The Place/Ladywell has been given a reprieve.
The four-storey pop-up village, home to the Lewisham Donation Hub until next year, is set to be used as the site offices when construction begins on the old Ladywell leisure centre site off Lewisham High Street.
People in the blocks have been moved out to new accommodation as the fabric of the building is in such a poor state.
The new development – Ladywell Park Gardens – will provide 47 council homes for local families on the housing waiting list and 55 shared ownership properties for people looking to get onto the housing ladder.
The approved plans include 11 wheelchair-accessible homes, as well as a new public garden and children’s play space.The development is part of Lewisham council’s Building for Lewisham programme.
The Place/Ladywell looks set to be demolished after July 2026
The Place/Ladywell, which opened in 2016 with commercial premises and 24 two-bedroom flats above them, looks set to be demolished after July next year.
It is understood the Lewisham Donation Hub, the multibank charity set up in response to the Covid 19 pandemic, will continue to operate from the Place until the middle of 2026.
But the council has made clear that the fabric of the building is in such a poor state that it is no longer economically viable to maintain the building for the long term.
The four storey “pop-up village” was designed as a “deployable” building which could be dismantled and relocated elsewhere within the borough at a later date.
At the time, the council said the Place used a ground-breaking construction method, ensuring it could be built more quickly in just over six months and at lower cost.
The scheme was devised in partnership with internationally-renowned architecture practice Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
The council said the PLace was an innovative way for the local authority to respond to the high demand for housing in the borough as new-build and estate regeneration programmes are developed.
The intention at the time was for the structure to remain in Ladywell for no more than four years, after which it would be deconstructed, moved and reconstructed elsewhere in the borough. Sadly this will no longer be the case.
Tenants and businesses to move out of The Place as council says it can no longer maintain deterorating building
Lewisham Local, the charity which offers support to communities in the borough, is having to move out of its offices in The Place Ladywell by March next year because the fabric of the building is in such a poor state.
The Place, which was intended as a temporary building on the site of the old Ladywell Leisure centre, for four years until 2021 now looks set to be demolished next year.
The four storey building was designed as a “deployable” building which could be dismantled and relocated elsewhere within the borough at a later date.
The aim had been to use the building of 24 two bedroom flats and four ground floor commercial premises over a number of years in different locations.
Lewisham council says it has carried out improvements and repairs to extend the lifespan of the building. But recent surveys and changes to regulations “indicate it’s not economically viable to maintain the building for the long term”, says Cllr James-J Walsh, cabinet member for regeneration and planning,
He says the council has written “to those living in the building to let them know we’ll be vacating the building over the coming months and we’ve allocated two members of staff to support people into alternative accommodation.
“We’ve also informed the commercial tenants of our plans and we are working with them to find alternative premises.
“We are actively working with Lewisham Donation Hub and Lewisham Local.”
The council has planning consent for 107 homes to the rear of the site (known as Ladywell Gardens), which will be a mix of social rented and shared ownership.
Cllr Walsh says the council is “reviewing options for the rest of the site and will share proposals in due course”.