Bexley Council has waved through proposals to develop 98 and 100 Broadway, the site of The British Heart Foundation and The Works.
Under approved plans, the two shops would be saved from demolition.
Instead, the first floor of the buildings would be knocked down, allowing new floors to be built above the existing shops.
Once completed, the building would be four-storeys tall, with space for nine flats.
In planning documents, the developerâs architects, Den Architecture, said that the size of the new building would be âsympatheticâ to the area, and that the design would âimprove the street sceneâ.
âThe need for quality living space in the town centre is evident and the proposal aims to produce spacious high-quality dwellings,â they added.
A communal garden would also be built on the first floor of the building between two of the flats.
Despite concerns about overlooking and loss of light as a result of the taller building, Bexley Council officers found that âno material harmâ had been identified.
Planning permission for the proposal was granted last Wednesday (July 23), paving the way for building works to begin.
The decision comes shortly after the local authority approved plans to knock down two shops at 235 and 237 Broadway and replace them with a five-storey block of flats.
