Skyscrapers and Overground station planned for build next to Millwall stadium

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

The skyline of a borough could be radically transformed with skyscrapers up to 48 storeys tall and a new Overground station next to Millwall’s The Den stadium, if plans are approved.

Lewisham’s current tallest building, the 35-storey Exchange Point student flats, will be dwarfed by towers set to be constructed in the borough over the next two decades.

Skyscrapers between 35 storeys and 48 storeys tall have been earmarked for sites in Deptford, Bermondsey and Lewisham town centre, Lewisham council’s draft Local Plan published in January reveals.

Plans for towers have already been approved in principle at a number of the sites, but councillors have yet to give the final go-ahead for builders to start work on most of the tallest buildings.

Convoys Wharf 

The ex-Royal Navy shipyard which dates to the 16th century is earmarked for a huge tower block up to 48 stories tall in the council’s draft Local Plan from January.

Lewisham councillors have already in principle approved plans for a skyscraper with the same number of floors to be built at Convoys Wharf.

Two smaller 38-storey buildings are also planned in principle for the 16-hectare site, which is larger than 20 football pitches.

Detailed plans for the three skyscrapers must still be approved by councillors before they can be built.

Officials hope 3,500 homes will ultimately be constructed on the riverfront site, alongside 47,700 sq metres of office space, according to the draft Local Plan.

Surrey Canal Triangle 

A 10-hectare triangular strip of land surrounding Millwall’s stadium has been earmarked for a skyscraper up to 45 storeys tall in the council’s Local Plan.

Councillors have already in principle approved a tower of up to 44 storeys tall and 3,500 homes across multiple skyscrapers on the site.

Councillors approved detailed plans to construct 600 of those homes in three 32-storey skyscrapers last year, which means builders can already start work on these.

The plans are part of a project to transform the area around Millwall stadium into a new neighbourhood with over 4,000 homes and 14,253 sq metres of offices.

A new Overground station, set to be completed by the end of 2024 at the earliest, will open in the area, while Millwall wants to revamp its stadium so it can hold an extra 14,000 fans.

Under the proposals, 26 existing homes would also be bulldozed. The draft Local Plan says that “comprehensive redevelopment of the site is integral to supporting regeneration in the area, with the creation of a new high-quality mixed-use quarter and leisure destination that will help to secure a viable future for Millwall FC on this site.”

Other sites 

Several locations in Lewisham centre are earmarked for buildings up to 35 storeys tall in the draft Local Plan. These are the Conington Road brownfield site, the Tesco supermarket bounded by Lewisham Road and Conington Road, Thurston Road Bus Station and Lewisham Gateway.

The plan also says the Deptford Landings site on Oxestalls Road is suitable for towers up to 35 storeys high. The former industrial area already has planning permission for buildings up to 27 storeys tall.

Pictured top: The Exchange Point student flats finished in 2021 is currently Lewisham’s tallest building (Picture: Lewisham council planning documents)