Charlton Riverside

Council backs amended plans for Charlton riverside

Matt7 Comments

On Monday night Greenwich Council’s cabinet agreed to adopt the masterplan for Charlton riverside.

This follows a four week period of consultation and a new document being drafted after responses from the public.

The main differences to this new version are the following:

1) The designated area now encompasses Charlton station.

2) A firmer commitment to downgrade Woolwich Road.

3) A mention of a green bridge as one option for a crossing at the eastern section of Woolwich Road.

4)  A nod towards enhancing Charlton railway station and improving its connections with other modes of transport.

5) The idea for a marina has changed to “leisure activities on the waterfront” due to concerns from the Port of London Authority that it would interfere with other river uses.

6) There’s a sentence added that calls for a limiting of retail uses in Charlton “to support the aspirations of Woolwich becoming a metropolitan centre”, which possibly came after pressure from investment vehicle Powis Street Estates who own buildings in the heart of the town. A council officer at the meeting stated that any new planning applications for the retail park would have to fulfill impact assessments so as not to take trade away from Woolwich.

Residents also addressed the cabinet at the meeting. Some representing local groups such as CRAG, the Charlton Society and the Westcombe Society. Each underlined the main themes from their formal responses. There were calls for Charlton to be seen as a whole and for residents and businesses to be involved as much as possible. The traversing of Woolwich Road was highlighted as key as well as improving our streetscapes.

Charlton Champion reader Ashleigh Marsh also raised the point that blogs (like this one) should form part of the consultation process, or at least noted.

Before the meeting a crowd had gathered outside Woolwich Town Hall protesting at the potential loss of businesses and the poor consultation. On further investigation it’s believed that this lobby group were actually the Christ Faith Tabernacle Church. They’ve recently been in the news with their battle to take over the former Gala Bingo building in Woolwich – something Woolwich’s masterplan conflicts directly with. Why they weren’t more up front with their intentions is beyond me, but it might have something to do with council statistics showing only 10% of these objectors live within the borough.

It’s probably best not to get too carried away and come back to what a supplementary planning document actually is. My own knowledge tells me that it will complement the overall plan for the borough. It will add to a “core strategy” and will be taken into consideration in future planning applications.

This point was reiterated by councillors and officers on Monday night. Council leader Chris Roberts added:

“Changes won’t necessarily happen overnight, next week or next year. This is a think-through as to what might happen when traditional industry moves on.”

I’m guessing the next step will be to confirm the actual core strategy.

Keep your eyes peeled for another consultation period.

Full house scrutinises plans for Charlton riverside

Matt11 Comments

Eighty-two people crammed into Charlton Liberal Club on Monday night to discuss plans for Charlton riverside. Antony Rifkin from Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners, who drew up this planning document, fielded question from the public for nearly two hours.

The event was organised by the Charlton Riverside Action Group with the support of the Charlton Society.

We were slightly taken aback with the impressive turnout but this enthusiasm and energy is certainly very positive. It must have shown the developers and the council how much residents care about this area of Charlton.

There were lots of interesting points raised including one from Charlton Champion reader Roy Tindle. Roy is a strong believer that Greenwich should be utilising the river rather than using lorries: “We can do better than the Royal Docks [across the river] and have more industry, even if it’s just more recycling plants.”

Charlton’s resident celebrity, Glenn Tilbrook, was also in attendance. He revealed concerns that his own music studio could be “swept away” as land is re-designated for housing. He said that segmenting different areas isn’t necessarily the best way forward and Charlton riverside should be integrated with small businesses finding a place amongst family homes and green space.

There were calls to consult local workers more and questions asked about the safeguarding of our wharfs and the Angerstein Railway Line. Many had the opinion that a new residential area should not be similar to the Woolwich Arsenal or Greenwich Millenium Village developments.

People were sceptical about this master-plan. There were concerns about its worth and how vague and badly researched it looked. However, there seemed to be universal agreement that Charlton riverside needs redevelopment and that having a strategy for the area will ensure changes will not be piecemeal and will not happen by accident.

The next step is yours. The consultation officially ends on Friday 9th March at 9.00am, however, Mike Howes at Greenwich Council mentioned that they would be taking responses up until next Tuesday. There’s no need to fill out a form online you can simply email your thoughts directly to masterplans@greenwich.gov.uk.

The combined response from CRAG and the Charlton Society can be found here but we really need as many people as possible to send in their views. Don’t feel obliged to write as much as we have!

Thanks very much for coming and we hope to see you at future meetings.

What will Charlton’s riverside look like in five years?

Matt

This website has brought you news on future and proposed developments. Sainsbury’s are inviting residents to give feedback on their plans for the area. But what does all this mean as a whole? How could the area alter over time and what role are the council playing in this? Please accept this invitation (see below) to attend the second meeting for the Charlton Riverside Action Group.

This meeting – perhaps more of a forum – is for residents, stakeholders and proprietors of the riverside and beyond. We hope to have in attendance representatives from Greenwich Council, Transport for London, community managers, property developers and land owners. But we also need you, a person who’s interested and cares about Charlton and what the future has in store for it.

Hope to see you there. While we’re waiting here’s part of the council’s strategic development plan, laid out earlier this year:

  • Charlton Riverside is a key regeneration area that provides a significant opportunity for new high quality river front development. The area will be transformed into an attractive and vibrant mixed use urban quarter providing around 6,000 new homes. The area has the potential to offer new community and education facilities, space for small businesses particularly within the creative industries, new employment opportunities and accessible open spaces.
  • The Strategic Development Location will exclude the current Aggregate Zone and the safeguarded Angerstein’s and Murphy’s Wharves. The total area for the site is over 100 hectares.
  • An Area Action Plan will be prepared to guide development at the site. It is envisaged at this stage that the large site could provide for a significant residential led mixed use development plus improved commercial space, retail and community facilities as well as improvements to the existing open space.
  • It is considered that the housing component at the site will commence around 2016 and could take up to 20 years to be completed. It is therefore anticipated that just over 70% of the 6000 dwellings will be delivered in this area during the plan period, with the remainder coming post 2026/27. Development of the site is dependent on the provision of increased public transport infrastructure in the waterfront area.

Calling all residents: The Charlton Riverside Action Group is formed

Matt24 Comments

After various discussions between local residents, it’s been decided that a group of people should form to meet regularly to discuss and act upon issues concerning the northern part of Charlton.

The map below outlines the area the Charlton Riverside Action Group will be dedicated to. As you can see this is the SE7 postcode north of the railway track.

This doesn’t mean that the group is only for residents living within these boundaries. Any resident who lives in any part of Charlton, Woolwich, Greenwich or beyond is more than welcome to attend.

The group will cover varying issues. No doubt people would like to talk about the recent incidents in the retail parks. We will also be looking at the Thames Barrier visitor centre, new developments such as the Travelodge hotel, the Thames path, litter, traffic concerns and long term plans for the area.

A local resident recently spoke to a developer who now owns much of the land where the retail parks are situated. He has made it clear that he would appreciate input from the local community regarding its upkeep and future developments. We will hopefully be welcoming him to one of our meetings at a later date and would also welcome support from other landlords and local councillors (not just those from the two wards that this area straddles).

This initial meeting will be in early/mid September and will be held at either the Charlton Liberal Club or the Cattleya (Chu & Cho) restaurant depending on initial uptake.

More details will be posted on this blog and leaflets will be given out. Feel free to comment below on whether you are interested in attending and to share ideas.