The final phases of the Heathside and Lethbridge Estate development have been rubber stamped, with just three blocks left to be bulldozed as part of the 1,225 flat scheme.

Plans for the site have been ongoing since 2006, with development taking place over six phases.

Lewisham’s mayor and cabinet approved the final stages of the scheme which will see 585, or 52 per cent, of the homes to be let up to London Affordable rent levels.

Residents have left the last three buildings and all have been offered a new home on the estate or a property of their choice somewhere in the borough.

Mayor Damien Egan said: “Just to show how long big regeneration schemes can take, we were discussing this when I first joined the council and cabinet in 2010.

“We are well on the way through the works to regenerate the estate started in 2010.”

The scheme also includes a new community centre, public park, nursery, retail space.

Phase one of the scheme saw 138 homes built between August 2010 and October 2012, including 80 homes for social rent.

Phase two saw 190 homes built between January 2011 and April 2013, including 70 for social rent. Of these, 50 form a designated over 55s block designed to replace an over 55’s block on the original estate.

Phase three saw 218 homes built between August 2013 and December 2017 including,  102 homes for social rent, the rest being for sale and shared ownership.

Phase 4a and 4b saw 236 new homes built between July 2015 and July 2018.

This included 121 homes for social rent and four shared equity homes for former leaseholders. The rest of the properties are let at market rents.

The majority of the new affordable homes across the whole scheme were built up to phase 4b to house people whose homes had been bulldozed.

Phase 4b saw 67 new genuinely affordable social rented homes go to households on the council’s housing register.

The remaining three blocks are expected to be fully demolished by September 2019.