The Charlton skate park options – A, close to the mini-gym; B, across the other side of the old athletics track; C, away from homes by Charlton Park Lane
The public are only now being asked for an opinion – and that’s to choose between three sites in Charlton Park. The first site is close to the Charlton Lane entrance to the park, while the second is tucked away in the other corner of the field. The third site is in a corner used by dog walkers off Charlton Park Lane.
There are only two questions in the consultation – which site you prefer, and whether you have any other comments.
Aside from the decision not to consult with the community in choosing Charlton Park, hard facts about the skate park remain hard to come by. There is no information about who would operate the skate park, what provisions would be made for safety, security and landscaping, and whether any other funding is being sought to create a facility that’d be an improvement on the rather spartan space it’d replace in Woolwich.
Local resident Simon Hall has been writing to his neighbours to alert them to it. Here’s what he says…
I am concerned by some aspects of the planning application, particularly given that it was not clear from the Marks & Spencer application how high or how close to the road that store is now going to be! I am worried that we were going to have a similar height of development along the whole residential area of the road. As a result of my concerns I managed to secure, along with one of our local Councillors, a meeting with the developer of the site.
I am keen that you should also know the information I have been given so that you can, should you choose to, respond to the Council’s request for views. If the Council receive enough responses they will be able to discuss the application in public, and can either reject the application or impose conditions on the developer.
The planned restaurant
Key points of application
The application proposes the extension of the current “Greenwich Shopping Park” strip of shops down to Woolwich Road, with the largest of those units likely to be the new location of Matalan (when it moves from its temporary site next to the current Sainsbury’s to enable that site plus the current Sainsbury’s to become an Ikea if that passes the next stages of planning). There will then be a coffee shop by a new public square (probably a Starbucks), replacing the large willow tree with a “feature tree” and what could be an attractive artistic seating feature where coffee could be enjoyed outside.
The developer has suggested that this would be a nice small public space, and will provide a pedestrian entrance to their new development (car traffic for the development will be from Bugsby’s Way – as now, by Asda, not from our road). There is a further shop unit in this eastern part of the development, and they are talking to a cycle shop chain.
Between the other side of the public space and the current unsightly Asda pathway there is to be a Frankie & Benny’s restaurant. Probably not a bad addition to the local area.
As the Frankie & Benny’s is likely to be directly opposite to residential housing, I have spent some time assessing this aspect of the development. My key concern is that the facility will be positioned with its “front entrance” facing the public area/Starbucks, a glazed area facing the car park/Bugsby’s Way, and a very dull brick wall with some small shrubbery underneath facing the houses opposite. It should only be two storeys or so, but it is still a brick wall!
I think we should demand better, and would urge you to do so.
Sadly the developer has not included any improvements to the Asda path, which I am sure you will agree is an eyesore, in the application. This small strip of land is owned by the Ramac Company (that own the land around Ramac Way, and have stated that they have no plans to improve or redevelop their unsightly area of industrial/retail units). The former Travelodge application did have plans to resurface this path and provide lighting, and Ramac had agreed that that developer (who was the one currently building M&S) could do this.
The new developer is a different one, and is working for the company that owns the Greenwich Shopping Park and now own this land. I strongly urge you to suggest that the Council take action relating to the Asda path to ensure it is either incorporated properly into the development, it is improved, has better lighting, or some other solution you could suggest to them.
This may be the only chance for the next 20 years or so we get to make that area better, so please do include this in a response to the Council.
How the scheme will look from Woolwich Road (top) and the car park (bottom) – click to expand
Other issues to be considered
Traffic: whilst it is unlikely that traffic on our road will increase considerably, you may wish to remind the Council that they have agreed to work with Transport for London to downgrade the status of our road to a quieter residential street, still wilth buses, and direct through traffic along Bugsby’s Way (a dual carriageway).
It is always worth reminding the Council that they should remember this commitment.
