Chariot services began in London earlier this year
Commuters in Charlton and Blackheath who are tired of crowded and unreliable buses to North Greenwich could be able to get a new service to the Jubilee Line hub – if they pay a little more.
Car giant Ford, which launched its Chariot service between Shooters Hill and North Greenwich earlier this year, is applying for permission to serve three stops on Westcombe Hill between the Royal Standard and Westcombe Park station. It is also asking to serve three new stops on Shooters Hill Road.
It says it is down to “significant customer requests” – most likely as a result of the notorious overcrowding on the 108 service down Westcombe Hill to North Greenwich.
But the service – which would run non-stop between North Greenwich and Westcombe Park stations – is also likely to appeal to a section of Charlton commuters who face daily battles with the 486 service down Charlton Church Lane and the 161 on Woolwich Road, who can easily walk to Westcombe Hill.
Fares on the Shooters Hill Shot, which runs in rush hours only, are typically £3 each way, although users can gain free rides by asking friends to sign up. Users book their seats with an app, similar to minicab service Uber.
Even though Chariot has to apply to TfL for a licence to run the service, the services are not be part of its network or fare structure.
The service currently snakes its way around back streets in Shooters Hill and Kidbrooke before running down the A102 to North Greenwich. Chariot is also applying to run every eight minutes, rather than every 10 minutes as now.
Residents said the new blocks would loom over their homes and deny them natural light
London mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked Greenwich Council’s refusal to allow a developer to build 771 homes at the end of Anchor & Hope Lane, meaning he will now decide whether or not it will go ahead, rather than local councillors.
Developer Rockwell had planned to build on the VIP industrial estate behind Atlas and Derrick Gardens, with five 10-storey blocks, but its plans were thrown out by Greenwich Council’s planning board last month, with chair Sarah Merrill calling the proposal “reminiscent of Stalingrad”.
All 11 councillors on Greenwich’s planning board voted to reject the scheme, the first to come forward at Charlton Riverside – designated an “opportunity area” by the mayor.
But Khan has now opted to take over deciding what happens with the scheme himself – the first time a Greenwich Council planning decision has been called in by City Hall.
Rockwell says its new scheme will look like this
In a letter sent to Greenwich Council and seen by this website, Khan says that the proposal will have a “significant impact on the implementation of the London Plan and the draft London Plan” – the mayoral blueprint for planning across the capital.
The news will anger local residents who have battled against the proposals – particularly those who live in Atlas and Derrick Gardens, who say the Rockwell development will loom over their homes and deny them natural light. Local industries have also voiced concerns about whether they will be able to continue in business with a large residential development on their doorstep, and Squeeze singer Glenn Tilbrook has complained that his recording studio would be put in jeopardy by the plans.
It will also annoy Greenwich Labour councillors, who will be expected to campaign for Khan in 2020’s election – and who are well aware that the infrastructure in the area is anything but strong.
I had a feeling this might happen, especially when the new chair of the planning committee described the Charlton Riverside scheme as "looking like Stalingrad." https://t.co/FAomGIP6Oq
London mayors have the power to “call in” major developments after councils have made a decision, but it rarely happens. While it has never happened to Greenwich Council, two past developments on its borders have been called in.
A call-in effectively means the planning process starts again, with the mayor’s officers taking over and a public hearing taking place at City Hall.
More recently, Khan overturned Bromley Council’s approval of a new stadium for London’s oldest football club, Cray Wanderers, who play in the eighth tier of English football, and two four-storey blocks of flats at Flamingo Park, off the Sidcup by-pass.
Negotiations with Greenwich Council finally produced a revised plan by the end of 2017, cutting the maximum height down to 10 storeys with 25% “affordable”. In July 2018 this was increased to 35% “affordable” when judged by number of rooms, or 32.4% when assessed by the number of units.
5pm update: Greenwich Council regeneration cabinet member Sizwe James says: “I am disappointed that the Mayor of London has called in the Eynsham Drive and Charlton Riverside planning applications, both of which were rejected by our Planning Board last month. This means that the Mayor of London, and not the local councillors elected by the people of Greenwich, will decide on these applications.
