The Secretary of State has upheld an appeal Greenwich Hospital regarding the plans to redevelop Greenwich Market.

This means that the propsed redevelopment will happen, despite the feelings of

the locals being largely against it. The decision to reject

the application was unanimous within the Council. So what's changed? Why

has this been overturned? Apparently as Greenwich Hospital revised

their plans to retain the original roof, the project can go ahead.

The roof wasn't the only issue.

The new area (which proposes a 100 room hotel) won't be in keeping with

the area, which is a World Heritage site and the food market area is

going to suffer. There's no question of that. In fact, if the soul of Greenwich is going be

demolished, the whole town will suffer. It's hard to see any positives

about this ruling. And I'm trying, really I am.

This isn't about making Greenwich a better place, this is about turning a

profit. It's about taking something precious to locals and bleeding it

dry. I haven't spoken to anyone in Greenwich who thinks the new

development will be a good thing. Of course, the market area needs work, it

needs restoring. But the site is important, and locals like the site as

it is.

This ruling will change the face of Greenwich. Public opinion was ignored. I'm

gutted by the ruling and can't help but feel that this is the end of a

very important era in the town. Unfortunately, I don't think it's the

start of another one. It's the end of something very special.

What do you think of the ruling? Good? Bad? Have your say below.