Lewisham announce builder for 102 homes at former Ladywell leisure centre
Lewisham Council have announced Higgins as the contractor set to build 102 homes on the former Ladywell leisure centre site.
The authority are proclaiming it as “100 per cent affordable” while indulging in back-slapping though less than half – 47 – are council homes. The rest are shared ownership. A tenure struggling badly due to the need to pay a mortgage, rent then service charges.
The development named Ladywell Park Gardens sits to the rear of the modular “temporary” block installed a decade ago. The idea was it would be able to be dismantled and moved around to other areas as permanent development begun.
It was then discovered it couldn’t be moved. And so a plan for it to remain for five years didn’t happen, it’s still there and that’s led to a potential net loss of new homes across the former leisure centre site compared to what is possible if it had moved as planned.
It would have been a lot easier and cheaper in the long term to simply build permanent homes in the first place with a higher number at social or council rent level.
A Lewisham Council report in 2021 stated that without Ladywell’s modular PLACE structure the overall site could see 112 social homes and 151 of other tenures. With it remaining there’s 47 to the rear in the new development and just 24 in the modular structure reaching 71 in total – a reduction from 112 council homes if a holistic development had occurred.
Housing shortage
A total of 47 homes on site in Ladywell won’t go far in the borough with well above 2,000 households now in temporary accommodation at vast cost. Those rising costs have led to service cuts across the borough.
Still, 47 is more than proposed on the large Besson Street site in New cross owned by the authority, which remains empty 18 years after tenants evicted from council housing.
A grand total of zero social or council homes are planned on public land there.
Not only is the modular homes block still there, but the retail units are looking shabby. This is just another sign of the neglect that happens on the watch of Lewisham council.
I could not agree with you more anonymous201486 l.went passed there other day and thought just how shabby the retail units were looking. I think it will be sometime before the modular homes are removed.
I bet that too would unlock the potential for the planned Bakerloo Line extension to Hayes and Bromley via Lewisham from Elephant and Castle.
My daughter was housed here for 5 years the concept was great at 1st but once it started to fall apart repairs were ignored ,it became a fire hazard with numerous smoke alarms fitted inside and out due to combustible cladding outside of building walk ways replaced with metal flooring
The alarm system was faulty with it constantly going off in the middle of the night fortunately the fire station was next door but it was a regular occurance. Anto social behaviour by drug dealers stairwells filthy with human waste and other homeless people mainly men sleeping rough under the stairwells by the post box’s, drug paraphernalia found including narcon for heroine overdoses ..it was a living hell for families with teenagers and young babies .the lift was constantly broken and there were 4 floors .
It was meant to be bulldozed in March 2025 but still there rotting from the inside
.it’s a disgrace and Lewisham council should be ashamed
.what started out as a safe space for homeless families became a mould ridden antisocial scary place that could combust at any time