“At the Planning Board, local residents spoke passionately about the issues they had with the proposed developments. The committee members listened to the residents and shared their concerns about the height of the buildings, the lack of homes for families, and the affordability of those homes.
“After the planning applications were rejected, we hoped that the developers would come back to us with a new application that provided much needed affordable housing for families, in developments of an appropriate size and scale for Abbey Wood and Charlton.
“Whilst I respect the rights of the Mayor of London to call in these planning applications, and understand the pressure he is under to get more homes built, we very much hope he will address the concerns of residents in the process.
“I would urge him not to simply wave the applications through, but include us in discussions with the developers to secure a greater proportion of well designed, affordable family homes.
“We also need to learn from the mistakes made in the 60s and 70s and create proper neighbourhoods, with walkable streets, places to work and spaces for children to play and socialise.
“I hope that we can work together with the developers and the Mayor of London to do this.”
The plot of land sits above The Valley and Sam Bartram House
Greenwich councillors have voted to sell car parking spaces at The Heights to a private developer, promising to invest the proceeds in new council housing.
The small plot of land, which overlooks The Valley, will be sold to developer Pocket Living, subject to a consultation with council tenants who live nearby.
Pocket believes it can build 45 one-bedroom flats in a four-storey building.
Greenwich Council’s cabinet also voted to sell two other plots of land to the same company – one off Kidbrooke Park Road and the other on the Orchard Estate in Lewisham, providing 151 one-bedroom flats across the three sites.
The developer, which specialises in “affordable compact homes for first time buyers”, will sell the homes to Greenwich residents at a 20% discount, with a covenant in place to ensure they cannot be sold for a year after purchase. No parking permits will be issued to buyers.
The entrance to the site from The Heights The land between The Heights and Sam Bartram House is contaminated
80% of the proceeds from the sale will go into new council housing, with the remainder being used to improve the immediate area in the housing estates affected.
Residents currently use the land for car parking and recycling
Regeneration director Pippa Hack, the senior council officer in charge of the scheme, said developing all three sites would deliver between £100,000 and £130,000 in council tax receipts.
“All the homes will be for sale to people who live or work in the borough, and 70% of buyers who buy through Pocket have incomes of up to £40,000. They will be sold at 20% discount compared to the local market, there will be a restrictive covenant that secures the properties in perpetuity, so there will be no sub-letting or no sales in year one,” she added.
Asked by deputy leader David Gardner what the council would do if the consultation revealed significant opposition to the scheme, Hack said officers would need to judge if the concerns outweighed the benefits of the scheme.
Cabinet member Averil Lekau added: “It seems obvious to me that you will listen to the views of residents and you will weigh that up. We would never say we would go to consultation unless it was meaningful.”
Leader Danny Thorpe said: “There have been some comments online about these particular schemes and our decision to dispose of the land; I would point out that on The Heights in Charlton, that is actually contaminated land that we are looking to dispose of; and while I appreciate that there have been some concerns about that, we have to address the housing crisis in any way we can.
“The land we are looking at here is land that we haven’t been able to make the best use of as an authority, so that conversation with residents will hopefully be a positive one when we explain what we’re doing.
“And also, we can utilise some money directly for us to build our own homes, council homes at social rents. It won’t provide us with the funds to provide all the homes we need, but it will provide us with some. And we have to start somewhere.”
One resident of the housing opposite The Heights plot was unaware of the scheme when The Charlton Champion visited the site on Wednesday. When told what the council was planning, she responded: “What? But we need that for our car parking!”
Residents have long complained about the neglect of Woolwich Common
Fire crews are damping down this evening after a major fire destroyed a large area of Woolwich Common, leading to road closures and a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles around.
Grass and shrubland the size of four football pitches towards the south of the common was alight at the height of the blaze, when 125 firefighters were tacking the incident. It was the second fire on the common in a week.
Land near the old Royal Military Academy on the east side of the common was still smouldering at 9.30pm this evening.
