A local campaign group has called on their council to reject plans to redevelop Lewisham Shopping Centre over a lack of proposed social housing.
The Save Lewisham Shopping Centre group is opposing mega-plans to demolish the site and replace it with towers up to 35 storeys high at a strategic planning meeting tomorrow.
The campaigners, who said the plans did not meet the needs of its people, launched a petition on 22 September which now has more than 1,000 signatures.
The proposal plans to completely regenerate the area, build more than 1,700 new homes and is set to be recommended for approval by Lewisham’s planning officers.
John McGrath, 52, a leading member of the campaign and local group Lewisham People’s Assembly said: “The reason we are campaigning is because of a lack of social housing in the proposal.”
Of the 1,700 homes planned, a total of 329 would be affordable – 231 of these would be for discounted rent and 98 for social rent.
According to the campaign group – made up of both the Lewisham People’s Assembly and local residents – the discounted homes would only be affordable on an annual income of £48,000, leaving just under 6% of the proposed properties for social housing.
Another leading campaign member Faris, 21, who did not want to share their second name, said: “It’s blatantly obvious to everyone that the amount of social housing they are planning to provide isn’t enough, especially given there is a shortfall of social housing at the moment.”
According to data published by the Centre for London, Lewisham had the tenth highest number of households on the social housing register in London in 2022-23, with more than 10,000 households.
During this period, the average waiting time for a 1-bed property was just over six years, the highest in London, while expected times for 2-bed and 3-bed properties were roughly three to four years.
Faris said: “6% is not enough – we need bigger numbers. The council have a responsibility to their constituents – by approving something which has so little social housing, they are failing to do this.”
As well as a housing shortfall, Lewisham had the 12th highest poverty rate in London in 2023/2024 according to Trust for London.
With the majority of the planned homes set for private rent, Faris believes most Lewisham residents – in particular, its low-income families, younger people and Black African and Caribbean community – will not be able to afford them.
He believes this will “accelerate gentrification”.
He added: “It doesn’t matter how many homes you build – if none of them are affordable, what is the point of them?”
Jon Watson, the development director of Landsec, who has owned the shopping centre for more than 20 years, said the plans have the potential to improve the lives of people who live in Lewisham.
Alongside the new homes, they plan to build a new shopping centre, a new rooftop meadow, a new music venue, a new food market and three new public squares.
Landsec claim the project will provide more green areas for the borough, create thousands of new jobs and pump £160 million into the local economy every year.
As part of its consultation process, Landsec’s planning application notes “widespread backing for the redevelopment of the shopping centre, with many seeing it as essential for reversing decline.”
It also noted “strong enthusiasm for a new music venue” and “lots of support for 1,700 new homes, citing the urgent need for more and better housing in the borough.”
The campaign group recognises the shopping centre and its surrounding areas require attention.
But Ben Woodward, 27, chair of the Lewisham People’s Assembly and member of the campaign said: “We are not against regeneration and we are not against redevelopment – what we are against is the type of houses that are going to be built.”
Eight Lewisham councillors are set to vote on the planning application tomorrow
Councillor Hau-Yu Tam of the Green Party is expected to oppose the application.
Save Lewisham Shopping Centre will be holding a rally at Lewisham Town Hall on tomorrow, hoping to encourage the councillors to either reject the plans or at least change the number of social houses proposed.
If the plans are approved, the group said it would continue to campaign against the development.
Lewisham Council said they were unable to comment as the planning application is still live.
Featured Image Credit: Lewis Callery
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