Lewisham Shopping Centre update

The company has said the decision reflects current market and economic conditions. Having owned the shopping centre for more than 20 years, Landsec has reaffirmed its commitment to operating and improving the centre, as well as continuing to invest in the community partnerships based there. 

Mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava, said: "This administration is laser focused on delivering genuinely affordable housing and I’ve consistently said the level of social rent homes in this scheme needed to increase. I recognise the strength of feeling of those concerned about the development. I also know there were many other residents and businesses who wanted to see it come forward. The fact is the conditions for such projects are simply not favourable right now.” 

"The development environment is as tough as it has ever been, and what we have seen recently is that developers of all shapes and sizes have struggled to get development going in London. Recently, one of the country’s biggest developers announced it would no longer be building homes in London. This should serve as a stark reminder to the Government that the current approach to housing delivery is not working and that urgent reform is needed to unlock development and deliver the homes communities need.” 

"The reality of the housing crisis we face in Lewisham, where so many households are in temporary accommodation or struggling to find a home they can afford, is that we are going to need genuinely affordable housing to come forward from across the board. The way out of this crisis is through delivering social housing. Our administration remains committed to working with private sector, public sector and community partners who share our ambition to deliver affordable homes and the infrastructure that supports them.” 

"I would like to acknowledge the hard work undertaken by many, in good faith, to get the plans to where they are now.” 

"Landsec remains a valued local partner, and we will continue to work closely together to invest in and improve our town centre, including lobbying for the Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham and beyond, reopening the Model Market, and ensuring the shopping centre receives ongoing investment and improvements to make sure it remains attractive to retailers and serves our residents. 

"Our ambition for Lewisham town centre is undiminished. The Council’s £24m programme of town centre improvements is already underway. This includes investment in Lewisham Market, the redevelopment of Lewisham Library, and projects to make the town centre cleaner, safer and more attractive for residents, businesses and visitors." 

“I'm determined to see Lewisham grow sustainably, and I will always support development that is right for the people who live and work here.” 

Cllr Daniel Dream, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration, Planning and Housing Delivery said, “Lewisham is a pro development borough. We want to see homes built, town centres renewed and jobs created, and we will back schemes that deliver for residents.” 

“We also know that getting a scheme from first idea to delivery is hard, and that development partners need clear guidance to make it work. We want to do more to help, and we are willing to think outside the box on how we reduce risk for projects, from sharper advice on what we expect to practical support in bringing sites forward. My door is open to any developer who wants to talk about what it would take to deliver in Lewisham, and I want those conversations to start early.” 

“While it's disappointing that Landsec have decided to deprioritise their investment in the Lewisham Shopping Centre redevelopment, this decision reinforces the need to rethink how we deliver the homes and places our communities need. The current system is making it harder to build at the pace required and to deliver the genuinely affordable homes communities need.” 

"We recognise the challenges facing the development sector and we remain committed to working with partners who share our ambition for the borough.” 

“Lewisham has a strong track record of innovation, and we want to go further. We are exploring new ways of working with developers and investors so that schemes can work for both sides, from sharing risk to giving earlier certainty on planning. We want to work alongside developers from the earliest stages of the planning process, with clear expectations and a consistent approach so everyone knows where they stand.”  

“We will work with anyone who shares our ambition, and we are open to new ideas on how we do it.”