Regeneration
Introduction
The health of the local economy has a major impact on everyone in the borough. Our challenge is to balance the needs of residents and businesses, finding solutions with our partners for housing, regeneration, planning, transport and support for businesses. This is key to making Lewisham the best place in London, to live, work and learn.
These solutions include working with partners to:
- make our town centres safe and attractive places to shop and work
- improve transport links to connect people to jobs locally and elsewhere in London
- regenerate the borough’s housing stock and support the provision of decent, affordable housing
- provide support and advice to potential, new and established local businesses to help them thrive.
Strategic objectives
These services link most directly to the achievement of the Regeneration Directorate’s strategic aims:
- enabling and supporting the regeneration of Lewisham
- ensuring the provision of a range of good quality, affordable housing
- connecting people to economic, leisure and learning opportunities and supporting the development of the local economy and community.
Performance against 2005/06 top level commitments
Decent homes and strategic development
We worked with residents to develop a Decent Homes Strategy, which was signed off by Government in August 2005. The strategy sets out our borough-wide investment plan to bring all Lewisham Council homes up to the Decent Homes Standard by 2010. This followed a borough-wide Stock Options Appraisal which involved intensive local consultation with residents to agree and develop area-focused investment solutions.
We worked collaboratively with our RSL partners to build over 350 new homes on key Lewisham estates and sites.
The competition to choose an RSL partner to redevelop the Heathside and Lethbridge estate was completed in February 2006. The preferred bidder is now undertaking master planning work to firm up the development scheme.
At the third-quarter monitoring review on 2005/06 we were on target to fully maximise a £67 million capital programme focused on bringing homes across the borough to Decent Homes Standard.
Urban Renaissance Lewisham – Lewisham town centre
Extensive negotiations with the Environment Agency on plans for the rivers and with Transport for London on highways issues progressed through the year. In addition, negotiations on a development agreement between the landowning parties and the developer progressed significantly. Following extensive consultation, a planning application for the Lewisham Gateway Development is expected to be submitted by March 2006.
Planning and economic development
During 2005/06 we met national targets for speed in handling all types of planning application – major, minor and other. We progressed the local development framework as a basis for future planning decisions, including the completion of a Statement of Community Involvement and publication of the Annual Monitoring Report, progressed the Lewisham and Catford Town Centre Area Action Plans and undertook two conservation area appraisals.
We continued to work towards the delivery of major regeneration schemes at Convoy’s Wharf, Lewisham Interchange and Deptford Bridge. We also progressed planning and regeneration guidance for Brockley Cross and Hither Green.
We have commenced the scanning of new planning applications and the statutory register of planning decisions, to enable public access via the internet.
Opportunities were progressed for securing funds through Europe, with two successful applications, including an environmental project in Ladywell Fields. We undertook feasibility work on setting up a business support agency, which will form part of a wider project looking at a comprehensive business support service. We also secured the appointment of a permanent Town Centre Manager for Catford in July 2005.
Funding was secured to rebuild Deptford Station, with work on site due to commence in May 2006 with completion by May 2007.
Neighbourhood renewal and New Deal for Communities (NDC) – ‘aiming high for New Cross Gate’
In 2005 the NDC completed a strategic review which will inform the second half of our programme. Seventy different projects were funded during the year, which provided local residents with a range of new services. It was a good year for the NDC, reflected in the fact that three people funded through NDC projects won ‘Pride Awards’ at the Council’s staff awards ceremony. The safer neighbourhoods project was introduced and we now have a new police team, including Police Community Support Officers working closely alongside our existing Neighbourhood Warden scheme. The youth festival was a great success, with local young people helping to organise the event as well as perform, and plans are under way to set up a local youth forum led by a new young person recently elected to the NDC board. A new ICT training centre was opened, which is delivering a range of computer-based training courses, and the Millwall indoor sports centre was completed, partly financed through NDC funding.
Business regulatory services
During 2005/06 we fully implemented our new Licensing Policy and processed virtually all applications within the required timescales.
Trading Standards has participated in a very successful launch of ‘Consumer Direct’, which is a national helpline for first-step consumer advice. Work has continued in combating under-age alcohol sales and a number of successful prosecutions have been brought.
