Last year, a fence was erected around land that had previously been wild on the corner of Dacres Road and Perry Vale. It was then gated, and concreted, and suddenly became a builder’s yard.
Several members who live in the area contacted us to see if we were aware of this, and what planning permission, if any, had been given. The Society liaised with local Perry Vale councillors (John Paschoud in particular, at the time) to report this to Lewisham Council.
Just recently, Perry Vale Councillor @Justin_CC has let us know that an Enforcement Notice has now been made and some major changes will be required.
However, we’ve also heard that the work may have affected the trees on the site that are subject to a Tree Protection Order, so if you do happen to spot any issues with the trees, please let the Council and the Society know.
More details can be found on the Society’s blog post
Enforcement order ENF/25/00083 appears to be Lewisham’s first action and is linked to DC/26/144839 which is a Five Day notice to FELL and replace dead trees on the site which the council has granted.
Lewisham does not appear to publish details of enforcement notices aside from periodic summary updates - sometimes years apart, hence it is difficult to understand the scope of enforcement action Lewisham has set in motion.
Is it a complete removal of the compound or is it just a replacement order for a couple of trees with TPO’s?
The Forest Hill Society website explained it like this.
Update - 19/7/26
The Society has been communicating with Lewisham Council, and to local councillors, about this site since this last update, and we are pleased to say that there has been some progress.
An enforcement notice was served to the land owner by Lewisham on 15th June, and as this was not appealed, it came into force on 15th July with a compliance period of 3 months.
According to the notice, the Lewisham Enforcement team will be visiting the site on or around 15th Oct to check that:
• Buildings on site have been removed
• Fence around the site has been removed or reduced below 1m height
• Hardstanding removed
• Any paving within 2m of a tree removed by hand
• Make good all damage resulting from the above, and remove all materials/waste/debris
This is a clear narrative about what the Enforcement requires and it is very specific - the compound should be cleared and the site restored.
Not sure how I missed it given I (thought) I was following it carefully. I kept returning to search for and did not find a Lewisham-sourced copy of the Enforcement Notice either under a description of the site or under Enforcement Order reference ENF/25/00083.
It is hoped the specified compliance date will be met.
Big thanks to The FHSoc and everyone else who worked to get the planning dept to take this enforcement action.
At this stage, with the property owner having missed the deadline to appeal and, presumably with the planners not willing to negotiate on their very reasonable demands, and if the PO continues to ignore them, how long will it take for Lewisham Council to do the reinstatement works themselves?
The enforcement order is to fell or reduce one tree (known as T1) but it is intertwined with another tree (T2), half of which seems to be showing deterioration. Sent a photo to Forest Hill Society.
One would hope so, but as I drove past yesterday morning it looked to me like a guy was laying a sheet of OSB (used for roofing) onto the big outbuilding; and if that was the case, hopefully it’s a temporary shelter for stuff while they’re clearing-up.
I read the demolition order. It instructed that concrete within 2m of the trees should be cleared manually. I saw them yesterday breaking up the concrete with a powered machine (no idea of the name) in direct contravention of that requirement.
You can see where the concrete posts were cut with some form of power tool along the line of the reinforcing at the back of the panels. The top of the panels were cut off and the reinforcing forms part of the top of the shortened fence. The removed sections are propped up against one of the trees.
A start has been made in breaking up the concrete base. It seems that this might have hit a problem. The concrete has broken up quite well at the rear of the site but as they get towards the gate it doesn’t seem to be breaking up into large chucks any more. I recall that they laid steel mesh before laying the concrete in the area closest to the entrance. The work seems to have shuddered to a stop.
