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.