Lewisham Property Investment Guide

The gateway to the city your key to attracting Canary Wharf professionals

Lewisham is a district in south-east London that includes Deptford, Catford, New Cross, Blackheath and Forest Hill. Town centre Improvements that plan to create a metropolitan centre to rival Croydon Bromley are underway.

With a population of 275,885 at the 2011 census, 43% of households in Lewisham borough are owner-occupiers and around 40% of the working population have jobs outside the borough, with the City of London and Canary Wharf being major employment centres.

Significant investment from both the public and private sectors has meant that the people who live, work and learn in the borough are starting to benefit from a range of new and improved facilities.

Lewisham’s house prices are mid-range for the London boroughs and below the city’s average. With the regeneration currently underway in the borough, now is a great time for property investment, as prices are set to rise once work completes.

A high percentage of the borough’s new homes are likely to be in Lewisham town centre, as planning policy favours growth around public transport hubs, in order to reduce reliance on cars while protecting green spaces.

That means Lewisham property investment is right for you if you're looking for a central zone in London.

Economy & Employment

The local economy is growing with the innovative borough councils plans for internal expansion.

With a large percentage of residents here being commuters, access to the city is already excellent which paves the way for the borough councils plans.

The innovative borough council has put plans in place to attract more SMEs to the area that supply goods to the city. It already houses a variety of successful micro-businesses being noted as a centre for creativity.  Not surprising as an above average (over 40%) of the population have degrees. The council’s aim is to aid the local economy from within.

There are also substantial regeneration projects in place for the borough too. The provision of new quality business space and redevelopment of the town centres, alongside creating employment and improving the local economy is important. The future is looking bright for economic expansion in Lewisham.

Investment

Lewisham has an impressive list of innovative projects either underway or about to start.

Lewisham town centre is set to benefit from redevelopment creating new homes and amenities. Alongside this new retail space is coming, creating more new jobs in the area.

The new Glass Mill Leisure Centre was completed in 2013 creating jobs locally. In addition to these plans are underway for further redevelopment at the waterside creating leisure facilities, shops and new housing at Ravensbourne.

The North Deptford area of the borough includes four strategic regeneration sites which could provide over half of the borough’s new housing provision for 2011-2026, as well as significant amounts of new business space.

Regeneration works were recently completed at Ladyfield Park, including a cycleway from Deptford to Sydenham.  To complement these works, more improvements to other parks and green spaces is scheduled.

Transport

Air: London City Airport is the nearest to serve Lewisham borough and is on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Rail: Lewisham station, once known as Lewisham Junction, is located at the junction of the lines to Dartford and Hayes and is also the terminus of the southern branch of the DLR. The East London Line serves Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham. New Cross has superb links to east London via the new London Overground network.

Bus: There are good bus links throughout the borough, into the city and more local services.

Lewisham is a transport interchange hub for the underground to overground and DLR. Also, it serves as a bus & coach interchange point.

Education

The borough houses 11 primary, 14 secondary and 2 independent schools. In addition, there are 2 sixth form colleges.

Sydenham High School, is an independent school for girls from 4 to 18 years and St Dunstan’s College is a co-educational independent school in Catford, both are excellent educational establishments.

Further Education: Lewisham College provides further education offering full-time and part-time courses in a wide range of subjects.

Higher Education: The University of Greenwich is the largest university in London in terms of student numbers. The Greenwich campus is just 17 minutes away from Lewisham station. Goldsmiths is also a popular arts university in New Cross.

Shops & Leisure

Shopping and Leisure: Lewisham Shopping Centre has seen a 7% rise in footfall since the Docklands Light Railway extension came to Lewisham. The centre is the major shopping centre in the borough and is  accessible from the high street, which houses many more shops. A multistory car park is located on top of the centre.

The re-located Tidemill Academy and the extended Wavelengths Leisure Centre now offer even better educational and leisure facilities. The multi-award winning Deptford Lounge provides a new focal point for community activities. Meanwhile, a series of projects have helped to improve the southern half of Deptford High Street and Deptford Market, with the monthly Giffin Square Food Fair complementing the market.