These old lattice steel gas holders in Sydenham that survived through Nazi bombs could be taken down and replaced with an Aldi.

In the proposals being submitted to Lewisham Council, the gas holders will be removed and replaced with an Aldi store, café, restaurant and 100 car parking spaces, as well as working space for Southern Gas Network.

The steel frames of the gas holders were built in the late 1800s, towering at 38 metres high and 54 metres in diameter, but haven’t been used since the 1990s and were formally decommissioned in 2012 following changes in the way gas is stored.

The gas holders were designated as listed structures on October 25 at a meeting of Lewisham Council’s cabinet, but they could still be torn down.

A petition with 640 signatures entitled “save the Bell Green Gas Holders” was submitted at a council meeting on July 17 by councillor Alan Hall.

Cllr Hall said: “The Bell Green gas holders have survived bombing raids in the Second World War but will they survive Lewisham Council’s planning committee next Thursday?”

A number of other local groups have protested against the plans because of the historical significance of the gas holders.

These include the Victorian Society, Sydenham Society, Forest Hill Society, and the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society, the last of whom call the gasholders a “good examples of the early form of lattice guide frames”.

A number of other locals however submitted letters of approval for the new scheme, saying the land currently attracts litter and fly-tipping and that it would be good to have a coffee shop and restaurant nearby.

The future of the gas holders will be decided at the Lewisham Council planning committee meeting this Thursday, November 23.