1,400 new homes planned for New Cross Sainsbury's car park site

Outline plans have been developed to create between 1,000 and 1,500 new homes on the site of the New Cross Gate Sainsbury's.

Estates Gazette reports:

"Mount Anvil and Hyde Group have teamed up with Sainsbury’s to develop a scheme with a possible end value of £600m next to the Bakerloo Line extension at New Cross Gate.

"The pair are the preferred bidders for a potential 1,400- home redevelopment of the seven-acre site. They will form a joint venture with the retailer to rebuild the supermarket with thousands of flats above and alongside it...

"The site has previously had scoping proposals submitted for a scheme of around 400 homes... Mount Anvil has provided affordable percentages of around 35% on a number of its London schemes, including the 308-home Lexicon on City Road and its Dollar Bay scheme, which had an off-site commitment equating to 46% affordable."

The site is also the subject of a consultation regarding the possible location of a Bakerloo Line station, when the tube is extended to New Cross and Lewisham, but Sainsbury's says that the two projects are unconnected. David Mills, Head of Property Communications at Sainsbury's explains:

"We are working on plans with Mount Anvil and Hyde which will deliver new homes and an improved store, as well as act as a springboard for further investment in the area. We will be sharing our plans with the local community before submitting an application. The Bakerloo Line extension does not facilitate the development, this is something we will bring forward as a joint venture with our development partners.

"TfL have put forward a consultation document which identifies a new station on our land. We are continuing to discuss this with them, including other potential locations in the area for the station."

The fact that the Bakerloo Line will eventually connect with this site, relieving pressure on the East London Line and overland services, makes a scheme of this size more politically viable.

Nine Elms serves as a precedent for a large-format store as part of a mixed-use development

Sainsbury's are also keen to point out that the new supermarket will be of equivalent size to the existing store and point to the recent scheme in Nine Elms as an example of what could be delivered here. Mills adds:

"Our plans will deliver a new supermarket that offers the full Sainsbury’s range. We would make sure that there is continuity of trade as we redevelop the site.

"We’ve been delivering mixed-use schemes since 2009 and have recently opened new stores at Nine Elms and Fulham."

With thanks to Monkeyboy and 853Blog for the link.

Bakerloo station could lurk beneath Sainsbury's

TfL has launched its consultation for the Bakerloo Line extension to Lewisham and has revealed its preferred site for the New Cross stop lies underneath the enormous Sainsbury's car park, next to New Cross Gate station. They say:

"We propose to build a new station at New Cross Gate and have identified a preferred site. This is shown on the map below. The station would be below ground along the western side of the existing rail station. It would improve connectivity in this part of London by providing an interchange to London Overground, National Rail services and local bus routes.

"The size of the proposed site provides several opportunities for the project. It could allow soil to be taken away by train rather than using local roads. We could also start the tunnel machinery from this site."

TfL's plans also require a new shaft on Lewisham Way, opposite the Arthouse.

 

And they've cleared up the mystery of how a new station at Lewisham can be built among the planned new towers, which has been dogging BCers for some time. They have come up with the novel idea of putting it underground. The consultation notes:

"Our preferred site for the Bakerloo line station at Lewisham is shown on the map below.

"The station would be located on Thurston Road along the south western side of the existing National Rail station. It would improve connectivity by providing an interchange to National Rail and DLR services and access to the town centre.

"Extending to Lewisham would also provide an interchange to buses, helping to increase Lewisham’s role as a major transport hub in south east London."

The consultation papers note that the Sainsbury's could be taken out of action during the construction phase.

Blue is the new Green is the new Orange

Jesse: It may be blue, but it's the bomb.

Tuco: Tight! Tight, tight, yeah! Oh, blue, yellow, pink. Whatever, man. Just keep bringing me that.

- Breaking Bad

Co-Ops are the new Sainsbury's. Two new convenience stores are about to open in the area.

Still rushing from the critical success of its re-brand from green to crystal blue, the company is expanding fast and has targeted this area. Finishing touches are being put on their stores in Brockley Road's midtown church conversion and a new-build by the DLR in Deptford.

Midtown

Deptford Bridge

I have never quite forgiven them for the irredeemably bad Co-Op that I relied on as a student or for the lousy Co-Op in Crofton Park, but the group seems to have got its act together in the last couple of years and the new retro logo sure is pretty.

Midtown Co-Op opening December 15

The Co-Op community engagement officer has confirmed that a new store will be opening on Brockley Road in the Midtown area, near Adelaide Avenue.

"The store management and colleagues have been working hard to get the store ready to open to the community on Thursday 15th December."

