The firm which owns the freehold to the White Swan pub in Charlton Village, property developer Mendoza Ltd, is making a third attempt to build housing on land behind its beer garden.
The Isle of Man-based company, which makes its money from buying pubs and converting at least part of the land to residential use, has had two past applications rejected.
Now the company is back with a much-reduced scheme to build one three-bedroom house on the currently-disused land which sits between the beer garden and the Torrance Close service road.
The new proposal is for just one house, sunk partly below ground level
The house would be partly built below ground level to reduce its impact on the surrounding conservation area, and would have no windows that could open onto the beer garden, documents submitted to Greenwich Council show.
Architects Milan Babic say: “We believe that the new proposal preserves, enhances and
uplifts the character of the site, thereby creating a habitable, functional and aesthetically woven architecture.”
Mendoza bought the pub from previous owner Punch Taverns in March 2015, evicting the then-management three months later. However, it reopened in September 2015 under the management of Greenwich’s Pelton Arms boss Geoff Keen, who is trying to keep it as a viable, community-focused pub. A second bar and function room has now opened on the pub’s upper floor.
If you travel from Charlton to central London, you’ll almost certainly had your journeys affected by the Thameslink Programme, which is causing dramatic changes to the rail lines to London Bridge.
The end result will see London Bridge become a major hub for services to north as well as south London – with trains able to run to Peterborough and Cambridge with frequent services to Farringdon and St Pancras. Charlton is due to get a regular service to Luton Airport as part of the scheme.
As well as big changes to the track layout, this means London Bridge station is being completely rebuilt. Part of the new concourse opened last summer.
With another big closure due at the end of August, The Charlton Champion went behind the hoardings to see what’s happening as an army of engineers and construction workers race to finish the job off ahead of May 2018’s planned reopening.
New entrances are being created – this is the station’s original taxi ramp.
With new entrances come new retail and restaurant units…
This is the rest of the concourse, which is taking shape behind the hoardings. New entrances will open the station up to Tooley Street.
The new concourse also unites the two halves of the station – the one which traditionally served SE London and Kent, and the other for trains to the rest of south London, Surrey and Sussex – for the first time. It’s a long way from the cramped 1970s tunnels of the old station.
We’re up the top on platforms four and five. These will be for the new Thameslink services. There will be nine through platforms at the new station, up from six at the old one.
Track on platform 5 awaiting being put in place. Platform 6, opposite, is due to open once this August’s major closure is over.
Platforms 3 and 4 are awaiting ballast and rails.
Back down we go…
This space underneath the station is being opened up to provide a new access to the London Underground. Again, there’ll be more retail and restaurant units here.
This is outside the station’s main entrance by the Shard, and used to be a way into the Underground. When work is complete, there’ll be a new bar here.
Some of the new entrance is starting to appear on Tooley Street.
This new entrance on Tooley Street will provide easier access to More London, City Hall and Tower Bridge.
What most people see now – the current concourse at London Bridge, with work taking place behind. The station is due to fully reopen in May 2018, with full Thameslink services beginning from December 2018.
A view from the 72nd floor of the Shard, which should give an overview of the complexity of the trackwork involved in creating the new Thameslink lines.
As part of this, there will be severe disruption to services between Saturday 26 August and Saturday 2 September – including on four working days, when the lines to Charing Cross will be closed. There will be fewer trains from Charlton, and they will run to Cannon Street only (Victoria on the days when that is closed too). For more information, visit www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/2017.
There will also be serious disruption around Christmas and New Year.
It’s coming… work began today on turning a corner of Charlton Park into a new skate park. Greenwich Council plans to have the new facility ready in October, and work is due to take place on the site between 8am and 6pm on weekdays.
Detailed designs were given final planning permission earlier this month. Already, a tree has been felled to make way for the new facility, which will curve around the outdoor gym.
However, with that battle lost, the group is looking for new members – so if you want to get in involved in the future of Charlton Park and its new skate park, application forms should be in the Old Cottage Cafe.
