Local volunteers turned abandoned land at Alan Pegg Place into a thriving community garden. But an unlawful billboard still looms over it, advertising junk food with no planning permission. We demand Lewisham Council remove it.

We, the undersigned, call on Lewisham Council to remove the unauthorised billboard located at the corner of Alan Pegg Place and Perry Rise.

This billboard:

• Has no planning permission – Lewisham Council has confirmed that no express consent has ever been granted.
• Is not immune from enforcement – Evidence from Google Street View clearly shows that the current billboard was not present until 2016, meaning it has not met the 10-year threshold for legal immunity.
• Harms local heritage – The billboard was previously refused permission in 2010 because of its detrimental impact on the Grade II listed Livesey Memorial Hall, perimeter wall, and war memorial. The current billboard sits even closer to these important heritage assets.
• Undermines community space – In 2025, local residents transformed the formerly overgrown site into a thriving community garden. The billboard, with its static fast-food advertising, is out of place in a community-led green space that supports health, wellbeing, and social connection.

Despite these facts, Lewisham Council has so far refused to act, claiming that the billboard causes “no undue harm.”  We strongly disagree. Allowing this unauthorised structure to remain not only damages our heritage and community, but also undermines the integrity of the planning system itself.

We therefore petition Lewisham Council to take immediate enforcement action under Section 225 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and require the removal of the billboard.

Our community deserves better than to have its spaces dominated by unlawful and harmful advertising.