Asda Lewisham opens

The new Asda store in Lewisham is now open.

Situated on the ground floor of Thurston Central, opposite Glassmill Leisure Centre it's a large format store, spread over 15,000 square feet and offering 100 car parking places.

Opening hours are 6am-11pm Monday to Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sunday.

Full disclosure: Asda is a client of mine.

East Side Sainsbury's opens tomorrow

The new Sainsbury's at 180 Brockley Road opens tomorrow. Not one to get excited about, but at least it means that this key site will cease to be a building site. We get our pavement back. There's also a free cash machine, but these days BCers can't move without tripping over the things.

Thanks to Kyle for the update and the photo.

Co-op plot to co-opt St Cyp crypt

An application has been made by the Co-Op to convert the restaurant space created by the St Cyprians Hall redevelopment (294-296 Brockley Road, Midtown) into retail space, so that it can open another small supermarket. The submission is for:

The change of use of part of the ground floor of the former St Cyprians Hall, Brockley Road to facilitate the creation of a Class A1 (retail) unit. The proposed food store will be operated as a ‘local’ convenience store by The Co- Operative Group Food Ltd. 

The store will take the form of a new format ‘ fresh ’ store, providing a good retail offer of fresh produce, including fruit/vegetables, fre sh meals, salads and breads as well as household essentials. 

The creation of the food store and subdivision of the ground floor would marginally reduce the Class A2 ‘office’ from 33.0sqm (approved under planning permission DC/15/92982) to 19.5 sqm. 

And the loss of this restaurant space is justified on the basis that:

The applicants have carefully analysed the local area and catchment before choosing the application site as a suitable location for a new convenience store. Whilst it is acknowledged there are a small amount of convenience stores already located within this catchment area, The Co -Operative Group Food Ltd. have no presence within this immediate area and therefore th e development proposal will provide additional choice to the local area and competition. 

So that's the plan. In an area saturated with small supermarkets and without a single large restaurant space to boast about, the Co-Op wants to open a second store on Brockley Road, before it's even fixed its Crofton Park branch, which is by some margin the most useless high-street supermarket in the area.That would bring the tally of Brockley Co-Ops to three - the arguments about choice and competition are laughable. 

The developer has not only produced a brooding, forlorn residential block, they are now trying to kill the one good thing this site had going for it, before restaurateurs have even been given the chance to make a success of it.

The Council should reject this unscrupulous rubbish out of hand and tell the offshore owners to deliver on their promise to bring some nightlife to this sepulchral stretch. This building has been abused for years. Now do it properly.

With thanks to Thomas.

The cat from the flat comes back

The defining face of Brockley 2015 has made headlines again, with another appearance on Sainsbury's shelves.

Which is the more area-defining cat?

— Nick Barron (@BrockleyCentral) January 7, 2016

The Dude Abides

@jenny_stevens pic.twitter.com/wW2FjBtZmU

— Harriet Langford (@HarrietLangford) November 11, 2015

So Nisa Spar

The new Westside Spar opens tomorrow on Mantle Road and it's all anyone can talk about.

@BrockleyCentral Star studded opening this weekend of the new Spar on west side of Brockley station. pic.twitter.com/oEw8YX9s0T

— Matt 'k0nG' Collins (@k0nG) October 29, 2015

Its predecessor Nisa's grand opening was marred by the fact they got the area's name wrong - something which set the tone for the generally disappointing store experience that was to follow. The shop seemed optimised to flog as much chocolate as possible, to the detriment of everything else.

The new team is leaving nothing to chance. Not only have they installed a chiller from "gourmet grocers" Cook, but they've also hired "Corrie Butcher Ashley Peacock" to open the store tomorrow from 10am.

Tesco cans plans for Lewisham superstore

Tesco has sold 13 development sites across London, including its Lewisham plot, on which it had planned to expand its current superstore. The move is part of Tesco's retreat from large format stores and its need to repair its finances.

New Lewisham Sainsbury's emerges

The first of Loampit Vale's two new supermarkets is taking shape. Across the way, a new Asda will be opening soon.

New Sainsburys gathering momentum in Loampit Vale #brockley #lewisham @BrockleyCentral pic.twitter.com/CLkklHHgFx

— Marc Lantrok (@MarcLantrok) August 20, 2015

Asda opens on Deptford High Street

Asda has opened its new small-format store at 5-9 Deptford High Street. The opening is part of the chain's southern strategy and puts it head-to-head with Tesco further down the street. Asda plans another store opening in Lewisham.

Full disclosure: Asda is a client of my employer.

