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Lewisham News

The latest Lewisham news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.

Top story Bakerloo Line to Lewisham: Budget Names It, No Funding Yet The 28 October Budget names the Bakerloo line extension as a scheme a new London business rates levy could help pay for. It does not fund or approve it. · 4 min read

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Transport Greenwich Park to Elverson Road Cycleway Gets Go-Ahead Greenwich Council has approved the design for Cycleway 64, a £550,000 route from Greenwich Park to Elverson Road DLR. Detailed design and traffic orders come next. · 3 min read Remembrance City Hall Marks the Somme at 110; Lewisham's Turn Is Sunday City Hall's Remembrance Service on Friday marked 110 years since the Somme. Lewisham's two services start at 10.55am on Sunday 8 November at its war memorials. · 4 min read Planning Blackheath Village Bar Empty Since 2020 Could Become a Vet A vet open seven days a week is planned for 7-9 Montpelier Vale, empty since 2020. Agents say no bar or restaurant took the space in more than two years. · 4 min read Council Lewisham Council Ombudsman Complaints Up 52% in a Year The Ombudsman received 276 complaints about Lewisham Council in 2025/26 and upheld 45 of the 52 it investigated. Its July letter warned of a systemic issue. · 5 min read Transport Night Tube at 10: Lewisham's One Stop Is New Cross Gate The Night Tube is 10, with 81,000 journeys a night, and New Cross Gate is Lewisham's only stop. We timed the trip home to 11 areas. Checked November 2026. · 7 min read Crime Lewisham Gun Crime Up 39% While Knife Offences Fall 9.6% Lewisham gun crime rose 39% to 96 offences, the biggest rise in London, while knife crime fell 9.6%. All 19 ward figures are here. Checked November 2026. · 12 min read Transport Oxford Street Traffic Free: 30 Minutes From Lewisham Trains from Lewisham reach Oxford Circus in about 30 minutes, but the station has no Southeastern trains on 21 and 22 November. Checked November 2026. · 10 min read Cost of living £4.7m Extends Free Benefits Advice at Lewisham Family Hubs City Hall's £4.7m extends free benefits advice at Lewisham family hubs, with weekly drop-ins in Deptford and Downham. Checked November 2026. · 6 min read Licensing Sadiq Khan Gets Final Say on Big Lewisham Licence Bids From 3 November the Mayor can call in big licensing cases after Lewisham decides: large venues, live music, late hours. What it means for The Den, Goldsmiths. · 4 min read Transport TfL Fare Dodging Crackdown: 24 Arrests in a Month Plain-clothes police and TfL inspectors stopped 467 people and made 24 arrests in Operation Vector's first month. What it means for Lewisham's DLR riders. · 5 min read Transport St Johns Healthy Neighbourhood: 5 Filters, Drop-in 18 Nov Five modal filters, three School Streets and new crossings are proposed for St Johns and Tanner's Hill. See every road, then have your say by 18 November. · 5 min read Housing PLACE Ladywell Demolition Set for July 2027, Report Says PLACE Ladywell is due to be demolished from July 2027. The same report asks the cabinet on 4 November to back compulsory purchase on the Achilles Street estate. · 5 min read Cost of living Lewisham £100 Energy Payment: 9 in 10 Homes in Bands A-D About 122,260 Lewisham homes, 90.7%, are in bands A to D, the bands the Budget's £100 energy payment covers from January. Third highest in London. · 6 min read Catford Rushey Green Fire: Council Plans to Rebuild Nursery by 2027 Lewisham plans to rebuild 41 Rushey Green, the 1918 maternity home turned nursery hit by fire in January, with works to finish by December 2027. · 4 min read Planning Lewisham Student Housing: Council to Discourage New Blocks Lewisham has approved 2,865 student bedspaces against a draft London Plan target of 878. Cabinet votes on 4 November on consulting over discouraging new blocks. · 5 min read Housing Lewisham Temporary Accommodation Down 15%: 2,168 Households Households in Lewisham temporary accommodation fell from 2,547 to 2,168 in a year, with 3,257 children. A new homelessness strategy goes to Cabinet on 4 November. · 4 min read Roads Lewisham High Street Shut Southbound at Night Until May 2027 TfL can close Lewisham High Street southbound from 9pm to 6am, Molesworth Street to Ladywell Road, for resurfacing from 30 October until as late as 30 May 2027. · 3 min read Roads Bromley Road 20mph: TfL Cuts A21 Limit in Bellingham in 2027 The A21 Bromley Road and Bromley Hill, from Sangley Road in Catford to Avondale Road, will drop from 30mph to 20mph, with TfL's work due to start in early 2027. · 3 min read