Delivering new homes for Catford's community
Earlier this month we announced our plans for Thomas Lane Yard – the first housing project to come forward as part of the Council’s vision for the future of Catford. Up to 100 new homes will be built, including 40 social homes for families on the Council’s housing register, as well as new public space and flexible workspace for local businesses.
Delivering new homes that local residents can afford is at the heart of our plans for Catford - and Thomas Lane Yard is just the start.
Tackling the housing crisis
Right now, there are 10,000 households on the Council’s housing register waiting for a decent, affordable place to live. These are local people, families and individuals who, in some cases, have been waiting many years for a permanent home of their own.
Tackling the housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face in Lewisham and across the country as a whole. How can we build new homes that local people can genuinely afford? And how can we build them quickly enough?
We have already made great progress over the last three years through our Building for Lewisham programme, delivering new social homes across the borough for families on our housing waiting list.
With every new home we build, we are making a transformative difference to the lives of local residents, providing them with a safe, secure and affordable place to live. We’ve secured £70m from the Mayor of London to support this work over the coming years, enabling us to build an additional 285 social homes across Lewisham.
As well as building new social homes for those residents most in need, we’ve increased the percentage of affordable housing in private developments, ensuring developers deliver more homes that local people can afford.
As we look to the future, we want to see more homes built in Lewisham for local residents. 2,700 new homes are earmarked for Catford over the next 10-15 years and the Catford Town Centre Framework sets out how we can deliver these homes and other improvements that local people have told us they want to see. These are ambitious targets, but they reflect the scale of the challenge we face when it comes to tackling the housing crisis and delivering the new homes we so desperately need.
Setting the bar high for developers
In Catford, with much of the town centre under Council ownership there’s a real opportunity for the plans to be steered in a positive direction for everyone in the community, with a clear focus on new social homes and investment that reflects the priorities of Catford residents.
For those sites that fall outside of the Council’s ownership, such as Plassy Island and the Halfords/Wickes site, we will push private developers hard so that they meet our high standards and ambitions for Catford.
We will push for developer-led projects to deliver at least 50% affordable homes, with 70% of this target at social rent, accessible to local people on lower incomes. If we can achieve these targets, it will see 1,350 affordable homes built in Catford over the coming years, including nearly 1,000 new social homes for local families on the Council’s housing register.
The Catford Town Centre Framework also sets clear expectations for developers in terms of the quality of housing we want to see. Local people have told us they want to see well-designed and sustainable buildings with high architectural standards and that’s exactly what we will be demanding of new developments.
Investing in Catford
As well as delivering new homes, the Catford Town Centre Framework seeks to create positive change in Catford for everyone, ensuring real benefits for new and existing residents. The views of local people have been vital in developing our plans for Catford, with over 3,000 comments and ideas helping shape the Framework Plan. The message from residents has been clear – people want to see investment in Catford that benefits the local community.
That investment is already underway, with several major projects already announced. The refurbishment of the Broadway Theatre is due to be complete next year; the restoration of the former Catford Constitutional Club will allow this much-loved building to re-open as a pub and an art, performance and music space; and planned improvements to Holbeach Road will support Catford Mews’ plans for a new music venue.
We’re also committed to making Catford the greenest town centre in London, creating new, green public spaces with additional trees and planting; improving routes for walking and cycling; and re-routing the South Circular to create a largely car-free town centre.
Supporting the local economy is a crucial part of our vision for Catford too. New affordable workspace will provide opportunities for local businesses and the creation of a new civic hub will help bring hundreds of jobs to the town centre.
Realising our vision for Catford
Delivering new homes will be vital in securing the necessary investment to help realise this vision for Catford and bring about the positive change local people have told us they want to see.
Over the coming years, as new housing projects come forward, local residents will benefit from new genuinely affordable homes and much-needed investment in the town centre, helping to create a better Catford for everyone.