Asbestos has been removed and the interior cleaned up, revealing the public toilets last used in the early 1990s. The next phase of work will see these removed, interior partitions taken down, the windows replaced, then the space made available for temporary (dare we say pop-up?) uses.
We understand that the building will be lit from the inside at night, which should improve that particular corner of Charlton Village after dark.
Sunday 10th of September will see the annual full test of the Thames Barrier: an opportunity to see the barrier in action, meet the teams who run it, and learn about how it all works. The cafe and information centre will open at 9am; we recommend keeping an eye on the official website for closure timings nearer the date.
The Big Red Bus Club, a volunteer-run playgroup used by 300 local families, has won the vote to become the charity of the year for the Charlton Sainsbury’s superstore.
The supermarket will now back the charity, which is based in the corner of Charlton Park, throughout the next year. Nationally, Sainsbury’s branches have raised £13 million since the scheme was launched in 2009.
In a nail-biting finish, The Big Red Bus Club beat its nearest competitor by just 14 votes in a poll conducted both in store and online.
The club runs activities and offers play-and-stay sessions for under-fives and their parents and carers.
Emily Frith, the administrator for the Charlton Mummies and Daddies Facebook group of over 1,000 local parents said: “I know how important it is to support local charities that work in our community and support my children. The Big Red Bus Club is a lovely place and run and led by local volunteers like me – just parents giving their time.”
Big Red Bus Club chair Sarah Smith added: “We run free daily stay and plays for local families with children under five. It’s hard to find free things to do, and that’s why Sainsbury’s support means so much to us. As a small local charity we hope that this year will be a great springboard for us to work with Sainsbury’s for the future.”
All change: The 180 will switch to North Greenwich if Transport for London’s plans go ahead
Transport for London is planning to halve the bus service between Greenwich town centre and Charlton as part of changes set to be brought in for the launch of Crossrail services at Woolwich and Abbey Wood.
Route 180, which links Charlton with Greenwich and Lewisham, will be diverted at the Woolwich Road flyover to run to North Greenwich station, with small cuts to be made to the frequency of the 472, which will continue to run to North Greenwich. The 129 service, which runs from North Greenwich to Greenwich town centre, will be extended to Lewisham as part-compensation.
TfL says 770 passengers will have to change buses each day as a result of the changes – and with no plans outlined to boost the frequency of the 177, the number of buses between Greenwich town centre and Charlton will drop from 12 buses per hour to six.
Both the 180 and 472 will also see changes at the other ends of their routes: the 180 will run to the Quarry development in Erith rather than the Belvedere industrial estates, while the 472 will run via Western Way in Thamesmead to terminate at Abbey Wood station, instead of its current route via Nathan Way.
Other changes will see route 178, which serves Shooters Hill Road, return to using double-decker buses to cater for expected extra demand for travel to Woolwich. Double-deckers will also return to routes 244 and 291, which run to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
A new service, the 301, will run from Woolwich to Bexleyheath via Nathan Way (replacing the 472) and Abbey Wood. There are other service changes affecting the Erith and Belvedere areas, which can be seen on the TfL website.
There are no changes to buses along Charlton Road, or the 380 or 486 services.
The change to the 180 will make it harder to reach Greenwich from Charlton, Woolwich, Plumstead and Abbey Wood.
There will be fewer buses on the 472 on Bugsby’s Way, but more buses via the slower Woolwich Road route
What does this mean if I want to travel from Charlton to North Greenwich?
If you live east of Charlton station, there will be more buses to North Greenwich (20 rather than 16 per hour in peak times), but you’ll be more likely to get a slower service. There will be fewer buses on the faster 472 service via Bugsby’s Way – eight per hour instead of the current 10. More buses will run on the slower route via the Woolwich Road flyover – 12 per hour on the combined 161 and 180, compared with six on the 161 now.
From Charlton station, there will be no change to the 486. But from the stop in Anchor and Hope Lane next to Makro, there will now be 16 buses per hour rather than 18 (not including the morning-only extra services from here on the 472, which will continue). Or you could cross to the stop by the Antigallican, where 12 buses per hour will run on the slower route via Woolwich Road flyover, shared between the 161 and 180 (compared with six now on the 161).
