Lewisham shopping centre demolition: New consultation underway
Landsec have begun a new round of consultation on plans to demolish Lewisham shopping centre and construct up to 2,500 homes and commercial space.
Previous consultation held in 2021 revealed little information, with more detail on forthcoming housing totals coming in British Land’s annual financial results that year.
This consultation is similarly pretty thin on specific design ideas, though it does confirm what was quite clear with a new development; a focus on permeability and through-routes across the site are in, and a covered shopping centre is out.
The site sits opposite Lewisham Central which is currently rising between the station and the shopping centre, with the intention that a main thoroughfare through that site from the railway station will meet a route through the shopping centre site.
An arrival square is proposed on the current shopping centre site. I’ve added a blue arrow to show the link from Lewisham Central:
Expect the tallest buildings in this area and Molesworth Street given the proximity to a tower rising over the road, and the existing tower formerly home to Citibank.
The current view directly opposite the main crossing shows a blank wall and current tower.
One idea mooted is to create “a new green public route which we are calling ‘the Lewisham Loop’: repurposing the car park ramp to create ground floor and first floor public spaces.”
I recently took a look around the site including the car park which closed for vehicles offering a somewhat eerie spectacle on foot, with views across Lewisham. Click here to view that post.
The site also proposes to improve Lewisham’s night time economy, with the consultation stating “An upper-level food area with restaurants, bars and other leisure activities which will create a new night-time economy in Lewisham”, presumably along the lines of the former Model Market.
Site split
The overall site is split into three areas.
They are categorised:
1: Food & beverage, leisure, culture, workspace
2: High Street retail & Market
3: Convenience and small local services
Area 2 will be a High Street area where most homes are located. The former Woolworths building facing Lewisham High Street is to be retained.
Taller buildings ware set to be located along Molesworth Street with heights reducing closer to Lewisham High Street.
There’s a lot that’s positive about these plans at this stage, and the latest round of consultation presents no great surprise.
Landsec may not have revealed housing numbers in consultation but we already knew the intention thanks to their financial results, and mixed-use in a major town centre near good transport links is eminently sensible.
Additional residents will also provide a big boost to commercial business; not just here but at other plots in the area.
Improved links through the site are to be welcomed. Now we just await the actual building design and massing – which hopefully will follow reasonably soon.
To have your say and view details click here.
LandSec, I think – not British Land.
And what happens to the market we have no parking places in lewisham all they are going to do is create more traffic and more trouble to the area
The market stays and is not on shopping centre land. Traders would welcome thousands more custom on their doorstep.
Creating parking spaces brings more traffic. They’ll be thousands more residents within walking distance, plus thousands more within 10 mins on a train (eg Kidbrooke) and the DLR (many homes on Isle of Dogs).
Car-centred town centres in inner London are dying as the population rises, reversing a decades long trend.
@Micheala Bleau: not true. There is paid surface car parks on Clarendon Rise and Slaithwaite Road. I don’t know if the one next to Riverdale House is still there – it always had a temporary look – and the cycle lane may have caused its closure. “Free” spaces can be found at Matalan and Tesco’s. If you are not familiar with Lewisham town centre, you wouldn’t know this.
So what will happen to the shops in the centre example marks and spencer ?
I wouldn’t park my car in a Matalan or a tesco car than a walk over to the market and the new shopping area its OK when the weather’s nice,but a different thing when it’s pouring down and these’s 2 companies will get wise and hire a parking company with cameras or install parking tickets machines,plus there’s are not a lot of parking spaces available to accommodate cars for everyone!
If you are parking in a tesco car park then they will do there food shopping in tesco!
The 2 car parks mentioned are surrounded with single & double yellows,
Lewisham Council will rubbing there hands with the increase in penalty notices.
I know that all companies connected with new builds would like to start like yesterday, but what time factor has Landscape has inmind for demolition,start of build and the end of completion date and shops & tenants moving in within the whole site!
This scheme is about building homes, the future of the shopping centre is secondary to this. This is primarily a business decision to maximise income and reduce retail space. I am very concerned about what this will mean for us as residents in terms of the facilities available to us. There is talk of restaurants and building the night time economy which is positive but retaining sufficient retail space and a varied offer is important too. Land sec are conspicuously quiet about the need for infrastructure to support the scheme i.e. additional school spaces, GP surgery, improving transport links etc. School places are already at a premium which the existing developments so what will happen when the new properties are occupied.
@Mr Patrice Johnson: Matalan and Tesco’s specify how long you are allowed to park, but there is no active monitoring.
‘The 2 car parks mentioned are surrounded with single & double yellows, Lewisham Council will rubbing there hands with the increase in penalty notices.’
This has nothing to do with the paid car parks. If you are stupid enough to ignore them, then you deserve the fixed penalty notice.
People who live in these new developments are mostly young professionals not families. Since when is zone 2 a place to come to raise a family? As such schools are not an issue.
I welcome this new group of people, it will bring a higher income to the area and improve amenities. We don’t all need poundlands and grubby markets in a central location. Out with the old, in with the new. Areas change.