The fire brigade was called at 3.51pm, with the blaze brought under control at 8.06pm. Crews from across east and south London attended, with engines from as far away as Homerton and Shadwell seen at the scene.
“Firefighters are using water jets and fire beaters to ensure this fire is out. We will be here for a number of hours damping the area down to ensure it can’t smoulder in the undergrowth and reignite.
“At the height of the fire large plumes of smoke were drifting across the area near to a hospital grounds and local roads. Firefighters worked extremely quickly is very difficult conditions on one of the hottest days of the year.
“London is tinder dry at the moment and a stray cigarette or even a glass bottle is enough to set a fire like this one. I can’t stress how important it is for smokers to really ensure cigarette butts and matches are out properly and never leave barbecues unattended.”
The common is controlled by the Ministry of Defence, which still uses it for military exercises, and residents have long complained about what they see the neglect of the open space.
Woolwich Common was used as a venue for the 2012 Olympics, which led the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery – whose barracks are just off the common – to use Charlton Park for its exercises. However, delays in restoring the common led to this temporary arrangement lasting for some years.
Comments are open below if you’d like to share your experiences of the fire or the management of the common.
Controversial plans to build 771 homes at the end of Anchor & Hope Lane were rejected by Greenwich councillors last night after Squeeze singer Glenn Tilbrook joined neighbours objecting to the scheme.
But councillors agreed with neighbours who said Rockwell’s scheme went against the recently-adopted Charlton Riverside masterplan, which sets out a vision for lower-rise developments aimed at families in Charlton to sit in between the towers of Greenwich Peninsula and Woolwich.
Planning chair Sarah Merrill (Labour, Shooters Hill) said: “This application in no way resembles the spirit of the Charlton Riverside masterplan, in terms of height, massing and design. It’s reminiscent of Stalingrad.”
All 11 councillors on Greenwich’s planning board voted to reject the scheme, to applause from the public.
Squeeze frontman Tilbrook – who lives in Charlton – told councillors that he had tried to engage with Rockwell because he owns a studio adjacent to the development site, which is used as a base for the band’s tours. He said he feared losing access to the studios.
“The replies I’ve had from them have not been sufficient,” he told councillors. “Access for me is important, Squeeze work from the studios, we rehearse there, we go in and out every weekend for festivals, sometimes late at night. This access is not guaranteed.”
Tilbrook added that he feared that noise from the construction work would make the studio unusable, then new residents would complain about noise coming from the studio.
“It feels like to Rockwell, I’m a bad smell they want to make go away. It feels like they want to drive a coach and horses through my life and my studio, and they want to drive a coach and horses through the Charlton masterplan.”
A representative from the industrial wharves on the peninsula said that new residents at the Royal Wharf development in Silvertown, across the Thames from the proposed Rockwell scheme, had already started complaining about noise from ships loading and unloading goods.
One resident, Joyce Sloman, said the area – “becoming the biggest shopping centre in south-east London” would be unable to cope with the traffic.
— The Greenwich Wire (@greenwich_wire) July 9, 2018
While Woolwich Riverside councillor John Fahy told the committee the council had to act “in the best interests of the community – not hedge funds in Guernsey” – a reference to the development firm backing the scheme, Leopard Guernsey Anchor Propco. He said the council would “compromise itself” if it backed the scheme.
Rockwell representatives said the scheme offered a “fantastic opportunity to kick-start the regeneration of this area”, saying it “has the makings of a destination, a real place in its own right”. It claimed it would generate over 200 jobs.
But the firm – which has retained former Greenwich Council leader Chris Roberts’ company Cratus Communications as lobbyists – arguably overreached itself by drafting in a teacher who wanted to set up a nursery school on the site, claiming she could not find another suitable site.
But they had little to fear as councillors lined up to put the boot into the scheme – despite council officers having recommended they back it.
“We all want to see the area redeveloped and there is potential on the site, but this does not conform to the masterplan,” councillor Nigel Fletcher (Conservative, Eltham North) said. “Either we have a planning policy and we adhere to it, or we don’t.”
