Policy information sourced from the Lewisham Local Plan

HO1 Meeting Lewisham’s housing needs

Strategic Objectives:

A An open Lewisham as part of an open London,

B Housing tailored to the community with genuinely affordable homes.

Lewisham’s housing target

A The Council will work positively and proactively with stakeholders, including development industry partners, to facilitate a significant increase in the delivery of new homes to help meet Lewisham’s housing needs. Development proposals must make the best use of land and optimise the capacity of housing sites in order to ensure:

  • The London Plan ten-year target is sought through the delivery of 16,670 net housing completions during 2019/2020 to 2028/2029 (equivalent to 1,667 p.a.); and
  • The NPPF 15-year target is exceeded through the delivery of at least 30,376 net housing completions from the anticipated start date of the Local Plan, 2025/26 to 2039/40 (equivalent to 1,667 net completions p.a. plus additional completions during the remainder of the Plan period to cater for the current backlog ( 231 p.a.) and the application of a 20% buffer during the first five years ( 380 p.a.)).

B The Council will keep under review the Local Plan’s strategic housing target and performance against delivery. Where changes to the London Plan borough-level housing targets are made the local plan review process will be used to ensure Lewisham’s Local Plan remains in general conformity with the London Plan.

Increasing housing supply

C A carefully managed uplift in the delivery of new housing development across the Borough, with priority given to genuinely affordable housing, will be achieved by:

  • Directing new housing development to Opportunity Areas, Growth Nodes, Regeneration Nodes, Growth Corridors, town centres and other well-connected and sustainable locations, consistent with the spatial strategy for the Borough set out in Policy OL1 (Delivering an Open Lewisham);
  • Allocating strategic sites for new housing, including mixed-use development, and supporting development proposals where they comply with the site allocation requirements and resisting proposals that are at odds with these;
  • Facilitating the sensitive intensification of established residential areas and supporting the development of small sites for housing, in line with Policy HO2 (Optimising the use of small sites);
  • Undertaking a programme of housing estate maintenance, renewal and regeneration that ensures high quality housing provision, results in no net loss of affordable housing and delivers net gains in affordable housing wherever possible;
  • Ensuring that all development proposals make the best use of land and optimise the capacity of housing sites, in line with Policy QD6 (Optimising site capacity);
  • Making the best use of the existing housing stock, including by using available tools to bring vacant units back into use and to regulate the use of homes for short-stay visitor accommodation;
  • Refusing development proposals that will result in the net loss of housing unless:
  • It is suitably replaced at existing or higher densities with at least the equivalent amount of new residential floorspace; or
    1. The proposal is for strategic infrastructure that demonstrably meets an identified need and is necessary to support delivery of the spatial strategy for the Borough; and
    2. Ensuring the phasing of development corresponds with the delivery of infrastructure required to support growth and to speed up the rate of delivery of new homes where planning consent has been granted.

Inclusive and mixed neighbourhoods and communities

D Development proposals for housing must demonstrate how they will contribute to and support inclusive and mixed neighbourhoods and communities across Lewisham. Details should be set out in the Inclusive Design Statement which must be submitted in accordance with Policy QD2 (Inclusive and Safe Design).

E Development proposals must deliver an appropriate mix of housing within the site and local area. The appropriate mix should be established on a case-by-case basis having regard to the site’s location and character, the nature and scale of development proposed, along with:

  • The strategic target for 50 per cent of all new homes delivered in the Borough to be for genuinely affordable housing;
  • The required mix of tenure types for affordable housing, with reference to Policy HO 3 (Genuinely affordable housing);
  • The need to secure provision of a mix of unit sizes to meet local need, with reference to the target unit size mix for affordable housing set out Table 7.1;
  • The need for provision of family housing units (3+ bedrooms), with a reasonable proportion of family units to be delivered on major developments of 10 or more dwellings; and
  • The delivery of liveable and sustainable neighbourhoods that are appropriately supported by community facilities and other infrastructure.

F Development proposals comprising solely of studios and/or 1 bedroom, 1 person units, or those that will result in an overconcentration of 1 or 2 bedroom units on an individual site, will be refused unless it can be suitably demonstrated that the housing provision:

  • Is located in an area with higher Public Transport Access Levels (i.e. PTAL 3-6); and
  • Forms part of a larger development, or is located within an area for which a masterplan has been adopted or endorsed by the Council, that includes provision for a mix of unit sizes, including a reasonable amount of family-sized units (3+ bedrooms); or
  • Is sited in a local area that consists predominantly of family housing units, and would therefore provide for a balance in the mix of unit sizes in the area; or
  • Is the only housing format deliverable owing to site size, site configuration or other development constraints, and where a studio unit is proposed, it is of an exceptional design quality.

Housing choice

G To help ensure that local residents and other people have access to a wide range of suitable housing provision, the Council will:

  • Seek that development delivers a wide range of genuinely affordable and other housing products, including market housing, to meet the needs of households of different sizes and income levels;
  • Support development proposals that meet the needs of specific groups including: families with children, older people, people with disabilities, students and vulnerable people;
  • Promote and support innovative housing designs, such as modular housing, particularly where these address acute or specialist local housing needs;
  • Support appropriate proposals for self-build or custom build housing, and seek to identify land to help facilitate such development where a need is clearly established; and
  • Encourage developers and agents to market new housing units for sale or rent to existing local residents and people with a local connection before advertising them more widely to others.

H Development proposals for Build to Rent housing will be assessed in accordance with London Plan policy H11 (Build to Rent). They must demonstrate that all such provision qualifies as Build to Rent by meeting the criteria set out in London Plan. Where the criteria are not met proposals will not be considered as Build to Rent and will be assessed against other relevant Local Plan policies.

For more information and policy context please see the Lewisham Local Plan