Building Control has developed two further partnerships with major architects. Major changes have been made, to legislation, to increase the ‘sustainability’ of new building. The group has ensured that the requirements have been fully implemented.
Delivering integrated transport services
We continued to implement the highways maintenance and traffic management Best Value review action plan, with its 10-year investment and improvement strategy. Our transport services were inspected by the Audit Commission in April 2005, with inspectors concluding that we were providing fair services with excellent prospects for improvement. We have taken on board the recommendations they made to help us improve further.
Each London borough is developing a plan to implement the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy in its area, which must be approved by the London Mayor. The Local Implementation Plan (LIP) sets out the authority’s proposals to deliver the priorities and objectives in the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy. Those priorities include:
- reducing congestion and preventing traffic levels in inner London from rising
- improving access to town centres and the environment within them
- generally improving conditions for cyclists and pedestrians
- making London’s transport system more accessible
- reducing road traffic casualties through the introduction of 20mph zones and creating safer routes to school
- making radical improvements to London’s bus services.
We have consulted on our draft plan and the document was submitted to Transport for London (TfL) in May 2005. Comments have now been received back from TfL and a report to Mayor and cabinet was submitted in February 2006. The LIP will then be resubmitted to the London Mayor and Assembly and we expect it will receive final approval in autumn 2006.
We invested a further £3 million of council funding in the highway infrastructure – resurfacing 20 borough roads and 19 footways, and replacing 230 substandard street lights.
We also delivered over £2.82 million of investment funded by Transport for London, including:
- principal roads maintenance – £400,000
- local safety schemes – £493,500
- 20mph zones – £884,000
- safer routes to school – £320,000
- walking and cycling – £329,000
- bus priority – £227,000
- bus stop accessibility – £120,000.
We have implemented a 20mph zone in Blackheath Village Centre and zones in Catford South/Whitefoot North and Perry Vale North are also being implemented.
We continued to progress our parking investigative work and, where our consultations show support for new controlled parking zones or extensions to existing zones, we will work with local people to ensure that the design of such zones best addresses their local needs. A major consultation on parking took place in 2005 which involved some 65,000 leaflets being distributed. The results were presented to Mayor and cabinet in September 2005 and as a result, a work programme for future parking development and implementation has been agreed.
School Travel Plans in Lewisham are now in their second year, with 16 schools finalising their plans to date. A further 20 schools are being contacted for the actual academic year (2005/06), from nursery up to secondary. The plans deal with many different issues from engineering concerns to independent travel and safety awareness schemes.
Many of the schools we worked with will be within the borough spending plan-funded 20mph zones, where the identification of complementary physical works will form an important part of our traffic management work.
We are making good progress with workplace travel, with a 12% reduction in single-occupancy car journeys to work by council staff between 2003 and 2005. We are committed to continual development of our staff travel strategy. We have been shortlisted for the London Transport Awards 2006 in the Travel Information and Marketing category for our work in the travel planning area.
Key commitments for 2006/07
Decent homes and strategic development
We will work with residents and our investment partners to develop and implement Lewisham’s Decent Homes Strategy to achieve decent homes across the borough by 2010.
This involves the stock transfer of over 8,500 homes to new and existing Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), and the transfer of housing management for approximately 12,500 homes to an Arms Length Management Organisation and the housing management of approximately 4,000 homes to two private finance initiatives.
The strategy means that Lewisham has a full mixed solution which ensures that, by 2010, all its properties in the borough will meet the Decent Homes Standard, with the improvements programme beginning in March 2007.
We will also work with our RSL partners to build over 290 new homes on key Lewisham estates and sites. We will deliver a £39 million capital programme focused on bringing homes across the borough to Decent Homes Standard.
Urban Renaissance Lewisham – Lewisham town centre
Key features of the 2006/07 Urban Renaissance programme include the determination of the Lewisham Gateway planning application, which was submitted in February 2006 for determination by the end of July 2006. After approval of the planning application, road closure orders will be submitted to allow work to begin on the realignment of the A20 and A21. Once agreed, the first phase of infrastructure works will commence in late 2006 or early 2007.
Adjacent to the Lewisham Gateway site work will begin on the construction of the new town centre open space, which will reconfigure land on the Sundermead Estate to provide an improved river corridor, green space and children’s play area. On the east side of the town centre plans are being developed and will be implemented to create a community asset as part of the Leemore Centre on Clarendon Rise.