“I have a concern about how this has been allowed to proceed to this point through discussions with officers and recommended for approval. I almost feel sorry for the applicant being led to believe this is something we might support.”
Residents said the new blocks would loom over their homes and deny them natural light
Local MP Matt Pennycook said on Thursday morning that the decision was “a clear signal to developers that the community will not accept proposals that do not honour the vision set out in the 2017 Charlton Riverside masterplan”.
“I hope Rockwell now do what they should have done months ago: reconsider the height, massing and levels of affordable/family housing within the scheme and come back with a proposal that will ensure Charlton Riverside becomes the exemplary new urban district we all want it to be.”
You can now support this website by becoming a member
The Charlton Champion has been running for seven and a half years now, telling you what’s what and what’s happening in London SE7.
Apart from a small income from ads which have recently appeared on the site, it’s always been produced in our spare time by Darryl Chamberlain and Neil Clasper.
We know that a lot of people are grateful for what the site provides, and we’re also looking at ways to develop the site.
So we’re starting a membership scheme for The Charlton Champion. We would be very grateful if you could consider supporting the site with a monthly subscription.
How will The Charlton Champion membership scheme work?
We’ll be using Patreon, which means we can manage our income and keep in touch with members.
Membership is charged in US dollars and aims to reflect the London Living Wage (currently £10.20/hour) – it starts at about £2.60/month, which covers just over 15 minutes of work on the site.
How do I do it?
Sign up for a Patreon account, then click on www.patreon.com/charltonchampion. Because payments are taken in US dollars, we suggest you use PayPal for simplicity if you’re new to this. Follow the instructions, and you’re in. And you’re free to cancel or change your donation at any time. Please be aware that Patreon charges VAT on donations, so factor that into your payment.
What will I get in return?
There are some goals we’d like to hit. If we raise about £300/month, we will restore comments to the site. If we get to £500/month, we will look at producing a one-off printed version of The Charlton Champion. (Darryl knocked up a mock-up a few months back, it looked very good…)
At present, we aren’t able to offer anything extra in exchange for becoming a member – unless you’re a business wanting to sponsor the site, in which case you can have your name in lights on the site.
But if this scheme is wildly successful, it may change, and we may have a few things up our sleeve at a later date. So if you’re interested, please leave your home address if prompted.
I’m a local business – what can I do help?
We’d be delighted if you’d like to sponsor the site – please take a look at the sponsorship option on our Patreon page: www.patreon.com/charltonchampion.
How will the money improve the site?
It means we’ll be paid something for what we do – which is an incentive to do more of it. Please remember the site is run in our spare time, so that’s always a restriction – there are are only so many hours in a spare day or evening – but we’re always looking for new contributors. Building up a pot of money means they can also be rewarded for what they do.
If you think of how 853 (a sister site to this one) and From The Murky Depths improved after raising money, hopefully we’ll be able to do the same thing.
What will you do with the money?
The money will be split between the site’s two main contributors – Darryl will take 60%, Neil will take 30%, and we will save the rest to pay the site bills and pay new contributors. We may tinker with this as it goes on, but the aim is to pay us for our work and make the site sustainable.
How can I help improve the site?
We’d like to keep the site based around what it does now – telling you about community events, sharing what’s planned for the area and giving you an insight into what your elected representatives are doing.
But we would like to do more, and do it more regularly – a regular Charlton Athletic column, perhaps, or interviews with people in the area. If you can help do either of those things, then please let us know.
And if there’s some news that needs sharing – don’t just keep it to an email list or Facebook group. Let your other neighbours know too, and tell us – get the details here.
What if I don’t want to use Patreon?
You won’t be able to become a Charlton Champion member – but you can always provide funds to Neil or Darryl through the ko-fi.com link at the bottom of each story, or directly into the site fund via PayPal – paypal.com/charltonchampion.
The Charlton Champion will remain free to all – any money you can give will help us keep it that way.
The Charlton Champion 