Catford housing development on car park approved

A development of new homes on Thomas Lane in Catford was approved by Lewisham Council’s Planning Committee last night.

It’s a public development on public land providing 113 “affordable” homes, however of that total just 39 is social housing.

Lewisham councillors took to social media to celebrate the news, though the low total will make a minimal dent given the borough has 2,000 households in temporary and emergency housing at vast cost to the authority – which plays a part in various cuts to services.

Remaining homes are shared ownership/intermediate. Shared ownership is a tough sell these days with a torrent of bad press given “owners” have to not only pay a mortgage but also rent then service charges.

Still, it could be argued this is better than selling to a private developer and seeing even fewer low cost homes given the sheer scale of the problem now seen not only in Lewisham but across London and the wider country. According to The Guardian, the UK has the most homeless households of any developed nation.

Not alone

Whether this site proceeds a bit quicker than Besson Street in New Cross where Lewisham have sat on public land for 15 years without a single spade in the ground remains to be seen.

That site is a joint development without a single social home on site. Public housing on site was demolished 18 years ago.

Lewisham borough has seen various public and private plots fail to be built in recent years despite planning approval.

Private developers have failed to build at numerous sites including Convoy’s Wharf where 3,500 homes were given the green light in an outline approval, with subsequent detailed plans also approved but nothing has happened.

Approved but not built

Hong Kong developer Hutchison Whampoa even managed to see then-Mayor Boris Johnson call in the decision back in 2013 to speed up development. Twelve years on and despite approval both for the wider site and detailed plan in a number of plots no homes have been built.

Back then Boris Johnson stated:

“We need to build thousands of new homes in the capital and proposals to do that at Convoys Wharf have stalled for far too long.

“I am pleased that we have been able to work on a scheme that will have enormous social and economic benefits for local people while preserving the heritage aspects of the site.”

Another long-delayed site concerns a former Lewisham Council plot beside the Laban Centre where plans were drawn up eight years ago.

There’s plenty of other examples locally including Sun Wharf – and a post on that site will follow shortly as residential plans long stalled are now changing to student housing.

Meanwhile estimates are that homelessness will continue to rise alongside related costs to the taxpayer over coming years.