Goldsmiths University has dropped plans to move some students and courses to Catford town hall.
The plans, first announced at the beginning of 2026, would have seen about 600 art and design students move into the former town hall next summer.
But Lewisham council said Goldsmiths now planned to move the courses onto its New Cross campus. The council said it was “surprised and frustrated” by the move.
Goldsmith is currently implementing a £22 million budget cut under its third major restructuring and redundancy program in five years as it struggles with a severe financial deficit and falling student numbers.
The cuts have put over a fifth of the workforce at risk, threatening hundreds of jobs across academic departments and professional services. Academic staff have been on strike since June in protest at the cuts.
Lewisham said it had “worked with Goldsmiths in good faith for around a year to prepare the Old Town Hall to welcome students from September 2027.”
The decision to drop the move “was made by Goldsmiths based on their own financial and strategic considerations following a change in university leadership last month.
“We made significant investment into the building to facilitate the move and officers were working on plans for the move right up until we received the communication from Goldsmiths that they would not be proceeding.
“We will take some time to consider how to move forward in terms of the long-term use of the Old Town Hall, as part of our refreshed masterplan for Catford.
“We remain committed to revitalising the area and working with the community to bring genuine improvements to Catford.”
The Goldsmiths’ move comes after the council put forward a reduced regeneration plan for Catford town centre after government funding for the realignment of the South Circular was witheld
Under the scaled back plans, the existing road layout would remain and the demolition of the shopping centre would be shelved. Existing sites such as Milford Towers would be repurposed and a “retro-fit first approach” would be adopted.
The Goldsmiths news follows the decision by developer Landsec to puts its ambitious plans to redevelop Lewisham shopping centre on hold after the council declined to back the next phase of the scheme because of a lack of social housing.