Lewisham development flood: Energy Centre rebuild needed
A development in Lewisham which saw all residents evicted after a major flood has seen an update on repair work.
Lewisham Gateway phase two saw a troubled construction taking many years to complete with one delay after a contractor walked away from the job.
Upon completion residents started to move in though no retail unit had been occupied when a burst pipe flooded an energy centre back in March.
An update today states replacing key equipment is required before the energy centre is rebuilt.
Get Living operate the build-to-rent site and estimate reopening between mid to late 2026. It was built by Balfour Beatty for developer Muse.
The site includes 649 units. Outline permission was granted as long ago as 2009. Phase one has been complete for some time.
Public realm maintenance hasn’t been great.
Damaged sections have remained in place for a long period of time. It’s not a great welcome to Lewisham.
Retail units
Flooding impacted some retail units on site though it’s stated “the process of finding occupants for these units, including the cinema, is still moving forward”.
When the incident occurred a Sainsbury’s had been confirmed but relatively little else seemed imminent.
A central through-route was created to avoid passing busy bus stops when heading between the station and town centre shops.
This leads to a crossing over Rennell Street which one day will enable a through-route on what is currently Lewisham shopping centre.
If Get Living meet the estimate of mid to late 2026 reopening that would ensure more than a year’s closure due to the flood.
All eyes now on whether that target is met – and whether they manage to secure more occupants for the retail units and cinema.
I complained about the state of the public realm. Dying trees, graffiti, mess etc to Muse. I got the usual warm words back and no material action. Interestingly thought it quickly became apparent that Muse, the phase two owners and TFL are all now parcelled up on the site so there is no consistent site management.
Which suggests the development will look like Lewisham High Street within 10 years. Shambles
If Lewisham Council tax payers are being billed for remedial work the developer should be doing it would be a scandal. Lewisham gateway # is horrendous, ugly badly designed and maintained ined public realm. Not even a bus shelter at the reinstated stop on the north side.
For those of us who live nearby, the Gateway is totally, utterly depressing, a situation made worse by the absence of any hint from Lewisham council as to who is to blame or who will be made to pay for the present shambles. We now learn that the energy centre needs to be rebuilt, a process likely to take a year. In the meantime pedestrians are barred from the cut-through to the zebra crossing across the 6-lane highway which separates the Gateway from the shopping centre. Some years ago, I told my young grandson that the Gateway had been runner-up in the Carbuncle Cup award. “You mean, there’s somewhere worse?” he asked. Well, there is now.
What happens to all the residents and the businesses who were planning to move there?
The failure of Lewisham Gateway (severely delayed build time, flooding, none of the promised amenities) doesn’t bode well for the redevelopment of Lewisham shopping centre. Improvements for pedestrians were promised. However, the towers channel a wind tunnel onto the sole pedestrian crossing, which doesn’t connect directly to buses or Lewisham shopping centre. The new bus stop (for Greenwich buses) has no seating. The most direct route from Lewisham shopping centre to the buses has no pedestrian crossing and is across several lanes of traffic. Lewisham planning officers have obviously never tried to go shopping in Lewisham centre then take the bus home. None of this bodes well for the redevelopment of Lewisham shopping centre. Lewisham council is always rabbiting on about active travel but when it comes to improving pedestrian and bus infrastructure, it does absolutely nothing.