LEWISHAM councillors are calling for Boris Johnson to withhold planning approval for a high-rise waterfront development in Deptford.

The Mayor of London took planning control of the plans for Convoys Wharf last year, after developer Hutchison Whampoa complained of "unrealistic demands" from the council.

But a Lewisham Council strategic planning committee yesterday called for changes to the £1bn scheme which would take into account the area's heritage, the buildings' scale, transport issues and community benefits.

Chairman Councillor John Paschoud said: "This site is of great historic importance not just to London but the whole country.

"It’s where Henry VIII established the Royal Naval Dockyard, where Peter the Great trained, where the Golden Hind was built, and where the idea for the National Trust emerged.

"The area needs to be developed sympathetically and we have chosen to endorse a number of reasonable requirements that we think are needed in order to achieve this."

The mayor is due to consider the application next month.