Self-build Ladywell plan gets approved

Lewisham Council says:

Lewisham Council is looking for a community-led partner organisation to work with residents who want to build their own homes on the site of a former school in Ladywell.

Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock has given the green light to a competitive dialogue process to select a not-for-profit consortium or organisation to deliver community-led self-build or custom build housing on the Church Grove site, Ladywell.

The site on the former Watergate School could accommodate up to 30 new homes, with an emphasis on addressing housing needs and challenges, as well as high sustainability standards.

Council officers have been working with self-build facilitators, Our London, to understand the views of interested residents, understand technical site constraints, and devise a selection process for community-led self-build enablers, which will now be launched. The Council is looking for proposals from community-led organisations, which are financially viable and deliverable, and place an emphasis on affordable housing in the long term.

Councillor Damien Egan, Lewisham Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “This is another exciting initiative that shows that there are many ways in which we can creatively address our housing need. We have a group of people who are very motivated by designing and building their own homes. Working together with the support of the Council and a skilled enabling organisation, they can create a sustainable development that will make really good use of a challenging site.”

Lewisham Council has a history of supporting group self-build in the borough, with innovative and internationally recognised projects like the Walters Way development in Honor Oak, that have gone on to be replicated across the country.