More than 400 tenants displaced from The Filigree in Lewisham after a major flood are now working towards an October 2027 return, as reconstruction of the development’s underground energy centre begins.
The revised target extends the disruption well beyond the timetable that had placed reopening in October 2026. The change is a significant new development for residents who left their homes after a burst mains water pipe flooded the energy centre in February 2025, cutting water and power supplies across the affected part of the scheme.
The Filigree is the second phase of Lewisham Gateway, close to Lewisham station. It contains 649 rental homes, including 106 London Living Rent homes and co-living accommodation, alongside commercial space intended for shops, leisure uses and a cinema. The neighbourhood had only recently begun welcoming residents when the flood forced the evacuation.
The flood affected the underground plant that provides essential services to the development. Damage to mechanical and electrical equipment left the phase without power or running water, while the loss of infrastructure also prevented commercial units from being fitted out. The immediate response involved emergency accommodation, followed by longer-term interim arrangements for residents unable to return home.
During the recovery period, residents were offered a range of options, including moves to other Get Living neighbourhoods at matched rent, the ability to live elsewhere while suspending rent, or the option to end a tenancy. London Living Rent residents were included in the offer of a move at matched rent despite the lack of equivalent homes at the alternative sites. Council tax relief was also arranged for tenants retaining a Filigree tenancy while unable to occupy their home.
Earlier assessments had indicated that remediation could take between six and 12 months. By January 2026, the expected completion date had moved to October 2026, subject to work beginning promptly. The current programme instead works towards reopening in October 2027. It is a target date rather than a guarantee, with a substantial programme still required before homes and services can return to normal operation.
Work has now started on rebuilding the underground energy centre. The programme follows technical assessment, planning and preparatory work, and involves the replacement of key equipment and materials in a complex below-ground setting. The damaged incoming water pipe was replaced during the earlier recovery work, allowing water to be reintroduced gradually across the estate, but restoring the energy centre remains central to reopening the affected buildings.
A further change to the programme is that the rebuild does not need to go through the Government’s Building Safety Regulator. That removes a regulatory step which had previously been expected to add time to the project. It does not itself settle the cause of the 2025 failure or determine responsibility for it; the published material does not provide a public finding on ultimate liability.
The new timetable matters not only for the households still living away from The Filigree, but also for the wider Lewisham Gateway site. The energy centre supports both homes and the planned ground-floor offer, so the return of residents, the fitting out of commercial units and the reopening of public-facing parts of the development remain closely connected to the reconstruction programme.
For tenants, the practical milestone is now October 2027. Further dates for individual stages, including any earlier reopening of public areas or commercial space, have not been fixed in the current programme. The start of on-site rebuilding is a concrete step forward, but it comes with another extended period of uncertainty for the residents whose homes have been unavailable since February 2025.
