The council has branded Alsop鈥檚 masterplan for the New Deal for Communities (NDC) project 鈥渕ore aspirational than achievable,鈥� and has launched a fresh design competition.
It has emerged that the council told Alsop Architects last Christmas that its designs would not be used.
The design brief, which focuses on the area west of New Cross Gate and south of the New Den, Millwall FC鈥檚 home ground, revealed that funding for the 10-year programme was already in its third year of delivery.
The brief, which has been seen by 好色先生TV, said: 鈥淎 masterplan was commissioned by the NDC in 2002 but was subsequently shelved due
to local dissatisfaction with the approach taken. It would be fair
to say that the approach was visionary but more aspirational than achievable.鈥�
It added that a new Urban Design framework would need to strike a more appropriate balance and ensure the broad support of the community and key stakeholders.
David West, project manager for Alsop鈥檚 work on the initial plans, said that the practice had put a lot of work into the original ideas and had had the support of the community.
He said: 鈥淲e were appointed to supply a visionary plan for the
new deal. Charles Landry鈥檚 report Creative Lewisham had just challenged the council to do
things differently and we came up with a progressive development programme.鈥�
Alsop鈥檚 plan, which was praised
by the GLA and Richard Rogers鈥� Architecture and Urbanism Unit, went beyond the confines of the New Cross Gate area, connecting the whole of New Cross by means of four themed streets.
Also planned was an innovative community school, with dual-use campuses based around the area. The music department was to double as a nightclub, while the maths department was to be used as a centre to help local people with
their accounting.
West refused to speculate on the reasons for the retendering, but noted that the resignation of three key players on the Lewisham NDC committee and a change of mayor had shifted the creative emphasis.
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