Campaigners battle town hall plan to destroy community garden and replace it with homes

Green haven could be lost to new ‘cultural quarter’

RESIDENTS are fighting to stop a London borough destroying a thriving community garden which sprung out of a derelict car park last year.

Greenwich council, which wants to put housing on the site, will face a storm of protest tonight over a plan branded a “cynical land grab” by opponents.

The founders of Royal Hill Community Garden, in West Greenwich Conservation Area, have amassed more than 2,000 signatures in support of the space.

It was created when locals Tony Othen and Jonathan Mantle began clearing the site last year. Dozens of volunteers, schools and scout groups have helped to develop it and local businesses have donated to it.

But the council, which owns the former police car park, has refused to recognise the garden and its planning department has applied for permission to build four homes. The site would be worth about £1.5 million with planning consent and officers have recommended the proposal be approved.

Mr Mantle and other protesters will speak out tonight at a meeting of the council’s planning board. He called it “a cynical short-termist land grab”.

He added: “This will destroy a community that did not exist before; add little to the coffers of a council doing deals worth hundreds of millions on easily developed brownfield sites elsewhere; do nothing to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing; and further congest and pollute a borough already short on public green spaces.

“We and the many hundreds we represent from every sector of the community say we have a better solution, which includes the financial dimension — maybe an eco-friendly home at the top, while the community garden stays at the bottom as a going concern.”

Volunteer Sheila Keeble said:

“The council is always banging on about community empow- A POPULAR community garden could be forced to close because of the development of a new cultural quarter in east London.

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden has more than 150,000 visitors a year, has hosted Gardeners’ Question Time and was visited by the Duchess of Cornwall. But Hackney council is proposing to redevelop some of the site as part of a new “Dalston Quarter.”

The 30,000 sq ft walled garden also leases space from Kingsland Shopping Centre owner Criterion Capital, and the firm is expected to redevelop its section. Because part of the site is privately owned, Hackney will not commit to the garden’s long-term future there and would look at a new location.

But garden users say moving would destroy what makes it special. Garden manager Brian Cumming said: “It’s a special place which is incredibly popular with locals, while we are also visited by people from all over Britain and the world. We believe a solution can be found which keeps the garden where it is and can secure its future. We don’t want to have to close and an important community resource be lost.”

Hackney said no formal plans have been drawn up yet. Its consultation closes on April 17. Criterion Capital was unavailable for comment. said it is “committed to creating new homes where we can”, adding: “This pocket of land has been identified as a future site for housing and we must push forward to make this a reality.”

Council planning documents claim removing the garden would not harm local public space as “the site does not form a lawful area of community open space or green corridor”.