Business New Hong Kong City, New Cross Road: Company in Liquidation The company behind New Hong Kong City, the Chinese restaurant at 43 New Cross Road, went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 22 October, the Gazette records. · 2 min read Deptford Deptford Dockyard Slavery Project Wins Mayor's Grant Deptford People's Heritage Museum is one of 10 London groups to win a Sites of Memory grant, for an audio walk and a school curriculum on the dockyard's colonial past. · 3 min read New Cross Goldsmiths SU Wants a 4am Licence: Comment by 18 November Goldsmiths Students' Union has asked to run events to 4am. Plus a 2am New Cross pub and a 6am-2am Bellingham off-licence: every live application and its deadline. · 4 min read Catford Goldsmiths Drops Catford Move: Old Town Hall Left Empty Goldsmiths will not move its art and design students into Catford's Old Town Hall in 2027. The council says it is surprised and frustrated after a year of work. · 5 min read Business Lewisham Business Awards 2026 Winners: All 14 Named Gurkha's, Blythe Hill Tavern and Kirkdale Bookshop are among 14 winners of the 2026 Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards, decided by a record 9,430 public votes. · 3 min read Licensing Millwall Café Licence Granted, With No Beer Near Kick-Off The café opposite The Den can sell beer 10am to 11pm, but not in the hour before kick-off or after the final whistle on home matchdays, with a door supervisor and fencing. · 5 min read Police Lewisham Absconder Anthony Lloyd: Police Say Call 999 Police are hunting Anthony Lloyd, 38, a prisoner who forced his way out of a Lewisham medical unit on 23 October and headed towards Catford. Do not approach him. · 1 min read Jobs Lewisham Claimant Count Up 340 to 14,665 in September 14,665 people in Lewisham claimed out-of-work benefits in September, up 340 on August. The 6.8% rate is joint 7th in London, against 5.6% across the capital. · 3 min read House prices Lewisham House Prices Fall 1.6% as Flats Lose £11,811 The average Lewisham home was £486,416 in August, down 1.6% in a year and the first annual fall since April. Flats fell 3.1% while houses held level. · 3 min read Licensing Millwall Asks to Lift The Den's Licensed Capacity to 19,999 Millwall has applied to raise The Den's licensed capacity from 14,999 to 19,999, open bars from 9am on match days and add indoor sport. Comments close 9 November. · 4 min read What's On People's Day Returns to Mountsfield Park on 10 July 2027 Lewisham's free People's Day festival returns on Saturday 10 July 2027, its first since 2022. Residents can join a paid advisory group until 23 November. · 2 min read Transport Waterlink Way Bridge Goes In Next Week, Opening Mid-November The new Waterlink Way bridge over the River Pool is due to be lifted into place in the week of 26 October, with opening expected mid-November after months of delay. · 3 min read Planning Lewisham Shopping Centre Rebuild Put on Hold by Landsec Landsec has put its approved 1,700-home Lewisham Shopping Centre rebuild on hold. The centre stays open, and the council wants more social rent homes. · 5 min read Parking Lewisham Parking Wardens Strike 19, 20 and 23 October Lewisham's NSL parking wardens strike on 19, 20 and 23 October over a £1.70 an hour pay gap with Camden. Red routes are not affected; the rules still apply. · 3 min read Licensing Railway Tavern Sydenham Licensed After Counterfeit Goods Find The Southend Lane pub won a new licence with 39 conditions after counterfeit shirts and handbags were seized, but its director cannot be the supervisor. · 4 min read Schools Lewisham Ofsted: Stillness Infant Strong in All Seven Areas Stillness Infant was strong in all seven areas. Cooper's Lane and Downderry hit six, while two Bellingham schools must lift results and attendance. · 5 min read Planning Deptford Reach: Greenwich Backs 254 Homes After Lewisham No Greenwich voted on 13 October to grant its 254-home half of the former Lewisham College scheme. It cannot go ahead unless Lewisham's refusal is overturned. · 6 min read Housing Lewisham Council Homes Retrofit: 800 Homes, £16m, by 2028 Up to 800 Lewisham council homes will get insulation, low-carbon heating and solar panels by 2028. A Lewisham-founded firm, Ksquared, will run the design work. · 3 min read Council Lewisham Council Overspend Forecast Hits £7m, Up £3.9m Lewisham Council expects to overspend by £7.0m this year, up from £3.1m in May, on care costs, school transport and a parking contract. What the report says. · 7 min read Housing Lewisham Community-Led Homes: Land Free if 50% Social Rent Lewisham Council will consider land at nil cost for