The letter was not written by me, but I agree it is a well written letter and compliments many of the other objections that have been well articulated by other residents.

I'm not aware of a local plan for HOP. There are Supplementary Planning Guidelines (2002) for FH town centre but not for HOP. In the language of central government, a local plan would probably include Lewisham's Unitary Development Plan and Core Strategy.

At present HOP is regarded as no more than a local parade, not even a 'local centre' like Crofton Park and Brockley Cross. I tried to argue (on behalf of the Forest Hill Society) as part of the core strategy consultation that HOP should be upgraded due to the increased use of the station and the number of existing shops in the three roads making up the centre. However, I was unable to convince the council officers or the inspector.

As a result shops in HOP have less protection than in local centres or district centres. Although most of the protection is for A1 (retail) units rather than A3 (restaurants). Some other town centres (Forest Hill, Sydenham, New Cross, Deptford, Blackheath, etc) have further protection by being part of conservation areas.