operating through related firm Childers Street Properties, which shares directors with other Aitch Group companies.

The firm applied for its first permission in August 2024, less than four months before the eviction notices were served, for change of use of 13 units from C3 (independent homes) to C4 smaller size Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

This application was successful.

Following the evictions, in October 2025, Childers Street Properties applied to convert another 30 flats to HMOs.

But this time planning officers quickly refused the application, saying that the company had not provided sufficient evidence of the change of use before a new directive about HMOs came into effect in January 2024.

The firm then tried again in January 2026, with the help of an opinion from a legal counsel, but again had its application refused by planning officers.

Undeterred, it is continuing to market the entire block as luxury student housing, although 70 of the apartments are still classed as "homes".

Any tenant who might have hoped to return to their home after the "refurbishment" would find it long gone.

Aitch Group did not respond to a request for comment.

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