co-ops and community land trusts where half the homes are social rent. Forum first, funding options in March 2027. · 6 min read Ladywell Ladywell Playtower: Pick From 4 Plans by 16 November Two of the four shortlisted Ladywell Playtower plans would bring water back to the 1884 baths, and two add homes. See them all, then have your say by 16 November. · 7 min read Council Lewisham Gambling Policy: Your Say on 45 Venues by 8 Nov Lewisham has 45 licensed gambling premises, seven on Lewisham High Street alone. New draft rules target staffing and age checks; have your say by 8 November. · 5 min read Business New Lewisham Businesses: 207 Companies Formed in September 207 companies registered in Lewisham in September, up from 191 in August, including a kitchen firm at Cafe Crofton Park's address and a Polish milk bar on Kirkdale. · 5 min read Fly-tipping Love Lewisham Grants: Up to £1,000 for Clean-Ups by 27 Nov Lewisham residents can apply for £200, and groups up to £1,000, to clean up fly-tipping spots and plant neglected corners. Applications close 5pm, 27 November. · 4 min read Music Hither Green Producer's Found Love Out on Epic Records UK Triple OG Musiq, a masked house producer from Hither Green, and Dudley's Scutla released Found Love on Epic Records UK on 11 September after a TikTok push. · 4 min read Forest Hill Terry's Travelling Trousers: Two TV Pilots in the Works A Forest Hill writer and a dyslexic Beckenham illustrator are making two pilot episodes of Terry's Travelling Trousers, an animated series for 4 to 8-year-olds. · 9 min read Housing Lewisham Council Housing: 52% Satisfied, 2,110 Damp Cases Lewisham's council tenants rate their landlord below the London median on all 12 measures. 1,804 homes fail the decency standard and 2,110 damp cases are open. · 6 min read Lewisham town centre Lewisham Library Shut Until Autumn 2027 as Costs Hit £30.5m Hidden structural defects push Lewisham Library's reopening to autumn 2027 and the town centre programme to £30.5m. Cabinet approved the extra money on 7 October. · 7 min read Planning Lewisham Planning: Call-ins and 10-Objection Rule Have Ended Since 31 October, ten objections or a councillor call-in no longer sends a Lewisham application to committee. How the council's new four-stage test works. · 5 min read Food hygiene Lewisham Food Hygiene Ratings: 35 of 60 Score 5 in August 35 of the 60 Lewisham food businesses rated in August scored the top 5, and a Deptford High Street bakery got a 2. The full list, plus September so far. · 4 min read Honor Oak Honor Oak Food Bank Opens at Little Cubs: 8am to 6pm A help-yourself food bank opened on 1 October at Little Cubs Day Nursery, Boveney Road, Honor Oak. Open 8am to 6pm: take what you need, give what you can. · 2 min read Business Klose & Soan Deptford and Bellona Lewisham in Liquidation Klose & Soan on Deptford High Street and Bellona furniture on Lewisham High Street are both in liquidation. What customers owed money can do. · 3 min read Planning Deptford Reach Refused 4-0, Houseboats Added as Reason Lewisham councillors voted 4-0 to refuse 548 homes at the former Lewisham College, adding loss of sunlight to houseboats as a reason. Greenwich has deferred. · 4 min read Catford Catford Cinema: No Lease Signed, Council Names No Date Lease terms with Castle Cinema are still not agreed, the council said on 23 September, and it will name no opening date for Catford's cinema until they are signed. · 4 min read Planning Lewisham Shopping Centre Petition: 4,615 Names Reach Council The 4,615-name Save Lewisham Shopping Centre petition went to Full Council on 23 September, after the Mayor asked for it to be heard despite the council's own rules. · 7 min read Planning KFC Signs Planned for Lewisham's 1937 Woolworths Building A KFC franchisee has applied for illuminated signs at 142-144 Lewisham High Street, the empty unit in the Art Deco former Woolworths. The council validated it on 22 September. · 5 min read Planning Blackheath Station Car Park Listed as Community Asset Lewisham has listed Blackheath station car park as an asset of community value, and fresh consultation letters on the 45-home plan went out on 21 September. · 4 min read St John's St John's Plaque Honours the 90 Killed in 1957 Rail Disaster A maroon plaque to the 90 people killed in the 1957 St John's rail disaster was unveiled at the station on Saturday, in front of about 150 people. · 4 min read Planning Former Lewisham College: 802-Home Towers Split Councils Officers advise Lewisham to refuse 802 homes in towers up to 30 storeys by Deptford Creek, while Greenwich's advise approval. Committees vote 24 September. · 5 min read House