Campaigners trying to stop 45 homes being built on Blackheath station’s car park have had the site declared an asset of community value by Lewisham Council.

Acorn Property Group wants to build a row of terraced houses and two blocks of flats, along with 40 pitches for Blackheath Farmers’ Market, which uses the car park and whose operator supports the proposal. Eight of the 45 new homes would be for people on Lewisham’s waiting list.

But campaigners, bolstered by support from celebrities including the actors Jude Law and Dominic Cooper, who went to the nearby John Ball primary school, say that the loss of the car park would harm trade in Blackheath Village.

A Lewisham planning committee deferred a decision on the scheme in January after a four-hour meeting, asking for reports on the impact on the village and its farmers’ market.

Those reports have now been published. Because of the council elections in May, which were won by the Greens, a whole new committee will have to decide afresh.

The car park with station signage to the left
The Blackheath station car park Image: The Greenwich Wire

The delay has given objectors more time to make their case, and now Lewisham Council has decided that the 158-space car park should be declared an asset of community value (ACV). Some 17 spaces would remain if the scheme goes ahead. 

The status does not stop the development, but it can be considered by councillors when they decide whether or not the scheme can go ahead. 

It also means that there is a six-month window for the community to buy the car park if it goes on the market, although Acorn has previously said that Network Rail plans to sell it the land.

London Farmers’ Markets, which lets out stalls to traders on Sundays, supports the development, saying it would allow for more stalls that would be easier to operate, and has submitted a new report outlining why.

But the Battle for Blackheath campaign insists that the market will be damaged by the development.

Blackheath station development
Of the 45 new homes, eight would be for Lewisham’s waiting list. Image: Acorn Property Group/ John Pardey Architects/ Matthew Wigan Associates

“The farmers’ market is a hugely important part of Sunday life in Blackheath. It brings around 2,000 people into the village every Sunday, and their spending also supports the independent shops, cafés and other businesses, for whom Sunday is now their best trading day.  We wanted formal recognition of that value to help protect its future,” David Curtis, one of the campaigners said. 

They also say the wellbeing of children at John Ball will be affected. They describe a block next to the school as a “five-storey wall of cement” that would reduce the daylight available to pupils. 

“We are united as a community in opposing this development and preserving our unique neighbourhood,” said Rob McDonald, the campaign co-organiser.

Protesters outside town hall
Campaigners gathered outside Lewisham Town Hall at the original meeting in January. Image: The Greenwich Wire

“The Battle For Blackheath campaign is fighting to save the economic wellbeing of our high street, and our Sunday farmers’ market of 25 years. We are fighting to ensure the safeguarding of the children of John Ball Primary School.

“The lip service consultation by the developer led to not one issue or concern raised by the local community being addressed.

“This proposed development is not about building much needed social housing, or building for the future, for the community, it is about sadly just one thing – delivering maximum profit at the expense of others.

“We demand something better. We have brilliant designers and architects in this country, so why not build something of merit that will benefit a community?

One new report – commissioned by the developer and using data from Lewisham and Greenwich councils, which both cover the village, as well as TfL – said that the loss of the car park for new homes would cost businesses would, at worst, cost businesses 1.1 per cent of their turnover, and at best could result in a small net gain from spending by new residents.

Empty rear of car park
A report commissioned by the developer says that demand for the car park is falling. Image: The Greenwich Wire

A new parking survey concedes that 38 vehicles would be displaced by the development but adds that a comparison with previous survey data shows “a significant decline in the demand for parking within the Blackheath Station car park. There is no reason to suggest that this trend will not continue.”

The campaigners are now trying to raise £20,000 to cover the cost of their own reports to challenge what the developer has put forward, and are also encouraging residents to file new objections. More than 1,202 objections were filed before the previous meeting, thought to be a record for a Lewisham planning application.

Reece Harris of Avison Young, a consultancy representing Acorn, told councillors in January that design of the scheme “draws on the prevailing character of the area”, while the “new market square and landscaped public realm will replace a car-dominated environment with buildings and spaces that better reflect the vibrancy of Blackheath Village”.

One resident who did speak in favour of the scheme told the planning committeee: “We simply can’t afford to prioritise parking spaces over 45 new homes. It is understandable to want to preserve a place as it was when we first found it. But Blackheath Village isn’t, and cannot be a museum. It is a community that must evolve to survive and thrive.”

Lewisham Council confirmed to The Greenwich Wire that the car park had been made an asset of community value, but said no date had been set for a decision on the development.

The updated reports can be seen on the Lewisham Council planning website, where comments for or against the scheme can also be left.

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