Is lewisham a future home for wharfers?

The redevelopment of print storage depot Convoys Wharf is the biggest project in the pipeline with 3,500 flats planned for the site.

Split between three glass towers prospective buyers can expect clear views of Greenwich, Canary Wharf and the Thames.

Occupying 50 per cent of Lewisham’s river front the brownfield site will be transformed over the next few years with developer Richard Rogers hoping the development will become a catalyst for riverside regeneration and Lewisham beyond.

Grand plans are also underway for an overhaul of the town centre. Over the next six years, the Lewisham Gateway project will see massive redevelopment of road, rail and shopping areas.

Transforming the centre into a well connected and vibrant destination, a multi-screen cinema, shopping centre and a new urban park will reinvigorate the area creating better access to the DLR station, providing a quick route to Canary Wharf.

Part of the Gateway project will see the redevelopment of next door Loampit Vale. In a joint partnership between Barratt Homes and Lewisham Council, a further 800 flats are due to be built.

However Canary Wharf estate agent Alistair Carpenter, of Lourdes Estate Agents, raised a note of caution

He said: “It’s all very well redeveloping the area but it needs to be made accessible for Wharfers. Transport is the key.”

We asked wharfers on their lunch break what they thought of Lewisham.

Michael Marquis: “People would not want to move there, but maybe in the next 10 years.”

Richard Shell: “It is not far away for a young professional. I can see it working if it is done like Shoreditch.”

Kerry Exley: “It is easy to get to from the Wharf. If it becomes up and coming then why not?”

Sophie Flewers: “I’m not sure city types will want to move there. It has a bad name but give it time.”

Esrar Moitra: “Because of the area’s location, just 10 minutes into the office, you can’t beat it, can you? But Lewisham does not quite have the village feel of Highbury and Islington, so I don’t know how popular it will be.”