The redevelopment of the shopping centre would have been a catalyst for a wider revival of central Lewisham. Now it has been put on hold by Landsec after the council declined to back the second phase of development. So what happens now, asks Lewisham resident Chris.
Last month I wrote for Ladywell Live about why I believed the redevelopment of Lewisham Shopping Centre could finally give our town centre the future it deserves.
Yesterday, I was gutted to hear that Landsec has “deprioritised” those plans – stating “recent statements from Lewisham council also make clear that the administration is not able to support the next phase.”
Landsec was offering a £1.5 billion investment in much-needed new homes, new jobs for local people, a major new public park, a community-run music venue and a permanent home for the Model Market – all at no cost to the taxpayer.
It would have been the catalyst for a wider revival of central Lewisham, bringing new shops, restaurants, and businesses. Instead, those plans have been put on hold.
The wider area will also be affected, with over 1,000 properties not being built, private rents continuing to rise as demand out strips supply. Not to mention the lost investment from the developer into the Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) which would have provided almost £17m of investment into services and facilities that support residents.
And the consequences will be long-lasting. For years we have campaigned for the Bakerloo line extension; a developer prepared to invest £1.5 billion in Lewisham was a powerful voice in that campaign.
We now risk losing that too. Make no mistake: “On hold” does not mean these plans will simply return unchanged. The longer this drags on, the harder the economics of redevelopment are likely to become.
If a scheme does eventually return, why assume it will offer the same investment in public spaces, community spaces and affordable housing? It may simply never happen.
There has understandably been considerable debate about the amount of affordable and social housing proposed. As someone who bought a flat through an affordable housing scheme in the borough I love to call home, I understand that argument wholeheartedly.
I want more social and affordable homes built in Lewisham. But campaigning for them must ultimately result in homes actually being built.
There is nothing progressive about winning the argument for higher percentages on social media if the outcome is 100% of nothing. That is the uncomfortable reality we now need to confront.
The “Save Lewisham Shopping Centre” campaign has welcomed Landsec’s decision, stating: “With the Landsec redevelopment plans halted, this now gives room for alternative proposals that actually focus on upgrading our town centre without causing mass displacement.”
But what alternative? And who, exactly, was going to be displaced?
Landsec owns the shopping centre, nobody can force them to redevelop the site. The only displacement proposed was an empty car park and abandoned office block owned by a multi-millionaire based in a tax haven.
Any credible alternative requires Landsec to bring forward another viable scheme, or the unlikely route to someone else taking control of the site and funding its regeneration.
In my previous article, I asked opponents of the redevelopment a simple question: what exactly are we saving?
That question feels even more important now. We are not preserving a thriving town centre. We are leaving an ageing shopping centre and large area of underused land as they are.
The redevelopment, in response to suggestions from residents, recognised that a town centre needs to be more than somewhere you go to shop.
Lewisham needs places where people can meet friends, eat, listen to music, spend an evening and simply enjoy being in their neighbourhood. That matters for community life. It matters for local businesses. And it matters if we are serious about creating a night-time economy in Lewisham.
Speaking to local residents, I know I am far from alone in feeling angry and deeply disappointed that it has come to this.
“This is so disappointing to hear. I’ve lived in and around Lewisham since I was a teenager and I’ve also spent most of my working life working in the borough. I’m in my 40s now – so I know better than most that Lewisham really needed this development,” says Aaron of New Cross .
“Somehow losing 1,700 homes including 98 council homes and 230 homes for key workers, is being held up as a matter of principle. Well there’ll be no new council homes at all now, says Julian in Catford.
“It is incredibly disappointing that Landsec’s redevelopment of the shopping centre is not going ahead.This was an opportunity to breathe new life into the areaand it feels as though we have been badly let down,” says Matthew in Ladywell.
These are omments from just a few of the people I have spoken to in the last day.
What happens now? Where is the alternative investment, and who will deliver it? How will it provide more affordable housing, better public spaces and greater community benefit while remaining financially viable?
Most importantly, when will it happen and who will pay for it? The worst possible outcome is that a decade from now we look across at the same ageing shopping centre, the same underused land and the same unrealised potential wondering how we
allowed a genuine opportunity to transform our town centre to slip away.