prices Lewisham House Prices Up £3,434 as London Falls 3.3% The average Lewisham home was £488,658 in July, up 0.7% in a year while London fell 3.3% and Lambeth 6.3%. Flats are the borough's only type losing value. · 3 min read Jobs Lewisham Claimant Count: 14,610, London's 7th Highest 14,610 people in Lewisham claimed unemployment-related benefits in August, a 6.8% rate against London's 5.5%. Over-50s are the only age group rising. · 4 min read Health Lewisham Named NHS Trailblazer, One of Six Sites in England Lewisham and Greenwich are one of six NHS trailblazer sites in England, testing a new way to fund care closer to home. A six-month business case phase starts now. · 4 min read Downham Downham McDonald's Asks to Open 5am to 1am, Every Day The Garden Gate drive-thru wants opening hours of 5am to 1am seven days a week, a month after winning its 1am planning fight. Objections close 2 October. · 2 min read Honor Oak Offload Challenge: 60-Club Charity Ride Calls at Honor Oak Rob Shotton is cycling to 60 London rugby clubs in six days, 21 to 26 September, towing a water butt for mental health charity LooseHeadz. GKT's ground is on the route. · 2 min read New Cross Ten To Six: New Cross Cafe Film Heads For Japan And Mexico The 14-minute drama shot at Corner cafe on New Cross Road won an audience award in Italy and screens in Japan and Mexico this autumn. London date: 3 October. · 12 min read Business Lewisham Business Awards: All 96 Finalists, Vote By 2 Oct Voting is open in all 12 categories of the Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards. The full list of 96 finalists, and how to vote before 9am on Friday 2 October. · 7 min read Catford Catford Man Charged With Murder After Death in Lambeth The Met has charged Leroy Heffron, 38, of Sangley Road, Catford, with murder after Thomas Carey, 39, died at an address in Poynders Road, Lambeth. · 3 min read Catford Catford Regeneration Reset: What The £2.5m Plan Buys Mayor and Cabinet approved the Catford reset on 9 September. The 2021 masterplan built on moving the South Circular is dead; the £2.5m plan funds crossings, lighting, the market and the Cat instead. · 5 min read Lewisham Council Lewisham Smoke Rules Unenforceable, Council Report Admits Lewisham cannot prove a valid borough-wide smoke control order exists, so wood burner rules cannot be enforced. A new order, covering boats too, is coming. · 3 min read Sydenham Sydenham Children's Home Plan: £1.68m For 200 Kirkdale Lewisham has no children's home of its own and pays over £7,300 a week per place. A 5-6 bed council home at 200 Kirkdale is due to open by April 2028. · 3 min read Council Lewisham Resurfacing 2026/27: The 28 Roads on the List Kirkdale, Baring Road and 26 more roads, plus 12 pavement sections, are on Lewisham's 2026/27 resurfacing list, with how the council chose them and when. · 9 min read Business New Cross property firm Eden Estates wound up by High Court The High Court wound up Eden Estates (London) Ltd of Lewisham Way on 12 August. The Official Receiver is now liquidator; what landlords and tenants should do. · 2 min read New Cross Besson Street: 383-Home Decision Now Due by 29 January 2027 New Cross's Besson Street scheme would grow from 324 to 383 homes and its tallest tower from 12 to 18 storeys. The council has until 29 January 2027 to decide. · 3 min read Ladywell Ladywell Station Plan: Vacant Shop To Get Own Front Door Plans would refurbish Ladywell station's vacant shop, turn a window into its own entrance and repair cracked walls. Decision due by 24 September. · 4 min read Catford St Dunstan's College Plans £10.5m Pool And Sixth Form Centre St Dunstan's College wants an eight-lane 25m pool, climbing wall and sixth form centre in Catford, doubling its leisure space. Decision due 2 December. · 4 min read Business New Lewisham Businesses: 200 Companies Registered in August 200 companies joined the register across Lewisham in August: new restaurant firms at Lewisham Gateway and on the high street, plus 13 community ventures. Who they are. · 4 min read Travel Lewisham Station Closed 26-27 September: What Runs Instead No Southeastern trains at Lewisham or on the Bexleyheath line on 26 and 27 September, and the DLR to Bank is off the weekend before. The replacement buses. · 3 min read Catford Catford Gaming Centre: 47 Gambling Venues, Council Fights Back Lewisham counts 47 gambling premises and says 38,000 residents are affected. The Catford Broadway gaming centre it refused was won on appeal, and a new application is now in. · 5 min read Ladywell Ladywell Fields Cafe Wins Alcohol Licence, 8pm Weekend Close Fields Cafe can now sell alcohol until 6pm on weekdays