The Leegate site, which is currently awaiting redevelopment, was pounded with German bombs during World War II, according to a fascinating report submitted to Lewisham Council.
It says there were 46 High Explosive bomb strikes within a 300-metre radius of the site.
The report, by the unexploded ordnance specialists Brimstone, adds “Two incendiary bomb ‘showers’ were also recorded within a 300m radius of the Site; one of these is partially recorded over the eastern extent of the Site.
“Furthermore, LCC bomb damage records structural clearance to a structure on Eltham Road in the north of the Site, with further structures in the south-western extent recorded as sustaining ‘general blast damage- not structural.’ The closest substantial damage within LCC mapping is approximately 20m west of the Site, where structures were ‘damaged beyond repair’”
The report is included in an application recently lodged by London Square to discharge a condition attached to the original planning consent for Leegate concerning possible UXBs – unexploded bombs.
The original condition said that “No demolition of structural elements of the existing buildings shall be carried out until an Unexploded Ordnance Threat Assessment has been completed, and (in the event that the Threat Assessment makes recommendations for further surveys and/or measures to protect the safety of the public, of future occupiers of the land and of workers on the site) then structural demolition shall be carried out fully in accordance with the recommendations of the Assessment(s).”
London Square is arguing that the risk of unexploded ordnance being found on the site is low to moderate and has proposed several mitigation measures if the requirement is dropped.
Brimstone’s report which you can read in full here is a treasure-trove for students of the history of Lee, and includes several wartime aerial photographs and maps of Leegate.
