Criterion Capital wants to build a 16-storey apart-hotel, which would contain serviced apartments booked using a hotel system, with up to 175 rooms.
A 15-storey tower with up to 150 rooms in shared flats and a seven-storey building with around 90 flats are also planned.
Criterion Capital already owns Britannia Point, an 18-storey tower to the north of the potential development site.
In 2022, one of the glass panes fell from the building and smashed on the pavement below.
The new proposals come six months after Merton Council rejected the developer’s bid to build two towers at the site, the tallest of which would have been 26-storeys high.
Three Labour councillors for the area, Cllrs Attawar, Cooper-Marbiah and Neaverson, have now said that they also oppose these updated designs.
In a joint statement, they said: “We think it’s ridiculous that Criterion believes they can build three new towers in our community when they cannot even take care of the tower they have currently.”
They claimed that the developer still owes Merton Council almost £3 million for the cost of the scaffolding put up around Britannia Point by the local authority after the windowpane fell from the building.
But council opposition leader, Liberal Democrat Cllr Anthony Fairclough, has claimed Labour’s campaign against the new towers is “deeply cynical”.
“Irrespective of what councillors say, it’s entirely within their gift to put in place rules that would have limited the heights and controlled what the development looks like,” he explained.
The council’s local plan, which sets out a vision for future development in the borough, states that buildings up to 15-storeys high “may be appropriate” at this site.
“Ultimately, if you’re unhappy with 16-storeys, you’re unhappy with 15-storeys,” Cllr Fairclough said.
“So, if you don’t think 15-storeys is right, don’t put it in the rules.”
The Liberal Democrat politician said he did not yet have his own position on the plans but acknowledged that residents “feel strongly” about the building heights of new developments.
“We do need housing which is why it’s so important to get this right,” he said.
“The local plan should set out what is acceptable and then we should stick to that.”
In response, Cllrs Attawar, Cooper-Marbiah and Neaverson, claimed that Merton Liberal Democrats’ position was “deeply disappointing”.
“As local Labour councillors we have been consistently and vocally opposed to Criterion building giant towers on this site, something which can’t be said for the local Lib Dems who don’t seem to have made up their minds on the issue,” they said.
“The reality is that local residents don’t trust Criterion with this development.
“We will continue to campaign with our residents locally, raising their concerns and standing up for their interests.”
Criterion Capital has been approached for a response.
