Lewisham Council Unveils New Strategy to Boost Community-Led Housing
Lewisham Council is set to implement a new strategy aimed at boosting community-led housing initiatives across the borough, fostering greater community ownership, participation, and stewardship in the creation of new homes. The Mayor and Cabinet noted the ongoing development of this strategy at their meeting on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
Councillor Daniel Dream, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration, Planning and Housing Delivery, highlighted Lewisham's historical support for community-led housing, citing successful past projects like Walter Segal Way and Nubia Way. The new strategy aims to make it easier for such projects to come to fruition by acting as an enabler for community groups. To achieve this, a forum to co-produce an enabling framework is scheduled to begin next week
from the meeting date, with Councillor Dream stating, When it comes to the forum, which we're about to convene, starts next week
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The initiative will involve establishing this forum to co-produce an enabling framework, providing support to community-led housing organisations and small registered providers in accessing land, finance, and expertise. Councillor Dream also mentioned that the council will bring organisations together in a community-led housing and small registered providers forum, with a single point of contact in the council to help them find sites, funding and support.
The Council will also explore tools such as Local Development Orders to streamline planning consent for suitable sites.
Councillor Hau-Yu Tam, Cabinet Member for Communities, Sanctuary and Healing, inquired about how the strategy would ensure benefits for low-income residents. Nnenna Urum-Eke, Interim Director of Inclusive Regeneration, responded that a condition of 50% social rent would be a requirement. Furthermore, established community land trusts would be encouraged to support smaller, lower-income groups, providing an additional mechanism to ensure benefits for those on lower incomes.
The strategy also aims to address barriers to delivery, including access to land, development finance, technical capacity, and organisational resilience. By providing a clear single point of contact within the Council, the initiative seeks to improve coordination and communication.
While the Council's ability to provide direct financial support or dispose of land at below-market value is constrained by the current financial environment, it remains committed to an enabling approach that facilitates delivery, investment, and partnership opportunities. The council, like many local authorities, is operating within a challenging financial environment and must ensure that the use and disposal of public assets delivers the greatest possible benefit for residents. This involves carefully balancing support for innovative housing delivery models with financial responsibilities, including securing value from Council-owned land while maximising the delivery of genuinely affordable homes and supporting wider community outcomes.
Future reports will explore financial options for supporting these schemes. The meeting information does not specify the exact criteria that will be used to define 'community-led housing initiatives' under the new strategy, but the focus on co-production, support for organisations, and social rent requirements indicates a commitment to inclusive and resident-focused development. The full details of the strategy can be found in the public reports pack for the Mayor and Cabinet meeting on October 7, 2026 Public reports pack 07th-Oct-2026 18.00 Mayor and Cabinet.