Goldsmiths drop plan to move to Catford

Goldsmiths have announced the dropping of a planned move to Catford announced at the start of 2026.

The proposal would have seen around 600 students move to the former Town Hall in an agreement between Lewisham Council and the university.

Lewisham Council state that Goldsmiths now plan to “consolidate their estate onto their New Cross campus.”

A council spokesperson said: “We worked with Goldsmiths in good faith for around a year to prepare the Old Town Hall to welcome students from September 2027, so we are surprised and frustrated by this decision.

“We know how important this move was to the people of Catford and our partners.”

Goldsmiths decision

“This decision was made by Goldsmiths based on their own financial and strategic considerations following a change in university leadership last month.

“We made significant investment into the building to facilitate the move and officers were working on plans for the move right up until we received the communication from Goldsmiths that they would not be proceeding.

“We will take some time to consider how to move forward in terms of the long-term use of the Old Town Hall, as part of our refreshed masterplan for Catford. We remain committed to revitalising the area and working with the community to bring genuine improvements to Catford.”

Goldsmiths have seen financial issues in the recent past with redundancies and cuts. A strike has been ongoing for months.

Catford woes

It’s the latest bit of bad news for Catford following the scrapping of long-held plans to change the town centre including its one-way system.

That has now been greatly reduced in scope with plans to re-route the south circular dropped. Government funding was not forthcoming.

Many housing plans in the town have also gone nowhere including Catford Island, despite many years worth of proposals.

Much of the island site comprises scruffy spaces, out-of-town style retail parks and extensive car parking.