Lewisham has listed Blackheath station car park as an asset of community value, and fresh consultation letters on the 45-home plan went out on 21 September.

Blackheath station car park is now an asset of community value. Lewisham Council added it to its register on 5 August 2026, after a nomination by Blackheath Village Community Limited (Lewisham Council ACV register).

The listing covers “the entire area of Blackheath Station Car Park that is currently used for the Blackheath Farmers’ Market”. It stands until 4 August 2031. The land is owned by Network Rail.

The listing lands in the middle of the fight over the car park’s future. Acorn Property Group wants to build 45 homes on it, and the council’s re-consultation on that scheme is live now. Fresh letters went to neighbouring homes on 21 September (planning register, DC/25/139604).

What the listing actually does

An asset of community value listing does not block development. Under the community right to bid, it means that if the owner puts the land up for sale, local community groups get the chance to bid for it, with a six month window to prepare an offer (Lewisham Council).

The 45-home plan

Acorn’s application, submitted in March 2025, would replace most of the car park with three buildings (committee report, January 2026):

  • a four storey building at the Tranquil Vale end, with a cafe or restaurant below five flats
  • a terrace of 20 three storey townhouses across the centre of the site
  • a five storey building at the western end, with three commercial or education units below 20 flats
  • a new market square with space for 40 farmers’ market pitches
  • 17 public parking spaces kept, out of the existing 163

Eight of the 45 homes would be social rent, six with three bedrooms and two with four or more. The council’s viability consultants accepted that as the maximum the scheme can support, at 21.3 per cent by habitable room. The eight flats would be allocated through the council’s housing list.

Deferred in January, and what has changed since

Officers recommended approval, but Planning Committee B voted unanimously on 27 January to defer the application. Councillors demanded:

  • a full parking survey covering peak trading days, including how the 17 remaining spaces would work for short stays
  • a survey of current business activity in Blackheath Village, and the scheme’s likely impact on trade
  • a detailed report on market operations, including emergency service access on market days

Those reports have now been submitted. The re-consultation covers five new documents: an economic impact assessment from May 2026, a farmers’ market operational management plan from July, two parking survey summaries from July, and a revised fire safety statement (planning register).

Site and press notices went up on 5 August, the same day the community asset listing was made. The application has drawn 2,420 comments so far. No new committee date has been set.

Timeline for the Blackheath station car park plan: application for 45 homes submitted 28 March 2025; Planning Committee B unanimously deferred on 27 January 2026 demanding a fuller parking survey, a village business impact study and a market operations report; five new reports prepared May to July 2026; the car park listed as an asset of community value on 5 August 2026 alongside new site and press notices; fresh consultation letters to neighbours on 21 September 2026 with 2,420 comments so far; no new committee date set
Eighteen months in, the scheme is back out to consultation with no decision date set.

What it means for you

  • The Sunday farmers’ market carries on. If the homes are approved, the market would move onto the new market square, and the developer would fund a temporary relocation during construction (committee report).
  • Want to comment? The re-consultation is open now. Search for DC/25/139604 on the council’s planning register, or see our guide to Lewisham planning applications.
  • Park at the station? The scheme would cut public parking from 163 spaces to 17. That loss is what the parking survey demanded in January was meant to examine.
  • The community asset listing matters most if Network Rail ever sells. Community groups would then get six months to put a bid together.

Sources