Catford Jobcentre coming down to make way for 45 new flats
Demolition work has begun on Catford’s former Jobcentre as 2017 plans for 45 new flats get underway.
Lewisham Council gave the green light in December 2018 to construct the new block at 9-19 Rushey Green. The current building is rather austere yet handsome enough. The new block is pretty anonymous.
The six-storey building will have commercial space at street level adjacent to Tesco Express. There are 15 “affordable” homes of which six are shared-ownership which has come in for increasing criticism as a tenure – with rent payable on top of a mortgage plus often matched with other fees.
The development proposed “starter homes” which are supposed to be slightly cheaper than market homes – though that was to be achieved by throwing away minimum size regulations. It’s been shown that small homes with inadequate living space and storage contribute to poor mental health.
The plans would have seen developers make very healthy margins – aided by Help to Buy – by providing “cheaper” yet ever smaller homes.
The Conservative Government pledged 200,000 such homes in 2014 but none have been built according to a report out this month. A blessing perhaps, though they’ve not been replaced with good quality, sizable homes instead. Housebuilding still lags far below numbers achieved during most decades of the 20th century and below existing targets.
Another public site sold off to private developers for a trickle of “affordable” homes then?
Again and again we see this with local and central Government. More homeless, more cost to taxpayers.
What alternative solution has been agreed to enable the residents to go somewhere else to receive support for finding employment?
hi Jo. This building was owned by a private landlord not the Government the same as Woolwich Job centre and many many other Job Centres around the Country.
The building closed to the public in January 2018 and staff moved to other Job Centres.
The leases were just not renewed by the landlords forcing them to close so they could redevelopment, Hence what happen in Deptford Job Centre a few years back which is now a pub called the Job Centre and a pound shop,
Most enlightening, thank you. I always found this a somewhat dreary little stretch so I do welcome something new and hopefully more cheerful. I notice the ground floor set up for what looks like retail units: hopefully they will offer it to something other than a supermarket (the old Tesco near the railway bridge springs to mind) and bring a little more colour to the lineup.
I understand the landlord of the building originally wanted a cafe/restaurant at ground level but local cafe owners opposed this. So I am guessing the ground level commercial unit(s) will be retail of some description.
However, it is good to see the regeneration of Catford starting with this development at the old Job Centre. I hope it will not be too long now before work starts on the redevelopment of the nearby MIlford Towers which is in urgent need of redevelopment. The area has also suffered with a lot of anti social behaviour issues of late,
I won’t be sorry to see it go! Have many unpleasant memories of queueing for hours, signing on or awaiting interview for some pathetic reason or other in late 80’s with a baby and then
toddler in tow, air thick with cigarette smoke (smoking legal in public buildings then). Hated the place.
the whole of catford needs a massive makeover,its just a dreary place although some improvements have been made.it would also be nice to have other then more coffee shops etc to have a butchers and maybe cex,there is too much of the same thing in catford so massive improvement would be good.