Plans to move temporary housing at Place/Ladywell to make way for around 200 new homes took its first step, with the mayor and cabinet approving early proposals to develop the site.

Place/Ladywell, a ‘pop-up’ village with transportable flats, has provided temporary accommodation for 24 families who would otherwise be homeless since 2016 on the site of the former Ladywell Leisure Centre.

But the council plans to move the flats to make way for 200 homes across four blocks of up to 10 storeys, 50 per cent of which will be let at ‘genuinely affordable’ rents.

Cabinet member for housing, Cllr Paul Bell, said Place/Ladywell had won numerous awards and “put Lewisham on the map.”

The relocated buildings will be used for temporary housing for homeless families.

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“We must now look to achieve what we set out to do initially and create a high-quality permanent residential development on this key site,” he said.

“We believe at least 50 per cent genuinely affordable housing is possible

“This will set the benchmark for how we expect our larger site to go forward – designing communities not just homes,” he added.

Council officers will now begin the process to appoint architects to design the development.

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Consultations on the scheme are expected to begin this month, with a planning application expected to be submitted by Lewisham Homes in the spring next year.

Once approved, the scheme is expected to be completed within the next four years.

The redevelopment plans contribute to the council’s commitment to build 1000 new social homes by 2022.

A further three housing schemes for 112 ‘pop-up’ homes for homeless families across Lee, Evelyn and Bellingham are expected to be completed in the summer of 2020.