Lewisham is home to over 250,000 residents from a range of diverse communities, neighbourhoods and localities. The local population is forecast to rise to over 290,000 over the next twenty years. Currently there are over 130 languages spoken by different communities across the borough.

Of the borough’s 13.4 square miles, one-quarter is parkland or open space. However, what makes Lewisham a great place to live is not simply its pleasant environment but also the diversity and dynamism of its communities.

While children and young people (0-19 years) make up 25 per cent of the population, elderly residents (over 75) make up just 5 per cent – the average age of our population in Lewisham, at 34.7 years, is young compared to other London boroughs.

Overall, employment levels in Lewisham are buoyant and have risen in line with London – with 7 in 10 of those residents in work, working outside the borough; principally in central London.

Most employment is in the public sector – with the Council as the largest employer in the borough, with 8,500 staff in total; of which 4,000 are employed in 95 schools. Other public sector partners (Lewisham hospital, Goldsmiths, Lewisham College, the NHS Primary Care Trust and the Metropolitan Police) employ a further 6,500. With the exception of a few large retail businesses and some medium sized office supply businesses, the private sector economy comprises mainly small and medium enterprises in the traditional supply and retail sectors.

With Goldsmiths acting as a creative incubator and the Council acting as a catalyst for development, Lewisham has become a hub for the creative industries and is home to a number of arts and entertainment venues including the Broadway and Albany Theatres and the Laban Centre for dance. Lewisham is also the location of a number of galleries and museums including the Arts in Perpetuity Trust (APT) and the award winning Horniman museum.

Lewisham is also home to high quality educational institutions - Goldsmiths, University of London, Lewisham College and University Hospital Lewisham. Connectivity is central to our aim to be a part of London and to enable our residents to benefit from the growth of the city. The borough is exceptionally well connected through excellent transport links to central London and fast access to Canary Wharf, London City Airport, the new international terminal at Stratford, and the future London Olympics related developments. The borough has 20 main line railway stations, three DLR stations and 42 bus routes.

The extension of the Docklands Light Railway from Lewisham to Canary Wharf has significantly increased access to economic and social opportunities for the people of Lewisham. Maintaining our investment in the road network, increasing the capacity of the DLR, delivering the East London Line extension, investing £25m in Deptford railway station and creating a “state of the art” transport interchange in Lewisham Town Centre represent our major transport priorities. Alongside these major public transport initiatives Lewisham has a range of highly localised projects aimed at encouraging walking and cycling (including school travel plans and local road safety projects).