ALLOTMENT users face being evicted from the plots their families have occupied for 75 years.

Around 30 plotholders on St Norbert's Allotments, St Norbert Road, Brockley, have been given eviction notices and told they must be off the land by April.

They are now asking the council to intervene and wrest control of the land from its current owner UGS Properties.

UGS sent out the eviction notices even though it has not lodged any formal planning application to build on the land.

The plots are situated within the Brockley Conservation Area and are home to hundreds of species of wildlife, including squirrels, hedgehogs and sparrowhawks.

Deptford Allotments and Gardens Association chairman Ian Findlay is one of those who faces losing his plot.

But Mr Findlay thinks it is UGS which is losing the plot, by trying to force out the allotment holders.

He said: "We don't understand why it wants us to go. It is just chucking us off for no apparent reason.

"The allotments create a great sense of community and they keep the pensioners in the area happy and fit.

"There are not many green spaces in Brockley. Places like this are the lungs of London and we need to protect them."

The allotments have been passed down through the generations by families since the early 1930s.

Brockley ward councillor Darren Johnson, who is supporting the plotholders, thinks Lewisham Council could safeguard the allotments' future by taking control of the land via a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

The council says a CPO is unlikely but claims it will resist development proposals which result in the "loss or damage" of the conservation area.

Deputy mayor Councillor Gavin Moore is to write to UGS, urging it to reverse the decision.

UGS was not available for comment.