"The Future of the Leegate
Centre"
The Leegate Centre was built at Lee Green to reinvigorate and
modernise the shopping area at the end of the 60's/start of the 70's.
Well, its deja vu all over again!
At the time it was welcomed by local people with open arms.
Everything was so different over 40 years ago - many fewer people with cars,
fewer bus routes, shopping centres at Lewisham, Catford and Eltham, local
corner shops ... the past is another country, they do things differently there.
By 1992 the centre, its flats and offices were looking less
appealing. It was bought by St. Modwen property, specialisers in taking
on declining urban shopping centres. Leegate continued to decline.
Remember Catford? St. Modwen sold it to the Council in early 2010 for
something like £10m.
By then there was active dissatisfaction with the continually
declining Leegate, its fabric and its facilities, mostly expressed and acted on
through the Local Assembly and local councillors.
Such activity and pressure eventually forced the hand of the
owners and plans were discussed. A local team was established to
negotiate with St Modwen and although like drawing teeth the plans were to
involve Asda as the key retailer, incorporate a hotel, housing, a few samll
shops, a pub, car parking but little public space.
The consultation was arranged for 20th/21st June 2014, local
people were leafleted (although some seem to have been left out) but a
different set of plans were then on offer for the well-attended public
consultation.
The new plans look good, because the current facility is so poor,
anything would look good. The entire centre is to be demolished and very
little public space will remain. The offer includes Asda (remember there
is a flourishing Sainsbury across the road) with roof top car parking for
300 cars, 250 housing units with underground car parking for less than half
that number, a pub, a few shops and "landscaping." The council
require the building on the corner by the junction to be taller by 2/3 storeys
in order to be "iconic." No doubt you are aware of all the
"iconic" apartment blocks in central Lewisham, those dotted about the
borough and others to go up on Convoys Wharf.
In brief this will lead to much increased traffic congestion,
considerable over-development for the area and 2 main players in the
supermarket world going head to head, when supermarkets are predicted to be in
decline.
Many local people are not happy with the latest draft proposlas
for the above reasons. A main criticism is the amount of extra traffic in
an already congested area, bringing more dangers to pedestrians, cyclists and
car drivers.
Patricia Richardson
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