A Blackheath playing field once earmarked to have a school built on it has officially been saved after an eight-year campaign.

Hervey Road sports field was originally the location chosen for the rebuilding of Plumstead's Willow Dene School.

But that plan was rejected and Greenwich Council’s cabinet has now agreed to lease the space to Community Teachsport for the next 30 years. 

Chairwoman of the Friends of Hervey Road Sports Field Susan Proudfoot said: "This victory is due in no small part to the work of a dedicated group of local people who had an unshakeable belief this field should be saved, could be saved, and were determined to do it."

At a public meeting on June 30, Teachsport presented their plans for the field, and Ms Proudfoot described them as "the very best we could have hoped for".

Their initial plans were to improve the site by introducing a main hub with changing rooms, indoor sports, a training room and a café. Now Teachsport has received a grant of £600,000 from the London Marathon Charitable Trust to complete this.

Ms Proudfoot said: "We are so fortunate that they persevered and won the bid to restore and manage the field."

The group had campaigned for eight years to retain the field for the community.

Plans include facilities for school holiday multi-sport activities, a forest school, a community garden and an outdoor gym & trim trail, as well as several more community-approved developments.

Ms Proudfoot said: "Many just wanted to retain it because it is so beautiful – an uplifting green oasis in an otherwise very built up area. What is so wonderful is that the proposals put forward by Community Teachsport meet nearly all of these aspirations."

For more information on the plans visit saveherveyroadsportsfield.co.uk