Lewisham Council has agreed a major reset of the Catford regeneration plan, dropping the long-standing proposals to demolish Milford Towers and to re-route the A205 South Circular through the town centre. Instead, the council will pursue a “retrofit first” approach focused on practical improvements residents can see and benefit from.
The new Catford Town Centre Business Plan 2026-2030 was agreed on 9 September at the third Mayor and Cabinet meeting of the new administration, according to local reporting on the decision. It reverses some of the most ambitious elements of the 2021 Catford Town Centre Framework, which had envisaged a £500 million programme of demolition-led redevelopment and thousands of new homes.
Why the Catford regeneration plan has changed
The council says the 2021 framework is simply no longer deliverable. Changes to funding, market conditions and government priorities have made the original vision undeliverable, and the opportunity for government funding for the South Circular realignment has been withdrawn.
“Like many local people, I’ve been frustrated by the pace of change in Catford,” Councillor Daniel Dream, cabinet member for inclusive regeneration, housing delivery and planning, said in a statement published by the council. “Catford deserves a town centre people can be proud of. The reality is that the 2021 framework is no longer deliverable, so we’re hitting reset. Instead of making promises we can’t keep, we’re focusing on the improvements we can deliver now.”
The plans for demolishing Milford Towers, the 1970s Owen Luder-designed tower block above the shopping centre, date back to 2011. Proposals for moving the South Circular date back to the 1980s, with the most recent iteration from 2017. Under the new approach, the road’s route will be left untouched.
Practical improvements under the new Catford regeneration plan
The revised programme focuses on smaller, visible changes within the existing road layout. Proposed improvements include a new pedestrian crossing near the Catford Bridge Tavern, better walking and cycling routes and public realm improvements around the Broadway Theatre, pavement and crossing improvements on Brownhill Road, and completion of the long-promised Catford Stations Links project, with construction expected between 2027 and 2028.
Other measures include a cycle parking and micromobility hub, examination of a new western access to Catford Bridge station, and improved arrival experience for visitors leaving the station on the eastern side, including yellow lines on part of Doggett Road.
Larger projects already underway continue. Thomas’ Lane Yard, the first project being delivered through the council’s development partnership with The Hill Group, will provide 113 affordable homes alongside new workspace, shops and public space. Main construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with completion due in autumn 2029.
A Goldsmiths University campus is also still planned for the Old Town Hall, bringing around 500 to 600 students and staff into the town centre from late 2027. Heads of terms have been agreed, although the final lease is still awaiting formal sign-off.
Troubled regeneration company to be reviewed
A significant part of the new plan concerns Catford Regeneration Partnership Ltd (CRPL), the limited company wholly owned by the council since 2010, which owns and manages the shopping centre and other town centre assets.
The company’s finances are concerning. According to council papers reported by Salamander News, the value of the council’s loan to CRPL stood at £18.1 million at 31 March 2026, up from £16.9 million a year earlier, while the company’s entire portfolio was valued at £17.4 million in March 2024 — suggesting it is now in negative equity.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Councillor Daniel Dream said: “Our ambition for Catford has been quietly held back by a structural problem – CRPL.” He added: “We cannot build the credible future for Catford while pretending this company’s [financial] position is someone else’s problem.”
The initial decisions include writing off £1.28 million in rental arrears and £110,896 in service charges. A budget of £400,000 has been allocated for a review and financial assessment of CRPL and to fulfil the retrofit vision for Catford, with the council papers stating that CRPL “will be required to continue holding the assets in their current form for the foreseeable future” while the revised framework is delivered. A further annual budget of £250,000 for five years — £1.25 million in total — will support delivery of the new business plan up to 2030.
Retrofit first for Milford Towers
With demolition of Milford Towers firmly dropped, the council says it wants to improve the quality of the block, following the transfer next month of many of its flats from Notting Hill Genesis to Lewisham Homes. There is also a desire to retrofit the Holbeach Road car park beneath the towers — initial estimates for that work alone are between £5 million and £10 million.
Funding questions remain
Despite the more modest ambitions, the finances are not fully resolved. The report approved by the Mayor and Cabinet states: “There is currently insufficient capital and revenue budgets available to deliver the entirety of the programme. Funding bids for external funding will be developed as they become available.”
The council also faces questions over its relationship with the Greater London Authority. In 2019 Lewisham entered into a £10 million grant agreement with the GLA to support altering the A205 and infrastructure to deliver new housing in Catford — but £7.1 million of that grant has already been spent. The Mayor and Cabinet were warned that any revisions to the programme must be approved by the GLA before they are implemented, and that failure to comply with grant terms could see funding withheld, suspended or withdrawn.
The council says residents, businesses and stakeholders will continue to be consulted as projects progress, and that work will begin on a refreshed Catford Town Centre Framework to shape the area’s long-term future. After years of stalled grand plans, the council’s pitch is that delivery of the basics — crossings, lighting, cleaner streets and better-connected stations — will rebuild confidence in Catford’s regeneration.
Reporting based on Salamander News and Lewisham Council.
