Families in south London are demanding that an award-winning developer reopens a park that was boarded up in 2018 for the construction of new homes.
Hatcham Gardens sits in a densely built part of Lewisham next to a school and surrounded by flats. Peabody was given permission by Lewisham council to close the park temporarily for use during construction.
The homes in the Pomeroy development – most of them for private sale – were finished in 2020 and people moved in during spring 2021 but the park is still boarded up.
Keith Barr, the headteacher of Kender primary school, which overlooks the park, is angry that local children – who live sandwiched between two heavily polluted main roads – have missed out for so long.
“This was a very well used space in an area where many of our children live in flats. Parents and children used to just head straight over there after school – on summer days like this, they stay there for hours playing,” he said. “Our year 6 children – who are 11 – have not been able to play there since starting school in 2016. The nearest park is now a 20-minute walk away.”
Alice Ferguson, a co-founder of Playing Out, a charity that campaigns for children’s right to play, said: “It’s heartbreaking to hear about children being deprived of their local play area for so long. There is a real crisis in children’s mental and physical health in this country and, especially for children living in flats, having access to safe communal play space on the doorstep is vitally important so they can be outdoors, active and having fun with their friends.”
In 2021, Peabody won an Evening Standard award for best family homes for the site. The award mentioned that the homes were “by a park and primary school”.
Children at the school recently dedicated an edition of their school paper to asking Peabody to return the park.
One year 6 pupil, Amuary, said: “It’s been too long since we’ve been able to play in the park opposite our school. The location is great, there was lots of space there, but I am now heading to secondary school in September and can’t believe the project has still not taken off.”
Peabody says some of the delays to reopening the park have been out of its control, citing lockdown and then not being able to find a contractor willing to work to the budget.
A spokesperson for Peabody said: “Unfortunately, the homes and the park were delayed by Covid. We have faced various problems that were out of our control, including an unexpected lack of suitable contractors interested in doing the job.”
Peabody says it is now working closely with Lewisham council to find a solution, explaining: “We’ve since been unable to find a landscaping company that’s willing to provide a reasonable quote for the work. However, we’re seeking quotes from other contractors and expect this to take another three months.”
Maria D’Arpa, who lives in one of the flats, said residents in the Pomeroy development were also unhappy. “When we bought our home it sounded amazing – they told us they will rebuild this park right under the flats where we could take our children to play. But that never manifested. And, more importantly, they took the park from a whole community.
“They told us that the costs are too high so they can’t find a contractor. We say: ‘You took the park away, you have to pay.’”
D’Arpa points out that Lewisham council made the original agreement with Peabody to let it use the park. “The problem is that nobody ever gave them a deadline, so they are taking their sweet time.”
In an email sent to residents in February and seen by the Guardian, Peabody says the project is proving expensive to deliver. It says: “… the programme has been delayed as we review options to ensure the park can be delivered within our budget … This has been challenging due in particular to the cost of labour and materials.”
As part of the original planning conditions, Peabody paid £64,000 to Lewisham council for restoring the park to its original state. A Peabody spokesperson said: “During the design process, it became clear that our budget wouldn’t be enough to cover the costs of the improvements. So we have increased the budget significantly.”
All that remains of the previously popular park is a gravel strip that smells of dog faeces, which is maintained by the council.
Mary King, a local parent, said: “It is infuriating that Peabody can win an award while taking a park from local children. This is a really built-up area – I’ve looked up the census and there are over 700 children under 14 nearby and many of those live in overcrowded homes. Couldn’t we at least see the boards removed and the space made safe without a playground? It would mean a lot to the children.”
A Lewisham council spokesperson said: “We share residents’ frustrations with the delay … [and] we have urged Peabody to ensure the improvement works are carried out as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we are speaking to Peabody and Kender primary school to discuss a temporary solution that would see this section of the park safely reopened to the public until the full improvement works can be carried out.”
The council said the space was given to Peabody because of the need to build affordable homes locally. Of the 65 homes, 40 were for private sale and the rest are a mix of shared ownership and affordable rent.
The issue of developers taking space from local communities while carrying out work is not a new one. Earlier this year in Wales, Denbighshire county council and the developer Balfour Beatty faced criticism for taking over a large playground for at least two years to use as storage for construction works on a new flood defence.
• This article was amended on 29 and 30 June 2023. Hatcham Gardens was originally boarded up by developers in 2018, not 2016 as an earlier version said in the text and a picture caption. And Peabody said that it has not yet been able to find a landscaping company willing to provide a reasonable quote for the work, contrary to what an earlier version said due to a transcription error.
