A garage block in Lewisham has been transformed into five brand new social homes for local families.

The project was completed in July 2020 and is part of the borough’s Small Sites Development Strategy which hopes to demonstrate how neglected pieces of land can be transformed into “high-quality homes”.

Striving to ease Lewisham’s housing demand, the initiative wants to deliver more affordable homes that are both sustainable and resilient, all while making use of as little space as possible.

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Showcasing the new homes, Lewisham Council tweeted on Tuesday: “From an set of old garages, to five new social homes for local families.

“Our new planning guidance for small sites shows how underused pieces of land can be turned into high-quality homes, helping tackle the housing crisis.

“Find out more at http://lewishamsmallsites.co.uk.”

Outlining its plans, Lewisham Small Sites said: “Lewisham needs to deliver more new homes, especially affordable homes.

“In June 2020, 9,000 households were on the housing register. Of these, 2,500 were in temporary accommodation.

“It is calculated that the borough needs to build 1,667 homes every year for the next ten years with at least 23% of these being provided by small sites of less than 0.25 hectare.

“Carefully designed, and in appropriate locations, a 0.25 hectare site might provide as many as 35 new homes, assuming a density of around 140 homes per hectare.

“This compares with typical suburban density of around 21 homes per hectare.”

The Lewisham Small Sites project wants to:

  • Deliver more homes, including those that are genuinely affordable
  • Help Lewisham meet its annual housing targets
  • Safeguard Lewisham’s income from the New Homes Bonus
  • Diversify from reliance on large strategic sites
  • Support local builders and developers, stimulating the local economy
  • Increase density, and thereby improve viability of local services
  • Improve infrastructure through CIL and S106 contributions

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