Up to six more floors could be added to Maydew House on the Abbeyfield Estate under plans published this week by Southwark Council.

The Labour council’s cabinet is expected to rubber-stamp proposals for a £24.2 million refurbishment and extension of the 1960s tower block which sits alongside Southwark Park.

The scheme will be partly financed by selling homes for sale in the tower, along with new homes on the site of the Bede Centre which will be provided with new premises inside the revamped tower block.

Work could start early next year on the scheme which will see the tower stripped back to its concrete frame and a new “state of the art cladding design” created for the building in what is described as  “an ‘eye-catching’ visual landmark project”.

The future of Maydew House was the subject of a big campaign back in 2010 when the council – faced with a big bill for asbestos removal – considered selling the whole building for private development

The council began the process of relocating residents from Maydew House in 2015 and the building is expected to be empty by January.