Higher Towers for Catford Island

Lowick Group, the public relations firm for the controversial Plassy Road development in Catford have released details of further plans for the site on the south circular road in London. They have dubbed the site ‘Catford Island’ in their leaflet. They say that the area has been identified by both Lewisham Council and the GLA …

Lewisham Homes faces the axe

Lewisham Homes – Lewisham Council’s Arms Length Management Organisation – faces the axe as consultations were agreed at a Mayor and Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, 6th July 2022. At that meeting Councillors made the case for bringing Lewisham Homes back in house as there is a break clause in the Management Agreement between the …

Bell Green Neighbourhood Plans ‘Refused’ by Lewisham Council

Lewisham Council’s Director of Planning, Emma Talbot has refused the application for the Bell Green Neighbourhood Area after a statutory consultation on the creation of a local Bell Green planning neighbourhood held between 26th May and 7th July 2022. A Neighbourhood Forum is an organisation or group empowered by the local authority to lead the …

People’s Audit of Lewisham Council’s accounts is open now

Like all local authorities, the London Borough of Lewisham accounts must be audited. Parliament has decided that there should be an opportunity for any one interested to inspect and make copies of the accounts and all relevant documents, as stipulated in Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Lewisham Council’s draft accounts …

Freedom of Information delays at Lewisham Council

The latest performance statistics for answering Freedom of Information requests has been released by Lewisham Council. Less than half of the requests were completed on time. The Council received 1,506 FOI requests and completed 701 on time and this equates to 47%. Lewisham Council hit the headlines when a report by the Campaign for Freedom …

Mais House case continues to appeal

Following the handing down of a High Court Judgment by Mr Justice Fordham on Monday, 11th June, in the long running, planning application by the City of London Corporation to Lewisham Council concerning a site on Sydenham Hill, London, Mais House, the Friends of Mais House have issued a statement. They say: “The Friends of …

Judgment for Lewisham

Following a hearing at the High Court in London that lasted a whole day on 9th June 2022, Mr Justice Fordham has dismissed a legal challenge against the decision of Lewisham Council to grant planning permission for the development of Mais House, a former sheltered housing block for the elderly on the top of Sydenham …

Lewisham Council finally publish planning cash statement

Lewisham Council has finally published its Infrastructure Funding Statement for 2020/21. This document outlines what money the local planning authority – Lewisham Council in this case – receive from developers in contributions. A contribution means any Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or money or in-kind for works received from a Section 106 agreement. Section 106 agreements …

Lewisham Labour Manifesto 2022

Lewisham Labour has released a colourful and well designed manifesto document for the 2022 local elections. If, as widely tipped, the Labour Party retain control of Lewisham Council, this document will form the basis of the new administration’s corporate plan for the next four years. In terms of governance, there are a few points to …

Former Leader Cllr Jim Mallory retires from Lewisham Council

Cllr Jim Mallory has announced that he will step down from Lewisham Council at the local elections to be held on Thursday, 5th May 2022. In a tweet, Lewisham Council Labour Group said: “Jim has been a principled, committed community champion of this Council since first elected in 1986. We thank him for all his …