Millwall’s 999-year lease approved in ‘welcome’ move away from ‘tangled history’

Millwall Football Club secured a new 999-year lease for their home, The Den, after the recommendations were approved by the Mayor of Lewisham at a council meeting last night.

At the meeting, held at Lewisham council’s offices in Catford Road, Catford, Mayor Brenda Dacres granted new leases across three separate sites surrounding The Den, in John Berylson Way, including the relocation of facilities for the Millwall Community Trust (MCT).

The move, which was presented by Councillor James Walsh, cabinet member for inclusive regeneration and planning at the meeting, will allow the club to remain at The Den, and bring forward development around the stadium, as part of wider regeneration plans for the area. 

It also secures space for the MCT, which works to improve the lives of young people in Lewisham, Southwark and the wider Millwall community through sport. 

The plans form part of the New Bermondsey project – a 30-acre redevelopment of the old industrial area, including the ground itself, which was approved in January 2022.

The lease extension agreed last night will help Millwall unlock the stadium’s land for redevelopment as part of future phases.

Chief executive of Millwall FC, Steve Kavanagh, said: “This is incredible news for the football club and everyone associated with it. 

“Possessing development rights on the land around The Den provides the club with an array of opportunities to benefit supporters on match days, enhance capabilities on non-match days and assist with ongoing efforts to develop existing and new revenue streams. 

“Crucially, it cements our position as a community asset by placing the club at the forefront of the wider redevelopment.” 

The council owns the freehold of the land leased to Millwall on a 150-year lease from 1993, along with the adjoining Lions Centre, which was leased to the MCT on a 25-year lease which started in November 2004. 

The 150-year lease with Millwall – which was due to terminate in September 2143 – contained an “absolute restriction” against residential use.

The new lease will see this restriction removed, to harness “unrealised potential” for new homes in the area. Millwall’s plans for development are expected to include a mix of housing, retail, hospitality and leisure. 

At the meeting, Cllr Chris Barnham, cabinet member for children and young people, said the recommendations were a “welcome move” forward following a “tangled history”.

Plans for The Den’s redevelopment faltered in 2016 when Lewisham council said it wanted to take back some of the land from the club and the third party which owns the surrounding land – Renewal Ltd.

Millwall threatened to leave the borough and the plans were scrapped the following year.

Mr Kavanagh said: “A remarkable amount of hard work has gone into getting to this stage and I’m grateful to Mayor Brenda Dacres, her predecessor Damien Egan, various other personnel at Lewisham council, our property advisors, the Board, and all those who have also contributed at different points in the process.”

The revised lease will also benefit the council, securing the local authority with increased income from the stadium site as well as the land surrounding the stadium when developed.

Any development will be some years away, with Millwall obliged to apply for planning permission to develop its land.

Mayor Dacres said: “This has been a long process, and I’m pleased we’ve been able to work together to secure the relocation of facilities for the Millwall Community Trust and support our shared ambitions for this part of Lewisham. 

“I look forward to working with Millwall Football Club on their plans for the land around the stadium.”

Pictured top: The Den, Millwall’s home ground (Picture: Ungry Young Man / Flickr)