Blackheath is located in the Borough of Greenwich close to Kidbrooke. The area neighbours Greenwich Park to the north, Eltham to the south east, and Lewisham to the postcode’s south west. Blackheath is well connected and popular with city workers, as Canary Wharf and the City are easily reached in less than 30 minutes. Blackheath high street is home to a butcher, a baker, a greengrocer, a florist, and many international restaurant and shop chains. Like neighbouring Greenwich, Blackheath has many green open spaces most notable of which is Blackheath Park; every April it is here that the London Marathon starts.

Blackheath’s high topography made it a useful area for military invasions and internal rebellions: its flatness combined with the views it offered of London meant it was often used by mediaeval usurpers and pretenders. Many centuries ago, Blackheath Park was owned by a local businessman whose descendants built and leased residential lodges in the 1820s and 1830s. Years later, the London County Council forcibly purchased several plots and built council housing. A trend which would be capitalised upon by private developers looking to build modern housing in the area. At the time, it was opposed by Greenwich Council and local residents as it was seen to go against the area’s Georgian architecture; however, now it is recognised as a success. In 2002, after recognising the historical importance of this neighbourhood, Greenwich council declared Blackheath Park a conservation area. Just a couple of minutes down the road, Kidbrooke was named after the Kyd Brook, a river course that runs from Orpington to Lewisham, after connecting to the River Quaggy. The area is similarly residential and

Blackheath is an interesting part of Greenwich due to its rather morbid geographical and mythical history. It is supposedly named ‘Blackheath’ due to its use as a mass burial site during the Black Death; however, scholars refute this urban myth, and argue that it is named as such due to the area’s dark soil. Whatever its former use, Blackheath Common is a great place to celebrate Bonfire Night, with over 80,000 people coming to the Common to watch a free fireworks display.

Local residents have been critical towards the Council over recent years in regard to their over-reliance on renting out Blackheath park to private event companies. Whilst it is used to generate income for the area, it is seen as a source of disruption, and serves to restrict residents from accessing the space.

Greenwich Council has agreed to expand Kidbrooke train station to meet the demands of this area’s growing population. The improvements made by TFL are planned to be integrated with the wider Kidbrooke Square development, which is a similar residential-led scheme providing 619 new homes across eight buildings. South of here, the £1bn redevelopment of the nearby Ferrier Estate, named Kidbrooke Village, has been one of the largest changes to hit this area in recent years. So far 1,900 of a planned total of 4,800 homes have been delivered, 35% of which will be ‘affordable’. This will not only increase the local population, but is also hoped to spur investment into the area.