Pedestrian crossing: as part of the Sainsbury’s/M&S development those of us that responded to the Council then managed to secure improvements to the zebra crossing located at the end of Victoria Way by Phipps House (new central island and Belisha Beacons). However, you may share my view that this crossing will remain dangerous until it is a proper lighted crossing – known as a pelican crossing, or indeed (as I have suggested to the Council in the past), as part of a new traffic light controlled junction at Victoria Way. Feel free to include this in your response if you agree, as this can be paid for by the developer as part of the development.
Public realm: when putting in new developments there is something that was called Section 106 and is now known as CILL (I have forgotten what that stands for). Essentially want this means is that developers are required to provide a certain amount of money – directly or indirectly – to benefit the local community. The Council are in charge of administering this. If we do not request for this to be spent locally, on our area, then this will be used for other parts of the borough. I am sure, like me, you’d like to see some money spent to make our local area look better – and look better for years to come. We can demand this in our response to the planning application.
Things we could ask for include improving pavements; improving the drainage and sewers; adding in trees/public benches; better street lighting; or any ideas you may think of – even additional investment in local schools.
How to respond – reminder
I care passionately about our local environment, and I simply couldn’t sit back and see us have something “done to us” without us being able to influence and improve what is being planned. I hope you agree that it is worth making a response.
The tone of my response is likely to be “yes I agree with this application, but only with conditions” and then outline some of the things I have suggested above.
One way to respond is via the internet – the planning portal is not working well, and I have had problems accessing it so you may wish to use another method.
I have asked for the deadline to be extended – it is currently 21 October (Tuesday). Given the fact that the planning portal has been down, I am sure they will extend this.
However, please do try to send a response as soon as possible.
You can email your response to jacob.jaarsma@royalgreenwich.gov.uk – but be sure to include the reference number of this planning application in the title of your email (14/2550/F).
Please copy in our local Peninsula ward councillors. They have been helpful already and one of their number met the developer with me. (See Charlton ward councillor details if you live south of the railway line.)
If you have serious concerns, you could also email our MP: nick.raynsford.mp@parliament.uk.
It’s the AGM of the Charlton Society this Saturday at 2.30pm at Charlton House. I’ve been on the society’s committee for a year now, so I can’t really pretend to be unbiased over this one – come along, join up (it’s £12/year to join), grab a glass of wine, bend the ear of local politicians and chew the fat over local issues.
There’ll be a talk from Greenwich & Woolwich MP Nick Raynsford, while I’m sure Greenwich cabinet member David Gardner will have a few words to say as outgoing chair.
I think it’s fair to say the Charlton Society’s been a bit of a sleeping institution in recent years – it does a lot of work on planning issues behind the scenes, but it’s been not really well-known beyond its membership. It started in 1969 in response to threats to the Village from roadbuilding – but in recent years its profile had slipped somewhat.
So I’ve been working with the committee to try to make the society’s light shine a bit brighter – starting with the long, long overdue creation of a simple Charlton Society website. But the society’s also been involved in getting the White Swan pub listed as an asset of community value. It’s also given help to the campaign for a community council.
It’s easy to mock amenity societies as being out of touch and serving small-minded interests – but I thought I’d come into help open the Charlton Society up, and get more people involved in its work. We’re hoping to make some changes to the way the committee work, so there’s a stronger focus on issues such as environment and planning, while still preserving its traditional programme of Saturday talks.
But all this is a bit of a waste without more people involved, so if you’re the sort of person who reads this website and takes an interest in local issues, you’re just who the Charlton Society needs as a member. I’ve a few regular Charlton Champion commenters in mind here…
So, if you’ve got Saturday afternoon free, please come along and say hello – it’d be great to see you.
Months of poor communications with members and neighbours caught up with Charlton Lido’s management on Monday when Greenwich Council refused permission for a premises licence which would have enabled the lido to serve alcohol and hold live events.
GLL, which runs the lido, wanted a licence to hold members’ events as well as to hire it out for “book signings, film launches and art exhibitions”.
But neighbours got up a 94-name petition complaining about disturbance from events already held, and claiming that their complaints to GLL had been ignored.
Backed by Kidbrooke with Hornfair councillor Norman Adams, they claimed there had been “no communication” before events were held. Others complained about sleepless nights and even disturbance from the lido’s current operation during the daytime.
