Council commissioned investigations have found very high levels of pollutants in the old railway-cutting site behind Royal Hill, West Greenwich which poses severe health risks to West Greenwich residents, site workers and future site users.

Having closed the community garden, Greenwich Council gave themselves planning permission in June 2020 to build Supported Housing for People with Learning Difficulties on this exceedingly contaminated ground. This was despite the results, published in January ’20, of the dangerous levels of toxic materials found there by MLM, the Councils Consulting Engineers.

Above acceptable levels of pollutants include arsenic, asbestos, lead and cancer-causing PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), including the most cancer causing PAH - Benzopyrene.

However, at the Planning Committee the councillors were not presented with this evidence. The phase 2 report from MLM was not disclosed. Lawyers have advised that the planning decision was flawed as it was based on out of date information, which did not include the serious health risk to Greenwich residents. They also say that these failures render the decision unlawful.

This site is not suitable for any development, and can never be 100% safe.   Greenwich Disabled People have questioned “why such land would even be considered as suitable to build property for disabled people.”, and “why could not such a resource be built on land that’s not contaminated?”

We need your help to challenge this unlawful decision. Please contribute and share this page with your friends and colleagues. We thank you for your help.

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We are raising £10,000 for case preparation, and a further £30,000 to cover court and legal expenses.