80 businesses have backed the letter opposing developer Acorn’s plan, which they argue is “the single biggest threat to the survival of Blackheath’s independent retailers” and the “unique character of the village that Blackheath has faced in recent times”.
Acorn wants to build the new homes on the Blackheath Station car park site, which would consist of 20 terraced homes and 25 flats split across two blocks that would be five and four storeys tall respectively.
Under the plans the car park, which currently consists of 162 spaces, would be reduced to just 17 while the development itself would deliver 21.3 per cent ‘affordable’ housing “by habitable room”.
Acorn previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that its proposals are an opportunity to unlock the site’s “development potential”.
However businesses such as Blackheath Natural Remedies and Blackheath Vintners said a reduction in car parking would be “disastrous” for the village, as they say the area already suffers from a lack of spaces.
Paul Watts, from Bookshop on the Heath, said: “Blackheath Village businesses rely on strong footfall throughout the week, and provision of sufficient car parking spaces is key to achieving that.
There is already pressure on available car parking spaces so the significant reduction in capacity proposed by the station car park development is not acceptable and should be rejected.”
Campaigners and businesses are also concerned for the future of the Blackheath Farmers’ Market, which operates in the car park every Sunday and brings good footfall to traders and the rest of the village.
Mark Handley, the Director at London Farmers’ Market, previously said the proposals offer the market a “much improved and viable new home” with additional facilities in a purpose-built market location, but businesses say they have “serious doubts” the market will remain viable under the proposed scheme.
Businesses claim “no attempt” has been made to assess how relocating the farmers’ market, which they claim will be operating with a reduced layout, will impact footfall, the circulation of shoppers through the village, and the wider local economy.
As part of their open letter, the businesses said: “We have not been consulted on or told where the market would be relocated during construction, an omission that is wholly unacceptable given the serious risk such a move poses to our businesses.
“The claim that a ‘workable’ temporary site has been identified by [London Farmers’ Market] is unsubstantiated at present and we have our doubts about the credibility of this claim.”
Nick Ellis, from Ellis Butchers, said: “My big worry is the farmers’ market, as we get so much trade off the back end of that. If it’s relocated, changed or worse, doesn’t survive – which I think is likely – we’re in serious trouble.
“Sunday is our busiest trading day in terms of customer spend per hour. With the price of rents and overheads in the village as they are, even a small change in footfall on a Sunday will make things so much worse for us.”
Earlier this summer, several celebrities and high-profile public figures with personal links to the area signed their own open letter against Acorn’s plans, including Hollywood actors Jude Law and Dominic Cooper, and Dame Joan Ruddock, who served as Lewisham Deptford’s Labour MP for 28 years.
Jude Law said in a statement: “I grew up in Blackheath. My junior school was across from the site where this proposed development will take place.
“This plan does not answer housing needs. Instead this plan will enforce a strain on a wonderful old village that deserves our protection.”
Chris Difford from the band, Squeeze, which was formed locally, said: “This is heartbreaking – Blackheath has a skyline that is already suffocated by the horizon of Canary Wharf and the buildings in neighbouring Lewisham.
“We must respect the beauty and freedom that the sky provides around Blackheath Village and say no to this new development.”
Acorn previously told the LDRS: “Through sensitive heritage-led design and a highly sustainable redevelopment approach, the proposals are wholly in line with national, London and local planning policies that promote increased housing supply in response to the urgent need for new homes.”
They added: “The proposed development will deliver 45 high-quality sustainable homes, including much needed, entirely social-rented, family sized affordable housing, re-provision and enhancement of the farmers’ market and a substantial number of public benefits prioritising a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable development that supports both residents and the natural environment.”
A spokesperson for Lewisham Council previously told the LDRS they cannot comment due to the plans being part of a live planning application, however the final decision will rest with the Strategic Planning Committee – which is expected this autumn.