Local transport campaigners have long complained about the “dance of death” where services from Charlton station to North Greenwich are split across the three stops serving the Woolwich Road/Anchor & Hope Lane junction. These changes bring more buses across these stops (28 rather than 24), but will mean more people will have to do that “dance of death” at a junction Greenwich Council says is the borough’s most dangerous.
From west of Charlton station, it’s a straightforward increase – from six 161 buses per hour to 12 on the combined 161 and 180 service. If you travel to/from the Greenwich Ikea site, however, you’ll see the overall level of service up the Greenwich Peninsula is hardly changing – it’ll increase from 44 to 45 buses per hour in the rush hour.
From Charlton Village – no change. Nothing is planned for the 422 or 486.
Bus stop
Current peak service
Proposed peak service
Charlton Lane
472 N G’wich: 10
161 N G’wich: 6
180 Greenwich: 6
177 Greenwich: 6
472 N G’wich: 8
161/180 N G’wich: 12
177 Greenwich: 6
Anchor & Hope Lane
472 N G’wich 10*
486 N G’wich: 8
472 N G’wich: 8*
486 N G’wich: 8
Rose of Denmark
161 N G’wich: 6
180 Greenwich: 6
177 Greenwich: 6
161/180 N G’wich: 12
177 Greenwich: 6
Greenwich Ikea site
All buses: 44*
All buses: 45*
*Does not include the extra buses on the 472 between Charlton and North Greenwich, which run mornings only and are due to continue.
I want to travel from Charlton to Greenwich town centre – what do I do?
You’ll have to wait longer if you want to travel from Charlton to Greenwich – you’ll only have the six buses per hour on the already-busy 177 to rely on in future. A possible – but more expensive – alternative will be the National Rail service from Woolwich Dockyard, Charlton or Westcombe Park stations to Maze Hill or Greenwich.
Or you could change buses at Greenwich Ikea, although the proposed 129 service from there to Greenwich and Lewisham will be cut to a bus every 12 minutes – less frequent than the current 180.
The cut to the 472’s frequencies mean there will be slightly fewer buses to Woolwich from Anchor & Hope Lane – down from 30 buses an hour at peak times to 28. Up the hill, no changes are planned to the 53, 54, 380 or 422.
Where’s my bus from Woolwich Road to Lewisham gone?
TfL suggests you change buses at Greenwich Ikea, but the proposed 129 service from there to Greenwich and Lewisham will be cut to a bus every 12 minutes – less frequent than the current 180. There are also fears of widespread traffic congestion when the Ikea store opens in late 2018, around the time these changes are due to take effect.
Taking a 177 to Greenwich town centre and changing there for a 129 or 199 will be a more sensible – but still fiddly – option. Those who want to change to other buses in Lewisham will lose out by having to pay another fare. TfL wants to expand its Hopper fare so it offers unlimited bus changes in an hour rather than just two – there is no date for this yet.
If you’re one of them, be sure to fill in the consultation and tell your local representatives what you think.
There will be no change to the 54 or 380 services to Lewisham, while there is a half-hourly National Rail service from Charlton to Lewisham.
Squeezed finances at TfL – but questions over modelling
Technical notes supplied by TfL indicate that it expects demand for bus travel between Greenwich and Woolwich – including Charlton – to drop after Crossrail services begin in December 2018. It also expects demand to drop along Charlton Road, although there is no cut planned for services there.
It is not made clear how TfL has reached this conclusion, although it could reflect some journeys from Woolwich to places such as New Cross and Peckham switching from bus to Crossrail and London Overground.
Transport for London’s map of projected demand – higher demand in red, lower demand in green. We’ve added in some place names. TfL predicts huge extra demand in Woolwich by 2021, but lower demand in Charlton and Greenwich.
I have a view on these changes – what do I do?
This isn’t a done deal – your views can influence what happens next.
The Charlton Champion 