4th plans for Leegate in 10 years revealed.

Community consultations open.

Lewisham and London Square, Leegate’s new owners, ask for your views on the 4th proposals for Leegate over the last 10 years. You can respond in two ways:

1. London Square has sent a ‘S96a’ application to Lewisham asking the council to remove an existing maximum 15 storeys height restriction on the site:

If Lewisham approves this, London Square expects to be permitted to build up to 18 storeys at the crossroads*. Leegate’s height would would then become a precedent and reference point when the council decides applications to build on the Sainsburys and Penfolds sites.

This application facilitates plans that are not compliant with the Lee Neighbourhood Plan or Lewisham’s Local Plan, which both state a maximum height of 12 storeys, and permitting a S96a for this purpose is against council policy. We have therefore objected.

You can also respond to this application by emailing planning@lewisham.gov.uk and including DC/25/140113 in the title of your email.

2. London Square presented their proposed plans to the community at St Peters church hall last week.

These plans differ from Galliards plans including that they:

Comply with new fire regulations

Increase the heights of all the blocks by 1-3 storeys, with the highest proposed to be 18 storeys*, which would be against the Lee Neighbourhood Plan and Lewisham’s Local Plan

Remove all residents and retail parking from the site apart from disabled spaces onsite and new rental car spaces on Leyland Road

Provide 80+ more homes, bringing total new homes on the site to 640, bringing needed housing

Propose more affordable and social housing (though developers can and do negotiate these down once plans are permitted)

Reduce the size of the supermarket

Move the small medical facility from the first to the ground floor

London Square say they need to build higher and denser on the site in order to make the scheme profitable. They are not required to provide evidence for this

London Square ask that you email leegatecentre@cavendishconsulting.com by 3rd June with your views, and you could copy in planning@lewisham.gov.uk.

When deciding whether to grant permission, the council will need to decide whether expected housing benefits gained from granting permission outweigh the harm of not following its planning policies.

If you wish to also weigh these when responding, you can consider the impact of the proposed development on relevant planning matters like amenities, utilities, transport, heritage, sustainability, overlooking, local housing supply, policy compliance and shadowing.

What happens next?

If Lewisham approves the S96a application it will clear the way for London Square to submit a S73 application to build the proposals above. Their application states they have already agreed this approach with planning officers

If Lewisham refuses the S96a application, London Square may decide to submit a revised S73 application that is within the existing 15 storeys height limit; or it may proceed to a new planning application to build the proposals above. A S73 application is easier and London Square have stated they would prefer this approach

Concerned about delays?

In 2016 the council decided that community objections and planning policies were outweighed by benefits of St Modwen’s ‘Asda’ scheme and granted permission within planning deadlines; In 2023 the council said it was unable to refuse Galliard’s scheme because it’s policies were outdated and granted permission within planning deadlines. Both developers then failed to build what had been permitted. In 2018 St Modwen proposed an additional application which did not progress, following which nothing happened until St Modwen sold to Galliards several years later. Historically community consultation responses have not delayed development, but matters outside our control have and may continue to do so.

If the council’s decision went this time to Judicial Review, development may be delayed. Decisions over Leegate have not been taken to Judicial Review in the past.

We all recognise the need to develop Leegate, which now stands empty, as well as the pressing needs for housing across the country. We believe that our approach of engaging with the council and developer to ensure that any development is carried out in a policy-compliant way that engages with and responds to the local community is essential for achieving this. We hope our engagement with the plans, and efforts to keep the community updated about changes, so that the community is able to contribute in ways that they see fit, will be seen in the constructive way it is intended, to ensure the best outcome for our whole community.

If you would like to discuss or have questions please email info@leeforum.org.uk or leeforum@outlook.com

* quoted in storeys as London Square have not supplied metres