A massive redevelopment of a south London shopping centre has been shelved a year after the plans were approved by councillors.
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plans → shelve → councillors
Landsec, which owns Lewisham Shopping Centre, has announced it is “deprioritising” the £1.5billion scheme after encountering “exceptionally challenging economic conditions”, and says it will be focusing on other projects instead.
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it → own → projects
A spokesperson for Landsec said: “Today’s news does not mean that we’re leaving Lewisham.
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we → say → Lewisham
We have owned and operated the shopping centre for more than 20 years and remain committed to the borough.
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We → own → borough
“Our focus will now be on operating and investing in the existing centre, supporting our retailers, customers and community partners, and continuing to play an active role in the borough’s future.
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focus → operate → future
The planning permission gave Landsec the green light to demolish the existing 1970s mall and a multi-storey car park to make way for tower blocks up to 35 storeys high.
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permission → give → blocks
But the plans faced backlash from local campaigners over a lack of affordable housing and concerns they failed to address local need.
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they → face → need
Of the 1,744 homes, just 98 would be social rent homes while 231 were set to be rented out at discounted market rates or would be for key workers.
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231 → set → workers
Additionally Landsec intended to build 661 student rooms and a 23-storey co-living block containing 445 homes.
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Landsec → intend → homes
The project had been split into six different phases and had a timeline spanning 10 years, while work was due to start next year.
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work → split → years
Landsec’s masterplan had a reported cost of between £1.3bn to £1.7bn.
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masterplan → have → 1.7bn
The Landsec spokesperson said it was “no secret” that higher interest rates, increased construction costs and more complex regulations have made development in London “increasingly challenging”.
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development → say → London
They added: “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.
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is → add → housing
This would require material changes to the masterplan resulting in substantial delays to the programme.
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This → require → programme
As the development was being carried out in phases, Landsec needed to own all of the site in order to start work on the first phase of the scheme.
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Landsec → carry → scheme
This includes unlocking the former Citibank tower, also known as Lewisham House.
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This → include → House
Despite Landsec owning the freehold of the site, the long-term lease is actually owned by LHN1, a developer based in Guernsey.
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lease → own → Guernsey
Read More
In January 2026, the previous Labour administration approved in principle its of compulsory purchase powers for Lewisham House.
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administration → read → House
The council said at the time that using its powers would be a “last resort”, but said delaying the start of the compulsory purchase process could lead to valuable time being lost in progressing the project.
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time → say → project
However since the new Green Party administration came into power in May, the Mayor of Lewisham, Liam Shrivastava said any use of compulsory purchase powers “must be justified by a clear and compelling public benefit”.
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use → come → benefit
Mayor Shrivastava 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.
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level → say → scheme
“I recognise the strength of feeling of those concerned about the development.
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I → recognise → development
I also know there were many other residents and businesses who wanted to see it come forward.
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it → know → ?
Mayor Shrivastava said the council will continue to work closely with Landsec to improve Lewisham town centre, including lobbying for the Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham and reopening Model Market.
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council → say → Market
He added: “Our ambition for Lewisham town centre is undiminished.
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ambition → add → centre
This includes investment in Lewisham Market, the redevelopment of Lewisham Library, and projects to make the town centre cleaner, safer and more attractive for residents, businesses and visitors.”
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centre → include → residents
A spokesperson for the Lewisham People’s Assembly, a community-led group which has campaigned against Landsec’s plans for the shopping centre, said: “We are very pleased with Landsec’s most recent announcements.
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We → lead → announcements
“The drafted plans were financially reckless, with the council projecting that Landsec would lose half a billion pounds if construction started today.
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construction → draft → pounds
Landsec was essentially gambling on the present housing security of local residents.”
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Landsec → gamble → residents
They added: “The redevelopment being halted with no clear new start date brings a new opportunity for Lewisham.
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redevelopment → add → Lewisham
“We still want to see development and investment in Lewisham, but now this brings opportunities for proposals that actually work to sufficiently meet community needs rather than making them a mere afterthought.”
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them → want → needs
The spokesperson said the group plans on looking at different avenues “to realise and advocate for this vision” in the coming days.
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group → say → days
They added: “We would like to see investment and development into Lewisham Town Centre that looks into refurbishing and upgrading underused or deteriorating spaces.
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that → add → spaces
“[We want to see] financially responsible decision-making and valuing existing architecture and culture of the area for a redevelopment model that’s cheaper to implement, minimises potential displacement outcomes and is environmentally friendly.
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that → want → outcomes
Slow and responsible solutions should take precedence over rushed and risky ones.”
The Standard has contacted Lewisham Council for comment.
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Standard → take → comment
The Aporia
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