A team leading community engagement on the regeneration of Catford town centre has been recognised as the best in London.

Team Catford was presented the Community Engagement in the Planning Process award at the Building London Planning Awards last night, which celebrates talent working across the built environment sector.

Since 2017, Team Catford has held thousands of conversations with local people to gather over 2,500 views and ideas which are helping to shape the emerging framework plan to guide development over the next 10 to 15 years.

Judges commended Team Catford’s creative approach to community engagement and the use of digital platform, Commonplace, which is used as a hub for local feedback on the priorities for the town centre.

Speaking on the award wins, Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, said: “Congratulations to Team Catford and the Fellowship Inn.

"These are two fantastic wins that demonstrate how we are working together with the community to transform the borough.

“Through Team Catford, the Council has had thousands of conversations with residents about how we can transform the town centre while supporting our small independent businesses and celebrating our roots.

"We also worked very closely with Phoenix Community Housing to transform the historic Fellowship and Star into a thriving part of Bellingham, restoring the historic cinema and creating a new creative space.”

Team Catford also runs the monthly Catford Food Market and Catford Cornucopia – a not-for-profit pop-up shop stocking Catford merchandise and locally produced crafts with all surplus income donated to the Sickle Cell Society and Deptford’s 999 Club.

The borough also took home an award for Heritage & Culture in recognition of the work done to transform the Fellowship Inn, a historic listed pub in Bellingham.