Lewisham planning officers have advised councillors to refuse the Lewisham part of a major redevelopment at the former Lewisham College site beside Deptford Bridge, setting up a high-profile decision on a scheme that would bring hundreds of homes to the area.
The application before Lewisham’s Strategic Planning Committee concerns land at 1 Deptford Bridge, SE8, on the borough boundary with Greenwich. It is one part of a linked proposal on both sides of Deptford Creek. In Lewisham, the applicant is seeking permission to demolish existing buildings and construct a mixed-use development ranging from one to 30 storeys.
A recommendation, not a final decision
Members of the Strategic Planning Committee are due to consider the application on 24 September. The officers’ recommendation is for refusal on heritage and urban-design grounds. That recommendation is not itself a planning decision: councillors will determine whether to accept it, and the proposal is also referable to the Mayor of London.
Lewisham’s share of the project would contain 548 homes in four blocks. The wider cross-boundary scheme would provide 802 homes, with a further 254 in Greenwich. Greenwich’s planning officers have recommended approval for the part of the development in their borough, meaning the two authorities are approaching the connected project from different positions.
The location is highly accessible, immediately beside Deptford Bridge DLR station and close to the established centres of Deptford and Lewisham. The council report recognises that the proposal would make a substantial contribution to housing supply and notes that Lewisham’s housing delivery has been below its target. It also identifies potential benefits including education space, employment opportunities, landscaping, public-realm works, ecological improvements and greater public access to Deptford Creek.
Why officers are advising refusal
Those benefits have not, in the officers’ view, resolved concerns about the scale and appearance of the Lewisham element. Their report says the scheme would cause unacceptable harm to designated heritage assets, protected views and the wider townscape.
The principal concern is the proposed 30-storey building at the junction around Deptford Broadway and Deptford Church Street. Officers accept that a landmark tall building can be appropriate in such a well-connected location, but conclude that the proposed height and massing would create significant visual effects. The report also identifies concerns about the cumulative prominence of the buildings and how parts of the development would appear together in longer views.
Heritage considerations are central to that assessment. The site sits within the Deptford Creekside and Greenwich Riverside opportunity area and near conservation areas, including those associated with Deptford High Street and St Paul’s Church. Officers say the proposal’s harm to heritage and urban design would outweigh its public benefits. The report also records that the scheme has drawn substantial public interest, with 134 valid objections to the Lewisham application.
Homes, affordability and community uses
As submitted, the Lewisham application combines housing with flexible commercial space, a local community use, education floorspace and a drinking establishment. It also includes cycle facilities, landscaping, highway work and associated servicing. The linked masterplan proposes new routes and public spaces around the creek, an area that has historically had limited public access.
Affordable housing is likely to remain a significant point of discussion. Across the whole 802-home project, 24 homes are proposed as affordable: 16 for social rent and eight for shared ownership. That is about 3 per cent of the homes by unit count, though the figure is higher when measured by habitable rooms. Planning officers in both boroughs have accepted the applicant’s viability case for that level of provision, while reaching different conclusions on the design and heritage balance.
The committee’s task is therefore not simply a choice between development and no development. Members must weigh the delivery of housing and new activity on a previously developed site against the impact of the proposed buildings on Deptford’s character, its heritage setting and important local views. Whatever Lewisham decides on its part of the application, Greenwich’s board is considering its own section separately, underlining the unusual cross-borough nature of the proposal.
