Tag: Leegate

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Lee Manor Society lodges comprehensive objection to Leegate proposals

Lee Manor Society has lodged a comprehensive objection to London Square’s proposals to amend the planning consent for Leegate.

In a 20 page document, Michael Haste, the Lee Manor Society Planning specialist and a retired architect, sets out a catalogue of reasons why the proposals should be rejected by Lewisham Planners.

You can read the full Lee Manor Society objection document here.

The key points are:

  • The proposal for the 17 storey Leegate Tower is in breach of the tall buildings height restrictions (12 storeys) as set out in the Lewisham Local Plan – and there is no over-riding material reason why it should be approved.
  • The numerous changes proposed by London Square cannot be characterised as “minor material amendments” as the developer claims. Lewisham Planners should treat them as material.
  • London Square’s proposal to increase the number the residential units on the site (an additional 59 taking the total to 620) is NOT a result of recent changes to fire and building regulations “but a direct result of the developer simply believing that Lewisham Council will not hold it to account and will agree with anything the developer wishes to construct irrespective of whether it constitutes over-development of the Leegate site or not.”
  • The proposed 2 and 3 bed flats above the fourth floor will not be suitable for families.
  • Some of the other proposed buildings are also in breach of the height limits in the Lewisham Local Plan and should also be rejected because of their unacceptable massing.
  • The absence of any parking for able-bodied residents will prevent normal deliveries and maintenance of the homes on the development. It will also put significant pressure on street parking in the immediate area.
  • The reduction in commercial floorspace will impact employment opportunities in the area.
  • The current proposals were not consulted on by London Square at its exhibition earlier in the summer.

The objection concludes that Lee Manor Society along with many of the residents of Lee Green and with amenity societies that represent the area, fully accepts the need for redevelopment of the Leegate site, but believes that such significant works must be carried out with full sensitivity to the local environment and the needs of Lee Green, not the needs of the developer to make profit over and above what a reasonable developer would seek to make.

Leegate will not become a place that people ‘want to visit and live in’ but will become an area where they may have little option but to live in if they simply want somewhere to live

Lee Manor Society Objection

If Lewisham Council approves the proposals it will not be helping ‘to provide a welcoming place where people will be able to live their best lives’ or ‘where generations will not only live but will thrive.’ Leegate will not become a place that people ‘want to visit and live in’ but will become an area where they may have little option but to live in if they simply want somewhere to live. It will not become a place where residents will ‘choose to stay’ and they will neither ‘enjoy a good quality of life or will love living in Lewisham.’

Michael Haste will be setting out details of the objection at the next meeting of the Society, on the evening of September 2nd. Full details of where and when can be found here: all are welcome.

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Deadline near for commenting on new Leegate proposals

The deadline for commenting on London Square’s application to vary the planning consent for Leegate is August 29th.

Full details of the proposals and how you can comment can be found in our recent story which you can read here.

The Lee Manor Society will be objecting on the basis that the proposals for a higher tower block exceed the provisions set out in the newly adopted Lewisham Local Plan as well as the clear guidance given with the Lewisham Tall Buildings Study Addendum. If approved, the proposals will also mean the removal of all able-bodied resident and commercial parking, which may put extra demand on parking around the site and in turn may then lead to new and unwanted CPZ’s.

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Lewisham East MP to raise concerns about Leegate Tower with Lewisham Council

The Lewisham East MP Janet Daby is to take up worries about London Square’s plan to increase the height of the proposed Leegate Tower with Lewisham Council.

Ms Daby met representatives of local community groups, including the Lee Manor Society recently. She was told that there were concerns about both Lewisham Council’s and developer London Square’s commitment to transparency over the submission and consultation process of their recent Section 96A application and to ‘meaningful’ consultation with local residents.

Crucially Michael Haste, the Lee Manor Society planning expert and a retired architect flagged that by approving the recent removal of any reference to the heights of the proposed buildings at Leegate from the Planning Decision Notice (that Lewisham Council approved on 30th June 2025), the Council was now publicly stating that no developer in future would be required to provide any height information in any future Planning Application. Such information might now only be found in drawings and other documents making up a Planning Application.

The meeting was also attended by Sarah McMichael of the Lee Forum and former Councillor Jim Mallory, chair of the Lee Green Consortium, who raised other issues including the absence of general parking in the new development.

London Square says it doesn’t plan any residential parking except for Blue Badge spaces and two Car Clubs slots on Leyland Road. Ms Daby was told that London Square would be compelled by way of the agreed Section 106 Agreement (signed between Lewisham Council and Galliards) to enter into legally binding contracts with new Leegate residents to prevent them from even applying for CPZ parking permits in the area.

 It is expected that Ms Daby will pass on the residents’ concerns to Lewisham Council by letter.

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Leegate: London Square wins latest round in bid to raise the height of the tower block

Lewisham Planners have approved the application by London Square to remove the wording in the existing planning consent which refers to a tower block of 15 storeys.

This is despite objections by the Lee Manor Society, the Blackheath Society, and the Lee Forum.

London Square has made clear that the application (under Section 96a of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990) was its first move towards getting permission to increase the height of the tower. At its exhibition for residents in May it announced it now wanted to make the tower 18 storeys high.

London Square argued that this initial change was “non-material” but the Lee Manor Society and other objectors said it was material because it was clearly a precursor to a bid to increase the height of the tower under a Section 73 application.

However, Lewisham planners said the effects of the amendments would not alter the substance of the development from that already granted permission. “As such, Officers consider that the non-material amendment procedure is the correct route for the alterations. Considering the above, Officers are satisfied the description change is non-material.”

The planning report also says: “Neighbour consultation is not required for s96a applications, however it is noted that 88 objections have been received from neighbours and local groups, including Lee Forum, Lee Manor Society and Blackheath Society. The objections mostly relate to the plans that were presented at a public exhibition which showed Building A1 had been increased by 3-storeys from the consented 15, in addition to height increases elsewhere. At the time of this report, Leegate proposals remained at pre-app stage, and the exhibition proposals had since been revised.”

You can read the full planning document here.

Meanwhile London Square has lodged a new application to change another condition of the original planning consent.  This time they want permission to start demolition without an approved scheme of floodplain storage mitigation.

Floodplain storage mitigation in urban development involves using floodplains to store excess water during storms, reducing flood risk in downstream areas. This can be achieved through various methods, including creating or restoring natural floodplains, constructing reservoirs, and implementing sustainable drainage systems.