Developers Renewal lodge plans for 3,500 flats in 31-storey blocks around Millwall’s stadium

Plans for 3,500 homes around Millwall’s ground have been lodged, 10 years after the scheme was first approved and 15 years after the scheme was first revealed.

The new plans have 1,000 more homes than the number agreed by planners in 2012.

They follow years of talks between developers Renewal, Lewisham council and the football club, which plans to bring forward its own development around the stadium, to “futureproof” the playing side.

The Lions pay a peppercorn rent for the site – but landlords Lewisham had threatened to flog three plots around the ground to Renewal for a fraction of their value. 

So fans waged a campaign to repel the Renewal scheme, fearing it would effectively force the club out of its stadium – and threaten its future. A compromise, with both Renewal and Millwall developing their own plots of land, has been forged since Damien Egan became mayor of Lewisham in 2018.

A compulsory purchase order, seizing the stadium car park, Millwall Community Scheme land and industrial units along Bolina Road was put forward by Lewisham in 2014 but overturned in 2017. 

In 2020, the club announced it would agree a new lease for The Den and unveiled plans to extend the stadium and build on its car park.

Renewal will now focus on 16 acres to the north and south of Surrey Canal Road, on a 30-acre parcel of land bounded by the railway. It includes Stadium Avenue, which will link to the entrance of the stadium and a public square.

Renewal’s scheme includes 35 per cent affordable housing – or 1,232 flats – up from initial plans for 12 per cent.

It will pay a £47m “community infrastructure levy” – for road and other improvements. 

The firm would also make £12m in transport improvements in the area, known as “section 106” contributions.

Phase one would include 600 homes, 200 of them affordable, up to 31 storeys high, above an 800-seat auditorium and café.

A further 2,900 homes follow in phases two to five. These have 3.6m sq ft of flats, with a further 560,000 sq ft of class business space.

New office space, shops, bars, cafés and restaurants across the masterplan would create 2,000 local jobs in an area which has been identified by the council as a ‘mixed use employment location’. There would also be a new Surrey Canal Road rail station.

The New Bermondsey Sports Foundation, a charitable organisation would create Energize Sports Centre for new basketball courts, a boxing gym with two rings, a climbing wall and an ‘Onside Youth Zone’. 

New public spaces will include ‘Stadium Square’, at the heart of the area, surrounded by shops, restaurants and cafes to create a hub of activity throughout the day. 

Renewal director Jordana Malik said: “We are delighted to have submitted the planning application for New Bermondsey which marks a major milestone for the area and demonstrates our continuing commitment. 

“The amendments and updates in this planning application mean the scheme now delivers significantly more homes, including affordable homes. The application also ensures that Millwall FC can bring forward their own plans for the land surrounding the stadium.

“We are now looking forward to the application being considered by Lewisham council and continuing our discussion with key stakeholders and the local community on the future of the area.”

A spokesman for the Association of Millwall Supporters said: “It is good news for the local community that something is moving forward. But it will be much better news when the scheme starts getting built.”

The developer’s estimated sales value of £800 per sq ft for the private market homes in phase one implies a gross valuation of £225m, with a further £42m for the affordable housing.

Renewal hopes to start on site for the New Bermondsey area, north and south of Surrey Canal Road. at the end of this year, with completion of phase one in 2024. Completion is expected to take 15 years.