Plans to build housing on Blackheath station car park have been put on hold after Lewisham Council requested stronger evidence on the impact the proposals could have on the local economy.
At the end of a four-hour meeting with Lewisham Council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday evening (January 27), councillors concluded that they did not have all of the information they needed to make a fully informed decision on the plans.
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “Deferring the application ensures residents’ concerns can be properly considered and any decision is taken with a full understanding of the likely effects on local businesses and the wider area.
“Our priority is securing the best possible outcome for Blackheath.”
Community opposition is well over 1,000 and includes Hollywood movie stars
The proposals, to build 45 new homes on the car park site, had attracted 1,202 objections and had seen Hollywood movie stars including Jude Law and Dominic Cooper as well as local public figures speak out against the plans.
The plans would see the car park, which currently consists of 162 spaces, reduced to just 17. According to a council document, two out of the 17 spaces would be designated disabled spaces.
Credit: Lewisham Council planning documents
Developer Acorn Property Group said its scheme would bring “substantial public benefits” which “outweigh the low level of harm identified.”
However those who had objected to the plans had raised several concerns relating to the affordable housing on offer, the impact the loss of parking would have on local businesses and footfall, the scale of development, loss of light and the impact construction work would have on a local school.
Two open letters, signed by dozens of local businesses and a third open letter backed by “notable individuals with a connection to Blackheath” urged the council not to accept the plans.
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Dominic Cooper, who starred in Mamma Mia and The History Boys and grew up in Blackheath, said local people who object are not “anti-development.”
He added: “They are instead demanding development that is fair, responsible, and puts local people at the heart of decision-making. To plough ahead with a proposal of this size, that provides so little social and affordable housing, that prioritises developer profit, whilst ignoring overwhelming public opposition would amount to a devastating betrayal of the electorate.”
The development would consist of 20 terraced homes and 25 flats which would be in one four-storey and five-storey block respectively.
Eight homes would be social rent, which equates to 21.3per cent affordable housing by habitable room and falls significantly below Lewisham Council’s strategic target of 50per cent affordable housing on developments with 10 or more homes.
Concerns had also been raised over the uncertainty around the future of the Blackheath Farmers’ Market, which operates in the car park every Sunday, as a temporary location during the construction phase had still not been found.
Before Tuesday’s planning meeting had started (January 27), a large crowd of protesters had gathered outside Lewisham Town Hall with placards which said “Blackheath deserves better” as they sang chants of “save our village”.
Acorn’s representative, Jacqui Macqueen, told Lewisham Council’s Planning Committee: “Whether it’s the integration of renewable energy, solar shading to avoid overheating or biodiversity-led landscaping, these principles have fundamentally informed our approach to Blackheath station car park.
“In short, we are committed to designing more than homes, we are passionate about helping create thoughtfully designed, sustainable communities that respect their settings and will stand the test of time.”
But those who spoke out in objection last night expressed concern over the impact the development could have on the existing community.
Local resident, Emma Theedom, whose house is directly attached to one of the proposed housing blocks, said her garden would see a significant drop in daylight and sunlight, and that several other neighbours in her street would also be impacted.
Emma said: “What’s currently proposed feels out of proportion and will have a significant negative impact on our homes. And in the case of Block A, all for just four flats, a commercial space and a penthouse suite that will benefit from the very light and privacy it deprives us of.”
Nick Ellis, from Ellis Butchers, who was speaking on behalf of Blackheath Village Businesses, said the uncertainty of where the Blackheath Farmers’ Market would temporarily move to during construction was “deeply worrying”.
Nick said: “It makes us question whether there is even a suitable temporary location. Or if there is, whether it’ll be significantly smaller, fewer stalls, fewer visitors and far less footfall into the village.
“Either way, that is a serious problem for us because to many of us, this doesn’t feel like a temporary disruption, it feels like the beginning of the end of the market. And if the market goes, it’ll be disastrous for independent businesses and for Blackheath as a whole.”
He went on to explain that local businesses had “a very hard time” after the Covid-19 pandemic, and said he and others are only just getting back on their feet.
