Greenwich is facing the loss of an extraordinary and unique community resource – and yet virtually no one appears to know of its existence or of the threat to its existence.
Occupying two acres of former industrial land on the Greenwich peninsula is the Meantime Nursery. An offshoot of the wonderful (and much better-known) Greenwich Ecology Park, it features insect hotels, vertical gardens, living willow fencing and a series of raised nursery beds containing experimental turf seeded with wildflowers, aquatic plants and more.
Created by volunteers and opened with a little fanfare only in Spring 2011 (yes, 2011), it is now threatened with closure. The threat looming over it is that the land is to be turned over to a Dutch company to create a ‘glamping’ attraction (glamorous camping, with beds, wardrobes, internet and mood lighting), decked out in lurid orange, for mostly Dutch tourists, and planned to be operational in time for the Olympics and a tall ships sail-past next year.
The Meantime Nursery, just a few months ago, was being hailed as a wonderful new local resource for conservation and biodiversity, benefiting community groups and local schools. It would be an educational resource, help to cut carbon and host food-growing projects. At the time of the nursery’s opening, attended by a government minister, the landowner, the Homes and Communities Agency, said: “This is a really fantastic project and we are proud to be involved. As well as providing the land rent-free we have undertaken the essential enabling works on site to ensure that this land can be put to good use immediately.”
So what has changed? How and why did the HCA’s proud commitment to this project evaporate? It is time local people realised that this wonderful site is under their noses, time that it was publicised and opened up to the public more widely, and time that the community demands answers from the HCA and from Greenwich Council. An application for the ‘glamping’ site to have a licence for alcohol and music has run into trouble, so there may yet be time and opportunity to mobilise to save the Meantime Nursery.
I was lucky enough recently to get access to the site. I hope the photographs here will give a sense of what we face losing in the name of a profit-seeking, temporary, tourist jamboree.
Gavin McGregor lives in east Greenwich and is a member of the East Greenwich Pleasaunce orchard care group, a keen forager and a frustrated balcony veg-grower.
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Fantastically written, as always Gavin. What a shame that this wonderful resource is under threat. I hate the way Greenwich is going – it will soon turn into a tourist mecca with an awful Frankie and Bennys on the waterfront, lurid orange glamping and no food stalls in our lovely market. Make it stop!
Can I help at the cafe by putting posters up and making people aware??
I’m sure you could, but I’m not aware of any actual campaign existing. I hear that Millennium Village / Peninsula residents objected to the music and alcohol licence, but as for saving the nursery itself, I don’t know what’s going on. There is a Friends of the Ecology Park group, but are they on this? I hope so, but if they are it’s not a very visible campaign. It would be great to hear from them. I’m afraid this wasn’t an authoritative, fact-finding piece of journalism, more a photo essay and a bit of a lament and a grumble. If anyone hears from the Friends about any moves they’re making to save the nursery, do say so.
Another licensing application has been submitted for the “glamping” – this application is not about the site itself, which doesn’t need consent, but asking for an alcohol licence for their “club room”. It is of course the only way to object to their plans.
If people want to send an objection to the council – it needs to go to licensing@greenwich.gov.uk – the details will be downloadable from the council web site with application reference WK/201113879.
Please try and copy emails to your local ward councillors and also take note that you can have your your local councillor speak for you at the meeting, but you need to tell them and to tell the licensing officers that you would like them to do this.