1,200 social homes delivered in Lewisham since 2018
Over 1,200 social homes for local families have been delivered since 2018, Lewisham Council has announced, exceeding the Council’s original target of 1,000 homes.
The new homes have been delivered through the Council’s house-building programme – Building for Lewisham – and by pushing private developers to increase the number of social homes built in new developments. With around 10,000 families on the housing waiting list in Lewisham, building new social housing has been a key part of the Council’s work to tackle the housing crisis.
To celebrate the announcement, Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, visited the latest Building for Lewisham scheme in Forest Hill to meet new residents including Luz, who showed the Mayor around her new home. The development on Canonbie Road provides six new homes for homeless families, enabling them to move out of nightly-paid accommodation such as hostels and bed and breakfasts. The site was previously occupied by a derelict building deemed unfit for human habitation, but has since been transformed into a high-quality social housing development with a shared garden for residents to enjoy.
Six new family-sized homes are also nearing completion on Marnock Road in Crofton Park. The Mayor visited the scheme – which has benefited from GLA funding – on Tuesday, accompanied by the Deputy Mayor of London for Housing, Tom Copley; Cllr Brenda Dacres, Deputy Mayor of Lewisham; and Cllr Paul Bell, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning. As well as delivering six four-bedroom houses for local families on the Council’s housing waiting list, the development is providing new electric vehicle charging points and additional cycle parking for the surrounding area.
Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, said:
“These new homes are life-changing for so many people in Lewisham.
“I want to thank everybody who has worked to deliver these much-needed homes and I hope the families who have moved into their new homes over the last few years enjoy many years of happiness.
“While it is fantastic to see this progress, we know there is still much to be done. With around 10,000 families still on our housing waiting list, it’s vital that we continue building new social homes right across Lewisham.”