A TOWN centre redevelopment project has been described as “a big mess” after the council’s planning chief admitted it was currently not financially possible.

Lewisham Council’s head of planning John Miller made the admission at a local assembly meeting, claiming progress on the Lewisham Gateway project was unviable due to the economic situation.

His words have been seized on by opponents of the plans as an opportunity for them to be reconsidered.

The project, originally intended to begin in 2008 and be completed by 2014, involves removing the roundabout opposite Lewisham rail station and replacing it with high rise buildings containing 800 homes, shops and leisure facilities.

Outline planning consent for the Gateway, described by Mr Miller as “the lynchpin” of the town centre’s regeneration plans, was granted in 2007 but no work has taken place while legal negotiations between the council and developers remain ongoing.

In a document presented to the assembly meeting, Mr Miller said: “The current economic situation has added an extra level of complexity to those negotiations, and at this time is not possible to say exactly when the main Lewisham Gateway development works will commence.”

News Shopper: LEWISHAM: Major revamp plans for Loampit Vale submitted Mr Miller also admitted that a new leisure centre at the neighbouring Loampit Vale development, where construction work is also yet to begin, would only be ready in 2013 - one year later than previously stated.

Some residents have complained the combined effect of the projects will be to overpopulate the area, increase traffic congestion and turn it into another Croydon.

Campaigner Max Calo told News Shopper: “People like me have been saying for a long time the Gateway scheme is not viable.

“They’re blaming the credit crunch but the planning approval precedes that.”

News Shopper: Campaigners protested outside the council offices Deputy Mayor of Lewisham Cllr Heidi Alexander recently told News Shopper the Gateway’s developers Muse and Taylor Wimpey were still “100 per cent” behind the development.

But she admitted the fall in property prices has slowed the development down, making the company uncertain of the profit it would make.

Mr Calo said: “It’s a big mess. You can’t get investors involved because there isn’t any money to do it.

“The mistake has been to make the Gateway bear all the infrastructure costs of the Loampit Vale development too.

“It’s very difficult to know what will happen now. I think a fresh start is required.”

Richard Proctor from Action for Lewisham, which was set up partly to protests aginst the developments, said: "Our group always claimed that it was folly to proceed and we predicted this would happen.

"It's lucky they haven't gone any further because it would be complete and utter chaos there.

"It's making the council look very foolish."

The council now claims it aims to start work on the Gateway sometime next year.