Please read the following statement below & show support by signing & sharing this petition. This petition will be handed to Lewisham Council.

“Catford Against Social Cleansing” is a group of local people who have a number of concerns about the regeneration of Catford Town Centre in The London Borough of Lewisham. The purpose of our campaign is to highlight the proposed development of Catford Town Centre and to insist that the council promise to commit to a minimum of 50% of socially rented housing in this development.

Regeneration is a way of gentrifying, or as we say, socially cleansing, an area. This is when you see master plans and planning applications coming forward to socially cleanse these areas by decanting people from their homes on existing estates which for many people, has been their home & community environment for many years.

The Catford Town Centre Regeneration is likely to see mass demolition of buildings & homes including Milford Towers (This houses over 200 people), Catford Broadway shops including Tesco, Iceland, and Black Cat pub with the only building seemingly protected being the Broadway Theatre. 

There is also a massive shortage of council and social rental housing across London as well as in Lewisham. Councils are losing council and social rental homes through Right to Buy. The planned demolitions will reduce our council housing stock. We need to add more homes, not reduce the number of them.

We believe that the council should be building more social rental housing but not at the expense of the environment as some of the proposals for Catford Plassey Island which includes proposed 20 story buildings.

So in short, we are campaigning for four basic principles:

• That a minimum of 50% of any units built are designated for Social Rental homes.
• Positive action of Public land being used for public benefit. Example Place Ladywell 50% social rental housing should be available at this site.
• That there will be ballots & every effort will be made to make them accessible, fair & transparent with procedures in place to monitor this
• That the building will be environmentally friendly by building blocks not higher than 10 stories.