Planning and economic development
We will:
- bring forward the borough’s Thames Gateway Regeneration Statement for the ODPM, setting out the local vision to 2016 together with a project framework for the first three years
- make further timely progress in the preparation of the new local development framework, including key stages in the proactive Area Action Plans to guide the regeneration of Lewisham and Catford town centres and the completion of two conservation area appraisals
- lead on the implementation of the Local Area Agreement, Economic Development and Enterprise block
- extend the work of the business support service to provide a business start-up service for hard-to- reach groups
- provide a regeneration-led focus to the provision of new jobs and housing by identifying a range of mixed use sites in the emerging development plan and liaising with landowners to bring these forward
- establish a new local labour scheme linked to section 106 funds and employment opportunities on development sites
- obtain quality Kitemark accreditation for the Community Refurbishment Scheme
- improve the Council’s commercial property search service to work with new starters, expanding businesses and property developers
- undertake further development of IT systems to maximise online accessibility
- maintain speed of performance in processing planning applications together with good-quality pre-application advice and a development team approach to major schemes
- extend the town centre management programme to cover the smaller town centres around the borough
- develop new European partnerships, particularly with the new accession members of the EU, with a view to securing EU funding for further new initiatives.
Neighbourhood renewal and New Deal for Communities (NDC) – ‘aiming high for New Cross Gate’
Our plans to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of New Cross Rd during 2005/06 were delayed, but we hope to be back on track to deliver this project in 2006/07. Other major projects will include a new building for the Somerville Adventure Playground and design work starting on a new NDC centre. This centre will provide a focus for the community and much needed health, education and leisure services for local people. Due to budget constraints there will be few new revenue projects introduced into the NDC programme during 2006/07, but we will continue to fund a programme of projects that have proved popular and successful and develop our capacity as an organisation to deliver meaningful and lasting change to New Cross Gate.
Business regulatory services
We will develop and implement a new council policy to deal with our responsibilities under the new Gambling Act. We will review our Licensing Policy for alcohol-related premises, with particular emphasis on whether a ‘Cumulative Impact’ section is needed for some areas of the borough.
Trading Standards will develop a ‘no cold calling zone’ (NCCZ) within the borough. This is the first step of a strategy which will focus on stopping unscrupulous traders preying on vulnerable people and involves working with relevant partner organisations.
Building Control will continue its work to raise the standard of building design, particularly in relation to energy conservation and the provision of disabled access. The proactive developing of partnership working will continue.
Delivering integrated transport services
We will seek funding for further investment to resurface life-expired roads, footways and street lights.
We will seek to gain approval from the London Mayor and Assembly for the first Lewisham Local Implementation Plan.
We will develop and implement the Borough Spending Plan for 2006/07 for £2.838m, including £1.14m on local safety and 20mph schemes.
We will develop and implement schemes funded by the Transport for London Borough Spending Plan process totalling £2.838m, including:
- £1.14m on local safety and 20mph schemes
- £240k on cycling
- £119k on bus stop accessibility
- £181k on bus priority
- £296k on School Travel Plans
- £130k on town centres
- £57k on travel awareness
- £60 k on local area accessibility
- £90k on the environment.
The parking enforcement contract will be re-let in 2006. The contract has been advertised and a report on prospective contractors will be considered by Mayor and cabinet in March. The successful parking enforcement contractor will commence in August 2006.
Mayor and cabinet have agreed, in principle, that Lewisham should develop a joint ‘Expression of Interest’ with the London Borough of Croydon for street-lighting private finance initiative (PFI) funding. If approved, the project would enable fast track replacement of the borough’s run down lighting.
Following Mayor and cabinet approval of the programme of works for developing controlled parking zones in September 2005, the following parking development schemes for 2006/07 will be delivered:
- Barmeston Road area
- Lewisham CPZ west-bound extension
- Davids Road area
- Hither Green East
- Rushey Green South
- Review of Blackheath CPZ
- Sydenham Road parking review.
Work has commenced on the 20mph zone development for the Bellingham area and schemes are being developed in 2006/07 for Crofton Park East, Ladywell South and Downham East area.