A Greenwich Council licensing sub-committee concluded that GLL “displayed an inability to manage the premises while holding events”.
“Whilst the Lido management had significant experience in managing leisure centres it was not felt that the applicant had demonstrated that they would be able to manage licensed events and uphold the licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee were of the opinion that the nature of the venue meant that even a small group of people would cause a disturbance. Whilst a number of conditions had been proposed the Sub Committee were not satisfied based on the evidence given by the applicant that events could be properly controlled,” the council’s decision notice reads.
The setback for the lido follows a string of avoidable problems caused by poor communications with members, including short notice changes to opening times, a “customer forum” that hadn’t been advertised to customers, and last year’s short-lived decision to rename the facility “Royal Greenwich Lido”.
GLL now has three weeks to decide if it wants to appeal against the decision and take the case to a magistrates’ court.
It’s been something we’ve completely missed at the Charlton Champion – the demolition and rebuilding of the two council estates at the eastern edge of Charlton, Morris Walk and Maryon Road, together with Woolwich’s Connaught Estate, under the slightly misleading banner of One Woolwich (the website which explained more about it has vanished from the internet).
If you live nearby and want to find out more, there’s a drop-in session this Wednesday evening at Greenwich Council’s offices in Woolwich. As the flyer says…
Regenerating Connaught, Morris Walk & Maryon Road/Grove Estates
The regeneration on the 3 estates has now commenced; Connaught Estate has been handed over to the developer Lovell and in November 2013 the re-housing of tenants and buy-backs of leaseholders on Morris Walk phase 1 commenced, with a temporary housing scheme in place prior to the properties being handed over.
The whole scheme will take over 13 years to deliver. The current indicative timescale for demolition & development of the estates is as follows:
To find out more about the scheme, the implications for you as a near neighbour of the scheme, and to ask questions of RBG, Lovell and Asra, we have scheduled a drop-in for:
Wednesday 8th of October at the Woolwich Centre, Wellington Street, Woolwich, SE18 6HQ, 7-9pm
If you live on the estates or nearby, it’d be good to hear your view on the plans.
Police have sealed off the back of Barney Close while they wait for him to come down.
All London-bound trains have been diverted, though some Kent-bound services are inching past the scene.
Here are some photos taken at about 6pm. Paramedics were seen walking to the scene at about 6.50pm and the British Transport Police tweeted that it hoped to “have things back to normal as soon as possible”.
The green bridge over the A11 at Mile End Park (picture: Tower Hamlets Council) There’s been some talk over the years about a possible “green bridge” over Woolwich Road – effectively, a park which would run over the A206 between Maryon Park and Barrier Park, the small green space opposite.
The concept of a ‘green bridge’ linking Maryon Park to an enlarged Barrier Park and the river beyond has been around for some time. Yet despite a number of supportive references in the Council’s Charlton Riverside Masterplan, there is no guarantee it will be realised.
There is widespread recognition that the busy and fast-moving stretch of the Woolwich Road between the Antigallican and Warspite Road presents a significant barrier to improved connectivity between Charlton and the river, but nothing that requires it to be overcome through the construction of a green bridge.
Yet the case for such a bridge is strong. An attractive green bridge would provide the majority of local residents that live on the southern side of Woolwich Road with a strong, safe, and environmentally beneficial link that would also expand opportunities for the pupils of nearby Windrush Charlton Primary to more easily utilise the beautiful settings of nearby Maryon Park and Maryon Wilson Park.
Securing such a bridge will be a challenge, not least in securing sufficient funding to cover its cost, but it’s clear from the conversations I’ve had with local residents over recent months that the idea is incredibly popular. To bring the idea a step closer to realisation we need to show that it has strong support in the community.
That’s why I’ve launched a petition calling on the Council to do all it can to ensure that a green bridge linking Maryon Wilson Park and an enlarged Barrier Park is built as part of any future development in the area.
I hope you’ll consider signing and supporting the campaign.
Thanks to Matt for writing for us. What do you think of the idea? Share your thoughts below…
The Charlton Champion 