Plans to demolish the Tidemill wildlife garden in Deptford will continue, after campaigners’ second request for a judicial review was refused.

This comes after a long dispute over development plans which culminated in a £105k eviction in October.

Lewisham Council are in discussions with developer Peabody to sign the land over, with work planned to start “as soon as possible”, cabinet member for housing Cllr Paul Bell said.

READ MORE: Lewisham Council spent £105k on Tidemill Garden eviction

The plans include the demolition of 16 homes at Reginald House and the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden to make way for a 209-home development, with 117 affordable homes.

But campaigners were feeling “disappointed and disheartened” spokesperson Andrea Carey-Fuller explained.

The group had pushed for the developer to re-draw plans to keep the garden, with air quality and access to green space concerns for locals.

“If is very disappointing and disheartening to be let down by the High Court who are supposed to be advocates for fairness and justice, yet have failed to allow the Tidemill campaign to have an opportunity to argue our case properly at a full judicial review hearing,” she said.

“There is a large deficit of open, green and public space across Lewisham and in Deptford in particular which has been undergoing intensive regeneration over the past five years,” she said.

But she hoped a “positive way forward” could be found, with a meeting planned between Cllr Bell and Deptford Neighbourhood Action, a group set up in 2015 to facilitate community input into plans for the area.

A Save Reginald Save Tidemill campaign spokesperson said the campaign to stop the demolition of 16 social homes in Reginald House and the garden would go on. 

He contested whether the 117 new homes could be considered social housing, and said the rent proposed was in line with London affordable rent levels.

However the classification of social housing now includes London affordable rent levels, according to council documents.

London affordable rents, according to GLA guidance, would see a one-bed rented out at £144.26 per week, a two-bed at £152.73 and a three-bed at £161.33.

Cllr Paul Bell said: “We welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision. Having reached the end of the appeal process, we can now focus on delivering the social homes that our residents so vitally need.

“It is important we also reflect on how we got to this point. Not everyone will agree with this decision. It is vital we acknowledge that and look at moving forward together because we are in the grip of an acute housing crisis and this project is about providing more desperately needed homes.”