Blackheath is ‘A jewel in Lewisham’s crown’
Adam Oliver, a Blackheath Society Trustee, said: “You are presented with a proposal for 20 houses valued at £1.2 million each and flats valued at £860,000 each. The affordable housing proposal – as it stands – is well below policy. The developer has designed a high-end scheme and has pushed the envelope far too far.”
He continued: “The site is in a Conservation Area. A jewel in Lewisham’s crown. It is not a development site. It is obvious that the proposal neither enhances nor protects it.” The committee then heard from two supporters, including a local resident who is raising his young family in the area who said, “we simply cannot afford to prioritise parking spaces over 45 new homes”.
Mark Handley, Director of London Farmers’ Market, who was speaking in support of the application, said: “This proposal offers a rare opportunity in London to provide a purpose-built public space for the market, which will be a permanent and secure home for the Blackheath Farmers’ Market for many years to come. This in itself is a significant benefit, guaranteeing the market’s future for everybody.”
He went on to say other key benefits included upgraded power supplies, a water supply, anchor points for stalls to save using weights, which helps for safety and extreme weather and a steel room for the market to expand.
Blackheath ward councillors, Amanda De Ryk, Pauline Dall and Luke Warner then shared their concerns on why the development should not go ahead in its current form.
Cllr Warner said: “We don’t oppose the principle of developing on this site, we’re just simply not convinced that this is the right scheme. We support the delivery of new houses but we don’t believe that their design, or the use of space for the Farmers’ Market is optimal.”
Cllr De Ryk said there is a very strong feeling that the market is a key driver of trade for the village and anything that impels the market is going to affect trade for all of the businesses.
She criticised the permanent new home for the market, which according to planning documents would be within a purpose-built Market Square and would extend along a new mews street.
She added: “I don’t think any of us are convinced that the way the market is laid out in this new site is actually optimal and will guarantee its future.
“For me the way that this space is laid out, particularly the way the stalls are arranged down in front of peoples houses and next to their front doors just feels like a problem that is waiting to happen.”
Cllr De Ryk continued: “I just think how long will it be before the complaints start, the noise of 3,000 people in that space, 3,000 people walking up and down outside your front door, the refuse from clearing up after the market, the collections and the clean up. It feels to me that the market will very quickly be seen as a disturbance by these residents who are buying these houses.”
She went on to raise concerns over how emergency vehicles would be able to drive down streets made narrow by the new location of the market.
In response, Acorn said that in the case of an emergency “everything can be accessed” on a market day, but a small number of stalls would need to be moved in order for emergency vehicles to exit from the Tranquil Vale end, which is the Market Square end.
Planning officers at Lewisham Council had advised the committee to approve of the plans and grant planning permission however, those sitting on the committee did not seem convinced by the proposals before them.
Cllr Jacq Paschoud said: “I’ve been surprised this evening that the discussion has been so dominated by the economic situation, the business situation when we are talking about the housing that’s being built on this site. Now this site is in our crowded London, a fairly signficant site. But I feel that we have not discussed during this evening the fact that I do think this site is being overdeveloped.”
Cllr Paschoud added: “Because we need more housing, but pushing more housing into one place so that you’ve got housing which stops another person having light, so that you’ve got housing that [looks out of balance] with housing that’s already there, if we’ve got housing that calls itself a house that has no front, no rear and has a terrace on the roof like a flat.
“[But] I’m just feeling that while we want housing and we need housing, that squashing as much housing as we can onto a site is always going to cause issues.”
The committee briefly retired from the meeting while councillors sought legal advice and made their decision in private. Following the adjournment, Cllr James Rathbone proposed that the committee defer its decision on the current plans because more information was required.
Cllr Rathbone suggested a parking survey be carried out on peak commercial days and a report detailing commercial activity in the village and the impact the proposals would have on that. He also asked for a more detailed report regarding the market operation and access arrangements including emergency services.
Cllr Rathbone’s proposal was seconded by Cllr John Muldoon, and the decision to defer the application was unanimously agreed by all councillors sitting on the committee.
