This meeting will include discussions about the ongoing work on active travel in the borough, a scheduled update about the regeneration of Catford Town Centre, and a general review of the select committee’s work programme.

Active Travel Strategy

Councillors will consider a report about the council's emerging Active Travel Strategy.

The strategy was developed because the existing Cycle Strategy published in 2017 predates most of the relevant national, regional, and local strategies and policies, including Lewisham’s own Transport Strategy and Local Implementation Plan. The new strategy also takes into account the changes to travel needs and behaviours that have been observed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strategy will:

provide a clear direction for the delivery of active travel improvements throughout the Borough over at least the next 7 to 10 years.

It includes the council's overall vision for active travel:

for walking, wheeling, scooting or cycling to be the first choice for those traveling in the borough

The report sets out a series of long-term targets for active travel, including:

• Increasing the number of School Streets from 45 to 98.
• Increasing the borough’s provision of controlled parking zones from 26% to 60%.
• Doubling the number of cycling journeys that take place daily.
• Improving Lewisham's performance on the Healthy Streets Scorecard so that the borough is in the top ten by 2030.
• Reducing legal footway parking by 50%.

The report identifies thirty-six potential new active travel corridors that have been sorted into two groups according to their priority for improvement. The report pack includes detailed maps showing the location of the corridors and how they relate to public transport provision and other factors.

The twenty-one corridors that were deemed to be higher priority were then assessed using TfL’s New Cycle Route Quality Criteria, taking into account factors such as demographics, deprivation, and population density.

The council intend to consult the public on the strategy between 3 March 2025 and 13 April 2025. The findings of the consultation will be reported to Mayor and Cabinet later in the year.

The report also identifies a number of ‘quick wins’, where the council could implement limited interventions to improve conditions for walking and cycling in the borough. This includes removing bollards and relocating lamp columns to improve access on the Silk Mills path and improving the connection between Waterway Avenue and Smead Way.

Catford Town Centre Programme Update

Councillors will receive an update about the Catford Town Centre programme.

The report describes the council's work on four related projects:

• The redevelopment of the former Catford Constitutional Club.
• The Thomas Lane Yard development.
• The Station Links scheme to improve connectivity around Catford and Catford Bridge stations.
• The A205 road realignment.

The former Catford Constitutional Club

The council was awarded a Good Growth Funding grant of £1.65m from the Greater London Authority in March 2020 to refurbish the former Catford Constitutional Club building as a pub with a community kitchen. The project will also develop the adjacent Thomas’ Lane Yard car park to provide new homes and commercial space.

The report states that the council appointed Claremont Refurbishment Ltd to undertake the refurbishment, and that work commenced in April 2023. However, the report reveals that the building has required more extensive repairs than initially expected, so the project is now not expected to be completed until the summer of 2025.

Thomas’ Lane Yard

The Thomas’ Lane Yard scheme will deliver approximately 113 new affordable homes, 1000sqm of new commercial space, and 3000sqm of public realm. The project will be built on land currently occupied by the Thomas Lane car park and the Super Sets site.

The council appointed Turner Works to develop the designs in January 2021. A planning application for the scheme was submitted in October 2024 and, if approved, work is expected to begin in 2026.

Station Links

In 2020 the council agreed to use section 106 funding to deliver a programme of public realm and accessibility improvements around Catford and Catford Bridge stations.

The report states that designs for the scheme were finalised in 2023 and that the project is now subject to consultation with key stakeholders, including Network Rail, TfL, the Environment Agency, Aviva, and Thames Water.

A205 Road Realignment

The council is working with TfL to deliver a range of improvements to the A205 South Circular Road, including segregated cycle facilities, wider pavements, and new road crossings.

TfL consulted on the proposals in the spring of 2023 and submitted a planning application for the scheme in December 2023.

The report states that, subject to planning approval, work could commence in 2026 and be completed by 2028.

Bakerloo Line Extension

The report also provides a brief update about the proposed Bakerloo Line Extension.

The report states that:

• An extension of the line to Lewisham via the Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate station forms phase one of the project.
• An extension to Catford would form part of the second phase.
• The Department for Transport formally safeguarded the land required for the project in March 2021.
• TfL is expected to submit the next stage of the business case for the project to the Department for Transport in 2025.

Select Committee Work Programme

The final item on the agenda will be a general review of the Sustainable Development Select Committee's work programme.

The report pack includes a forward plan of key decisions that the council expects to take between February 2025 and May 2025, including the potential adoption of the Local Development Scheme Update on 29 January 2025 and a decision about the expiry of the Brockley Housing PFI contract on 12 March 2025.