Current Issues:
The Heath

 The Heath is the pride of Blackheath and one of London's most famous open spaces.   It is held in trust for public benefit under the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1886.   The A2 divides it into two, both physically and administratively, since it is administered to the north by the London Borough of Greenwich and to the south by the London Borough of Lewisham.

An attempt has been made to bring uniformity to the running of the two fractions by the setting up of the Blackheath Joint Working Party (BJWP).   This has no direct administrative power, but it draws some authority from the fact that a number of councillors from both sides attend its meetings and it has always been chaired by one of them.   In recent years the chairing has rotated between the boroughs and the present  chair is Cllr. Chris Maines, the Lib. Dem. councillor for the Blackheath ward in Lewisham.   Many Local Societies and groups, including the Blackheath Society, are represented on the BJWP.   The working party meets approximately six times a year including one public meeting, which is usually held in the Blackheath Halls (see report below).   On the Lewisham side maintenance work is carried out by Glendale, which is a division of Parkland Holidings plc, whilst in Greenwich it is done by their own Parks and Open Spaces Group.   To add to the administrative complexity the responsibility for the A2 itself lies with Transport for London.

Green Flag Award

Both of the London Boroughs of Lewisham and Greenwich are to be warmly congratulated for the award in July 2009 of a Green Flag for their joint running and maintenance of the Heath. This award is sponsored by Communities and Local Government as well as English Heritage and has been given to less than 1000 parks and green spaces throughout England and Wales. The Heath can now hold its head up high when compared to its immediate neighbour, Greenwich Park, which has had so much better funding and of course has had the flag for a number of years.

One of the criteria for the award is community involvement, so when the judges visited the site in May three of the Blackheath Society  Management Committee were there at the Prince of Wales pond to tell them of our long history of interest not just in local buildings, but also in the Heath, which we claimed was central to our community.

The award is only for one year so if the flag is going to flutter for longer on the Heath, standards will need to be maintained and in some cases, such as for the maintenance of footpaths and the prevention of erosion, improved. We will be discussing how extra funding could be obtained with our local councillors directly and via the BJWP.

BJWP Public Meeting 12/2/09

There were two items on the agenda of this public meeting, both of which promoted much comment and discussion before the meeting was opened up to general questions and explanation.

The first of these was the application by the two boroughs for Green Flag status for the Heath.   This is seen by some as a distraction and waste of money, but by its supporters as a potential tool to obtain publicity and funding from the boroughs themselves or possibly from outside bodies.   The application itself has already been made and the judging by the Civic Trust will be in June.   There was much justifiable criticism of the state of the footpaths on the Heath, which have deteriorated recently because of the hard frosts as well as from years of neglect.   The Blackheath Society was very pleased to have this endorsement of its policy, since it had already submitted a detailed critique of all of the paths with maps and photos to the two boroughs.   Cllr. Chris Maines was challenged from the floor to produce results.

The second topic was the imminent reconstruction of the A2 from the bottom of Blackheath Hill to Goffers' Road.  This will involve westbound single-lane traffic and a diversion of eastbound traffic through Lewisham and back to the A2 roundabout via Royal Parade in the Village until Easter time.   Part of the work will involve the eagerly-awaited formation of mounds of earth or bunds to help screen vehicles following a plan produced by Kim Wilkie in 2003.   It has been promised that these will be seeded with a wild flower mix and only cut once a year, so we might have an attractive show in the summer.

Other topics raised included a request to sort out cyclists' route signs many of which have been turned in the wrong direction and for an improved crossing of Charlton Way.   Concern was also expressed over the almost continuous flooding of the Hare and Billet Pond onto the road opposite the pub, which is posing a danger to cars and an inconvenience to pedestrians.

Litter on the Heath is another cause for concern, and it was explained that Glendale are monitored and penalised for any failure to deal with this.   They can be contacted on 020 8318 3986, whilst litter on the Greenwich side is best reported to their Cleansweep hotline 020 8921 6881.