London Square’s shiny new branded hoarding at Leegate has already been embellished by a graffiti artist, reflecting the disquiet of Lee residents at the new name.
The Lee Consortium of community groups, including the Lee Manor Society, plans to write to London Square asking them to reconsider their plan to name the new development Blackheath Gate,.
The groups acknowledge that Blackheath has a rich history, but it is a separate entity from Lee or Lee Green whose residents themselves are proud of their own identity and rich history.
So now we know. The Leegate development will be called – Blackheath Gate.
Residents – how do you feel about the name of Lee being replaced by Blackheath, which although nearby, is a mile up the road? Post your replies below.
London Square’s marketing blurb makes no mention of Lee, even though the development is on Lee Green crossroads, the historic centre of the area. Meanwhile it mentions the proximity to “Blackheath Common” which as every local knows is not what it is called.
“With 562 new homes planned, the development is set within a highly sought-after area that strikes a harmonious balance between urban convenience and local charm. Residents will enjoy easy access to the independent shops, cafés, and traditional pubs of Blackheath Village, while Blackheath Common provides expansive public green space perfect for outdoor leisure and relaxation.”
Lewisham Council has finally published the minutes of an online public meeting about Leegate, which was held on October 2nd.
The minutes record that London Square at one stage considered a 20 storey tower block at the Lee Green crossroads, before eventually settling on 17 storeys. They also set out London Square’s argument for overriding the Lewisham Local Plan constraint on buildings higher than twelve storeys in Lee.
Mark Gibney, from London Square’s planning agents Montague Evans told the meeting:
“It’s not actually in policy. The policy sets out 10 to 12 storeys and says that buildings shall not normally be more than that height. There’s then lots of other policy around that – even if you had a building of 10 to 12 storeys, there is a requirement for a developer to undertake detailed analysis, which we undertook.
“Policy requires a comprehensive Townscape assessment and analysis of the impacts of the development on views on the sensitive receptions of the conservation areas, manor house gardens and surrounding streets. Galliard Homes did that assessment and submitted a 15-storey building, which the Council approved. Precedent for buildings over 12-storeys is established by that. However, that isn’t necessarily where it finishes because if you undertake the detailed assessment that we’ve talked about and you recognise that this is one of the best regeneration locations in this part of the borough identified as such by the Council, then it stands that there is potential for significant regeneration and significant height.
“We did look at and test a lot of options including buildings up to around 20 storeys and concluded that was probably too much and settled at the 17-storey approach.”
Adam West of the architects CZWG added “If you think about the design benefit of the taller building, it does improve the proportions of that building. We’ve worked hard at giving it a more slender appearance through the extra two storeys, but also by adjusting the balconies. So the idea of a taller building at this location is very much seen as good practice in town planning terms .”
The online public meeting was attended by people who had submitted comments on London Square’s application to amend the planning consent originally granted to Galliard.”
Things are moving at Leegate. London Square’s application to vary the terms of the planning consent it inherited from Galliard is expected to be considered by Lewisham’s Planning Committee on November 18th. This includes London Square’s bid to erect a 17 storey tower on the Lee Green Crossroads.
The team pictured above has been busy rerouting the electricity cables on the site. We understand that the work was necessary to prevent power supplies to adjoining roads being cut off.
We are are told that the gas supplies to Leegate have already been disconnected.
The process of “soft stripping” is also getting underway. This involves removing non-structural parts of the site before the hard demolition starts. The process of asbestos removal will also begin soon.
The Lee Manor Society understands that scaffolding will start to be erected in the next few weeks, with the major demolition work now scheduled for the New Year.
The new hoardings around the out edge of the site have been painted black and it’s expected they will soon have London Square branding added.
The new hoarding now surrounds the trees on the corner of Eltham Road and Burnt Ash Road as well as the history panel and benches.
Photo: Frances Migniuolo
Passers-by have also been alarmed to notice this sign:
It turns out that Leegate was used for a major anti-terror training exercise by the emergency services in September. Three hundred people were involved including riot police, as well as dogs. Live video cameras were erected and the whole thing was directed from a command centre in Westminster.
