Robin,
The main group of live/work units would be split with the work element on the ground floor and the live element above (connected internally). You can see a number of such units on Havelock Walk. On the 2 floors above the live/work units could be more live/work units, or purely residential units.

The type of businesses looking for live/work include artists, architects, designers, photographers, and a variety of other creative industries that Lewisham Council is keen to attract to employment areas within Lewisham. Again, Havelock Walk is proof that this can work well and Jeff Lowe, who developed much of Havelock Walk, as well as being an artist, helped us to understand the requirements of such business and how they fit together.

Is there a market? Yes, we are pretty confident. The recession is actually driving increased demand for live/work as small businesses look for ways to reduce overheads by combining live and work into a suitable location. For many businesses this can be the difference between success and failure.

The problem with live/work is that there is very few good quality live/work developments in London, this means that when a good development is built (and we have ensured that this does meet the criteria for good live/work) there is substantial demand for the properties which are remarkably good value in terms of floor space (we could make twice as much profit by developing only residential, as was outlined by A&M in their initial submission as one of the three options in February).

Regarding the reduction to facilities in the existing pools location, there are some obvious bottom lines - two pools, an attractive building (not a warehouse), with dry leisure. To be honest I am not sure where savings can be made, but the pool that was proposed in 2008 on the site of the existing building and Louise House would have cost ?9.5m rather than ?12.5m, so with reduced build costs and some careful considerations I think a saving of ?3m is possible.

I do not claim that this is the perfect solution to all our problems and that no further work is required, but I do believe that this is a realistic and financially viable proposition which is right for Willow Way, for this area of Sydenham and for Forest Hill. More to the point, I believe that this is better than either of the options presented for consultation and could be the easiest way to get swimming back in SE23/SE26 at the earliest opportunity - something which has always driven me and the Forest Hill Society in looking at these issues.