and 8pm at weekends. Councillors granted the licence on 26 August with four conditions, including Challenge 25 and staff supervising outdoor drinkers. · 3 min read Grove Park Padel in Grove Park: 3 New Courts, £30 an Hour, No Membership Bannatyne Health Club on Marvels Lane has opened three padel courts that anyone can book through the Playtomic app: £30 a court off-peak, £40 at peak, rackets £5 to hire. · 3 min read Deptford Landmann Way waste site restarts a week after the fire SSSI Limited resumed work on Landmann Way on 25 August, from a separate building and at reduced capacity. Mattresses will no longer be stored overnight; the fire's cause is still open. · 5 min read Housing Hill named Lewisham's £1.5bn housing partner for ten years Lewisham Council has appointed The Hill Group as its strategic development partner until 2036, starting with 113 affordable homes in Catford and 278 homes at Achilles Street. · 4 min read Bank holiday Lewisham Bank Holiday Bins: No Shift Rule, Check the Tool Lewisham publishes no bank holiday bin rule, so no day is guaranteed to shift. What that means, the next two bank holidays, and when Landmann Way actually shuts. · 7 min read Sydenham Longton Avenue flats approved: 20 homes, none affordable Councillors backed a five-storey block of 20 flats opposite Sydenham Wells Park on 12 August, against 41 objections. The developer will pay £67,246 instead of building affordable homes. · 7 min read Downham Downham McDonald's can open until 1am after council vote The Garden Gate McDonald's on Old Bromley Road can stay open an hour later, seven nights a week. Councillors voted unanimously on 12 August, with conditions on noise, parking and litter. · 5 min read Ladywell Ladywell Fields cafe alcohol licence decided Wednesday Councillors decide Wednesday whether Fields Cafe can sell alcohol in Ladywell Fields, after one objection and four added conditions. The 7pm meeting is public. · 4 min read Deptford Landmann Way fire: 100 firefighters, bin rounds normal Fifteen engines tackled 50 tonnes of burning waste on Landmann Way on 18 August. Unlike June's fire, bin rounds and the recycling centre are running normally. · 4 min read Jobs Lewisham Claimant Count Falls to 14,715 as Under-25s Rise Lewisham's claimant count fell by 215 over the year to 14,715 in July, while the UK total rose. But the borough's under-25s went the other way, up 70. · 4 min read House prices Lewisham House Prices Slip to £491,259, Flats Down 0.8% The average Lewisham home was worth £491,259 in June, just £2,698 more than a year earlier. Flats fell 0.8% over the year while terraces rose 2.3%. · 4 min read Blackheath Blackheath Fireworks 2026: licence names 7 November Lewisham decides the Blackheath Fireworks licence on 8 September: 17 residents objected, the police did not. The 7 November date, the hours and the conditions. · 7 min read Lewisham Riverdale Sculpture Park bridge plan filed, works in 2027 Lewisham wants to replace the southern footbridge over the Ravensbourne with an 8.5m-wide crossing. A decision is due by 3 September, delivery in 2027. · 5 min read Lewisham Council Lewisham adult social care scores 59% in first CQC rating CQC has rated Lewisham Council's adult social care requires improvement at 59%, four points short of good. 1,122 people were waiting a median 148 days for a review. · 7 min read Catford Home Bargains Catford: Open 8am to 8pm, Sundays 10 to 4 Home Bargains Catford opened on 3 October at 10 Beckenham Hill Road, SE6: 8am to 8pm, Sundays 10 to 4. Parking, buses, Christmas hours and nearest stores. · 20 min read Food hygiene 390 Lewisham food firms still have no hygiene rating Nearly one in six food businesses on Lewisham's register awaits a first inspection, the fourth-highest share in London. What that means before you order. · 5 min read Business ADW Blackheath surveyors face 19 August winding-up hearing A creditors' petition to wind up Albert D Wellington Ltd, the RICS surveying practice at 52 Lee Terrace, is listed at the High Court on 19 August. The firm can oppose it. · 3 min read Crime Lewisham shoplifting almost triples in a year, June data Police logged 177 shoplifting reports within a mile of central Lewisham in June 2026, up from 63 a year earlier. Total recorded crime rose 16 percent to 1,200. · 3 min read Food hygiene Lewisham food hygiene ratings, July 2026: a perfect month as all 20 inspected businesses score 5 Every Lewisham borough food business rated in July 2026 got the top hygiene score of 5, from the Stage Door Cafe on Catford Broadway to the Railway Tavern in Bellingham and school kitchens in Lee and Deptford. 20 ratings, no fails. · 3 min read