Following a move branded “shameful”, a petition opposing a 40 per cent cut in affordable housing has reached more than 21,000 signatures.

On June 22, Wandsworth Council approved an application by the Malaysian shareholders behind the £9billion Battersea Power Station redevelopment in Battersea that cut the number of affordable homes on offer by 250.

When the development was proposed in 2011, Battersea Power Station Development Company earmarked 517 homes- then changed to 636- as affordable for the project but this has been cut to 386.

The council’s decision to “wave through” the application has been denounced by the opposition, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan branding it “shameful”.

See related: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan brands Wandsworth Council ‘shameful’ for decision on affordable homes at Battersea Power Station

Labour’s housing speaker Paul White called the decision “outrageous”.

He said: “Local people are angry. It's been just three weeks since the decision was made by Tory-run Wandsworth Council and already over 21,000 people have signed petitions asking the Council to review its decision.”

Chairman of the planning committee Councillor Richard Field has defended the move saying the “escalating cost” of the Power Station’s restoration meant the project is “facing significant challenges”.

He said: “This development also directly funds the Tube extension which is bringing 25,000 jobs to Battersea, so the stakes are extremely high.”

However, Battersea MP Marsha De Cordova accused the council of being “out of touch”

She said: “The fact that over 21,000 people signed a petition calling on them to reverse their decision shows just how out of touch the Council is.

“This is a development with projected profits of £1.8 billion, those 250 homes were never going to stop the development from going ahead.

“We urgently need to reconsider the way that viability assessments are used in large projects like this because too often local people are being let down by promises that are never fulfilled.”

The projected figures have been refuted by the council, saying the viability study the figures are from was “years out of date” (2008).

Wandsworth Council recently published figures, approved by the Executive on July 3, which stated that 418 affordable homes were completed in 2016/17.

According to the report: “Affordable housing completions look very positive with a forecast of 390 affordable homes being delivered in 2017/18 and the potential to see 1,685 homes built over the next three years.”

The petition, along with another proposing the same, was presented at the council meeting last night.