Notice a big track has been cleared through the dense greenery going up from honor oak road. I’m aware there’s been a longstanding battle between the council and someone seeking to build on this land and fear this means the developer has won. Can anyone shed light. It is / was a habitat for some rare plants and butterflies.
Both the entrance from Honor Oak Road and the Canonbie Road entrance have indeed been cleared. Must be in preparation for something!
Old details are at DC/98/043123/X | The residential development of 116 Canonbie Road SE23 3AG and the former Thames Water Reservoir site Honor Oak Road SE23 with vehicular and pedestrian access onto Canonbie Road. (Outline Application).
The site was deemed a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, and both the London Ecology Unit (now merged into the Greater London Authority) and the London Wildlife Trust objected to any development. There were seven rare plant and two rare insect species found on the site, with one of the insect species listed in the ‘Red List’ as endangered.
Been ding dong and battles ever since, so who knows what is proposed this time, but the area has been left well alone for quite some time, so it may be of even greater importance to both wildlife and developer alike now!!
Still nothing on the council’s planning database about this. But why have they (presumably Thomas Wrenn Homes Ltd, the owners) now covered the Canonbie entrance with geo weed suppressing fabric all the way into the reservoir site along the route of 116 Canonbie Road, the side of which is also exposed, with open doors which appear to store builder’s materials? Something permanent?
You could contact Lewisham’s planning enforcement department and ask them to check that they aren’t doing anything they don’t have permission for. You’ll probably need to give details of the site and what you describe here…
I know this is an old thread, but did anything ever come of this in the end? Is Thomas Wrenn still trying to build on this land? There is nothing on the planning portal.
Some diggers are operating on the site (today and yesterday)… anyone know what’s going on?
Hello Diggerz, thanks for flagging this up. I can’t find any planning permission for that site. I thought it had some protection because of some rare species found there. It was designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and Thomas Wrenn’s application to build on it was refused - but that was about 10 years ago. I’ll check with Lewisham Planning on Monday.
I think the Canonbie Street development noted above might be separate but I am not totally sure (that site does have approved planning permission). I am also interested to find out what is happening on the covered reservoir. Has anyone had any luck finding this out?
The trees on the site have Tree Preservation Orders (TPO’s) on them so any felling or damage any trees the developer will be fined without seeking permission from the council to cut down, top, lop, unroot, wilfully damage or wilfully destroy any tree in schedule 1 of the Tree Preservation Act 1999 also the Town & Country Act 1990. I have contracted the Lewisham Council Ecological Regeneration Manager and informed them.
The site is described in detail mentioned in Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) Winged Chariot
Walter de la Mare - Wikipedia
Hi
Does anyone know any more about the current plans for this site?
By flattening the site it looks like they are trying to destroy any ecological value thus removing the planners position to object to future developments.