Sainsbury's robbed

.@BrockleyCentral Dramatic scenes at Sainsbury's. Arrived seconds after robber had relieved security guard of takings. No one hurt.
— Brockley Tim (@BrockleyTim) April 24, 2015

Tim has confirmed that this was the Mantle Road branch, at approximately midday.

Sainsbury's to open at Lewisham Renaissance

Yet another new supermarket story. Sainsbury's is moving in to the ground floor of Lewisham Renaissance, the residential development on Loampit Vale that begins at the swimming pool and ends at the railway bridge.

As the development nears completion, it has secured its first anchor tenant, which will be going head-to-head with the Asda directly opposite, in Thurston Central (no relation).

Asda and Gym Group sign up for Thurston Central

A rendering of the scheme. Asda confirmed, generic coffee shop not included

Thurston Central, the mixed-use development (400 homes) nearing completion at the foot of Loampit Vale, has confirmed that their commercial tenants will include an Asda supermarket and a 24/7 gym, run by The Gym Group.

As a budget operator, The Gym Group will find itself in direct competition with Glassmill Leisure Centre on the opposite side of the road, but they clearly the recognise unmet local demand for gym space. Asda still has plans to open a supermarket in Lee. The original scheme did not include food retail space and also looked considerably better in the renders.

With the retail units at Renaissance still empty, it's encouraging to see the space go so quickly and while Lewisham is not short of supermarkets, this will make a pedestrian-friendly alternative to Tesco.

Asda comes to Deptford

The march of the supermarket convenience stores through south east London continues, with the news that Asda is applying to convert a 99p store on Deptford High Street into one of their small stores.

Deptford Dame reports that it will be going head-to-head with Tesco on the high street soon. Up to a point, BC's view is that the spread of supermarket convenience stores is good news. It helps reduce car use, brings people to shop on their high street instead of retail parks and gives the people what they want (reflecting a shift from weekly shops to impulse purchases). The supermarkets are mostly cannibalising their own trade or fighting off threats from deep discounters like Aldi and Lidl or online retailers like Ocado and the units are too small to compete with the specialist independents like those that grace Deptford High Street.

However, moderation in all things. Deptford's already been swamped by bookies. It would be nice if any shops following Asda's lead did so at their expense.

Orange Mirror - Sainsbury's Double Act

Following the news that Sainsbury's plans to open in the new development at 180 Brockley Road, the company has confirmed that it will operate stores on both the east and west side of the tracks. A representative of Sainsbury's, Alistair Gordon, has been in touch to say that:

I am happy to confirm that our proposals have been approved by Lewisham Council, and we hope that both stores will complement each other in serving the local community.

From reviewing the response to your recent blog articles I can see that there was some confusion amongst your readers as to whether the existing store on Mantle Road will remain open. I just wanted to clarify that it is our intention for both stores to work alongside each other and operate on both sides of Brockley station serving separate catchment areas.

This means that there will be no fewer than 4 very similar small supermarkets within a 100 yard radius of Brockley Station - two on either side.

Sainsbury's has also put its head above the parapet in the ongoing debate about the condition of Greater Brockley and decided that Brockley East and West are two different places and communities. Boldness in business.

Leegate 2

Tomorrow, the company redeveloping Leegate Shopping Centre, St Modwen, is holding another public consultation, to discuss their latest plans (left).

This scheme is significantly better than their first effort, but they're still determined to crowbar a cleverly-disguised  ASDA on to the site, despite the fact there are several large supermarkets within a stone's throw, including a Sainsbury's next door.

They also want to build 230 homes and a new courtyard garden. Good use of trees, but this is still a pretty uninspiring effort, that is heavily reliant on car traffic to make it work.

We don't see why any significant retail is required, with Lewisham just down the road and Blackheath Village is up the hill. Just make an inspiring residential development.

Brockley Road Sainsbury's confirmed

Simon Hosking of Boultbee, the developers of 180 Brockley Road, confirms the story we reported yesterday - that they have agreed a lease for the main retail unit with Sainsbury's. He says:

"The new retail space has been let to Sainsbury’s under a "green lease". It was important to ensure that the retail space reflects our design and sustainability-led approach, so the team strived hard to achieve the BREEAM Excellent rating, which is the highest level possible rating. The BREEAM Excellent rating includes high levels of insulation, increased ecology through the incorporation of a green roof, energy efficient plant and equipment, reduced water consumption, as well as detailed waste management strategy."

"The 4,000 sq ft store will also create approximately 25 local jobs. We believe the store will help to enhance the overall area."