This iconic south London shopping centre is being destroyed to build 1,700 new homes

Lewisham’s town centre will soon change forever, as the shopping centre built in the 1970s will be knocked down to make way for thousands of new homes.

Major plans to demolish the legendary shopping centre and replace it with blocks of flats are set to be approved later this week. The developer, Landsec Lewisham Limited, has applied for permission to bulldoze the mall and multi-storey car park and build towers up to 35 storeys high in its place. Currently, the shopping centre is home to more than 65 outlets, including H&M, M&S and Boots. 

Outlined in a 10-year plan, Landsec wants to build 1,744 new homes, of which just 329 (19 percent) will be affordable. Out of the 329 affordable homes, 98 would be for social rent and 231 would be rented at discount rates or to key workers. The remainder would be privately rented. The plans also include new student digs, which would house 661 students in a 23-storey co-living block containing 445 homes.  

Landsec also plans to knock down the Riverdale Hall Leisure Box, 72-82 Lewisham High Street (currently a Boots) and the north eastern entrance to the shopping centre. Some shops along Lewisham high street would remain. 

The developers have promised to build a new 500-capacity music venue and rooftop wild meadow, and have hinted at the return of the Model Market food court which closed in 2019. 

The proposals have received 784 responses from the public, comprising 105 objections, 637 responses in support and 42 neutral comments. Opponents are demanding for at least 50 percent of the new homes to be genuinely affordable, while there are fears that the new blocks will contribute to gentrification. 

The Lewisham People’s Assembly has launched a petition to stop the plans, which it called ‘social cleansing’ and ‘a blueprint for gentrification that will displace our community, destroy a vital hub, and serve only the interests of corporate profit.’ At the time of writing (October 15) the petition has around 1,300 signatures. 

Greenwich Council said: ‘While the scheme would appear as part of a tall building cluster, it risks harming the open character of Blackheath and the setting of heritage assets. The report requests additional winter views to fully assess visibility and potential harm. Greenwich concludes that some harm would occur and asks Lewisham to weigh this against public benefits before making a decision.’

A Landsec spokesperson said: ‘We’ve spent years working with the community to design our plans, many elements of which such as the meadow on top of the shopping centre, community-owned music venue, model market re-opening and both covered and uncovered shopping areas were ideas thought-up by local people.

‘Our plans will mean the shopping centre stays open. We’ll take it down in stages and replace it with a brand-new centre. All the shops people told us they like will stay, but we’ll be able to create more choice – particularly for eating, drinking and entertainment at night.

‘The comprehensive redevelopment also includes over 1,700 homes – 20 percent of which will be a mix of different affordable housing options to rent, including social housing and London Living Rent homes for key workers.’

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