Lewisham Council

Call 020 8314 6000

Lewisham London Borough Council is one of the 32 councils that make up Greater London and is one of the councils that has its own directly elected mayor.  It was created in 1963 by merging Deptford Metropolitan Borough Council and Lewisham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Lewisham council handle all the main services you would expect from a local council.  This ranges from education services and running local schools to providing housing and social services as well as collecting rubbish and recycling.  It also handles the environment and leisure services.

There are 18 wards that each have their own councillors:

  1. Bellingham
  2. Blackheath
  3. Brockley
  4. Catford
  5. Crofton
  6. Downham
  7. Evelyn
  8. Forest Hill
  9. Grove Park
  10. Ladywell
  11. Lee Green
  12. Lewisham Central
  13. New Cross
  14. Perry Vale
  15. Rushey Green
  16. Sydenham
  17. Telegraph Hill
  18. Whitefoot

Contacting the council

A lot of the queries that you need answering as a resident of Lewisham can be done on the website https://www.lewisham.gov.uk.  This includes registering for council tax when you move to the area or closing an account when you move out, making a new housing benefit claim or applying for a new parking permit.  You can also make payments for things like council tax, rent or even parking fines via the website.

The council have an automated switchboard service to help you get the department you need that also operates 24 hours to access emergency services.  This number is 020 8314 6000.

There are also different departments that handle different aspects of the council services.  For example, if you want to contact the business rates team, their direct number is 020 8314 6150.  Or the Trading Standards team is available on 020 8314 7237.

If you want to apply for social housing that is owned by the council, then you can ring 020 8314 7007 or visit the website and complete the paperwork you can download there.  Some departments are all handled online such as the Housing Benefits team – you can apply for it, make a repayment if you have been paid too much and add documents via the website.