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UK: Developer Landsec has shelved its plans for the redevelopment of Lewisham Shopping Centre, which secured planning consent in October 2025.
The £1.5 billion project has been paused because of “exceptionally challenging economic conditions”, according to Landsec, the site’s owner.
Plans for the 17-acre site included 1,744 homes, 661 student rooms, a 23-storey coliving block containing 445 homes, a new 500-capacity music venue, park and community spaces, and a new shopping centre.
Landsec said it was “deprioritising” the scheme, adding it was “no secret” that higher interest rates, rising construction costs and more complex regulations had made development in London “increasingly challenging”.
The decision comes after Lewisham‘s Green Party-led administration declined to support the next phase of land assembly without a significant increase in affordable housing.
Of the 1,744 homes proposed, 98 would have been for social rent, while 231 would have been offered at discounted market rates or reserved for key workers.
A Landsec spokesperson said: “Recent statements from Lewisham Council also make clear that the administration is not able to support the next phase of land assembly needed to unlock delivery without a significant increase in affordable housing. This would require material changes to the masterplan resulting in substantial delays to the programme.”
The scheme has been master-planned by Studio Egret West. Its director Lucas Lawrence said: “Complex, large-scale regeneration schemes often require flexibility and, while this pause is disappointing, the spatial, social, and environmental groundwork we have laid creates a resilient foundation for future development should the situation change.”
A hybrid application for the scheme, including outline plans and detailed first-phase proposals, were approved under the council’s previous Labour administration last October. The Green Party took control of Lewisham Council in May.
Mayor of Lewisham Liam Shrivastava, who defected to the Green Party from Labour last year, said: “This administration is laser-focused on delivering genuinely affordable housing and I’ve consistently said the level of social rent homes in this scheme needed to increase.”
He added: “The reality of the housing crisis we face in Lewisham, where so many households are in temporary accommodation or struggling to find a home they can afford, is that we are going to need genuinely affordable housing to come forward from across the board. The way out of this crisis is through delivering social housing.”
Highlights:
- Developer Landsec has shelved its plans for the redevelopment of Lewisham Shopping Centre, which secured planning consent in October 2025
- The £1.5 billion project has been paused because of “exceptionally challenging economic conditions”, according to Landsec, the site’s owner
- Plans for the 17-acre site included 1,744 homes, 661 student rooms, a 23-storey coliving block containing 445 homes, a new 500-capacity music venue, park and community spaces,
and a new shopping centre - The decision comes after Lewisham’s Green Party-led administration declined to support the next phase of land assembly without a significant increase in affordable housing.
