The Charlton Champion

House at back of White Swan pub all set for council approval

September 15, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Mendoza render of new White Swan home — How Mendoza says the new home would look: it would largely be hidden from view by a wall

Plans to build a house at the back of the White Swan pub are to go before a planning committee next Tuesday – with officers recommending councillors approve the scheme.

Mendoza Ltd, the property company that owns the pub, wants to build a three-bedroom bungalow on land behind the beer garden – taking a strip off the beer garden to build an access path so council bin lorries can take away its rubbish from the front of the pub.

White Swan beer garden — The proposed house would sit behind the pub’s beer garden

It is the company’s fourth attempt to build on the land since it bought the freehold from Punch Taverns in March 2015. The pub itself has been closed since March, but the company has said it will look for a new tenant.

There were nine objections, including from the Charlton Society. Planning officers are recommending an acoustic fence is put up to shield the house from the pub’s noise, while a tree in the beer garden should be replaced.

The officers say that “the area of pub garden retained would continue to provide usable outdoor space for patrons and would be proportional in size to the pub gardens of surrounding pubs”. They add: “The existing area of pub garden space is not integral to the overall viability of the White Swan because the significant and high quality internal facilities and the nature of the food and drink offering are also key selling points of the pub.”

“The development of part of the pub garden of The White Swan would maintain the viability of the pub and would provide a high quality residential development which would preserve the amenity of neighbour properties as well as the character and appearance of the Charlton Village Conservation Area,” officers conclude.

A first attempt at development, to build two homes, in October 2015, was thrown out by Greenwich Council planners. That decision was upheld by a planning inspector. A second attempt was rejected earlier in 2017. The third attempt, for one three-bedroom house, was rejected by council planners in December 2017 and again by a planning inspector in January. This scheme was submitted a year ago; the closed pub was made an asset of community value in July.

The Woolwich and Thamesmead planning committee meeting begins at 6.30pm on Tuesday 22 September and can be watched on YouTube.

Maryon Park Community Garden: ‘socially-distanced plant and jam sale’ this weekend

September 14, 2020September 14, 2020Neil Clasper

We’ve not had too many notices about real-life community events recently, what with one thing and another, so we’re very pleased to relay news of Maryon Park Community Gardens’ annual harvest event:

Instead of our usual ‘Urban Harvest Open Day’ event, this year there will be a ‘socially-distanced’ stall at the Community Garden Gates on Saturday 19th September, 1-4 pm.

The ‘Plant and Jam” sale will feature Aloe Vera, Geraniums, Salvias, Small Cacti, Damson and Wild Plum Jams. The stall will be set up at the garden’s double gates and pop-up shop.

All donations will go to the work of the Community Garden and Forest School.

How to find Maryon Park Community Garden

Access from the main park gates next to the park keeper’s lodge. Address: 126 Maryon Rd, London SE7 8DH.

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Council wants to see public transport for Charlton Riverside arrive soon

September 11, 2020February 17, 2021Darryl Chamberlain

One of the planned development schemes: Flint Glass Wharf, next to the Thames Barrier

Greenwich Council says it is working with City Hall to bring new public transport to the Charlton Riverside sooner rather than later so new homes are not delayed.

A report to senior councillors says that developers are keen to start building in the area – but getting infrastructure in place is an issue.

Some 7,500 new homes are planned – although City Hall wants this bumped up to 8,000 as part of its new London plan. For comparison, there are currently 8,900 households in the SE7 postal area. However, nothing has been built so far, and a planning inspector threw out the first scheme – Rockwell’s controversial development off Anchor & Hope Lane – earlier this year.

In recent weeks, developers have applied for permission for two new housing schemes on Eastmoor Street, to add to the five major schemes that are already in the planning pipeline.

“In the medium term, [the council] is working closely with the Greater London Authority and TfL to bring forward public transport improvements in the early phases of delivery at Charlton Riverside,” the housing delivery action plan report says. The report has been prepared for a meeting of the council’s cabinet next week.

“There is significant developer/landowner interest in securing early permissions, and early public sector intervention/investment will ensure that the implementation of these permissions is not slowed down by infrastructure requirements.

“The issue in Charlton Riverside is mainly one of infrastructure coordination and timing of delivery, with development values across the area sufficient in the longer term to support delivery of necessary physical and social infrastructure.”

Burnt-out car on Eastmoor Street — The Charlton Riverside as it currently is

Those expecting dramatic improvements to the area’s public transport are likely to be disappointed, however – one of the major development schemes, Hyde Housing’s proposals for 1,350 homes by the Thames Barrier, suggests funding an extension of the 301 bus to Woolwich Crossrail station; nudging residents who live in zone 3 to take a train to work from zone 4. A new east-west road – essentially extending Bugsby’s Way – is planned, with councillors hoping in the long-term to see the Greenwich Waterfront Transit, a souped-up bus to North Greenwich, to run along the road.

The two recently-submitted plans are for plots, behind the old Victoria pub – itself the subject of plans for redevelopment.

Evelyn House: Kite not included, presumably

Firstly, the housing association Optivo plans 67 flats – all for affordable rent (usually about half market rent) – on the site of the old Beaumont Beds warehouse, in a block of up to seven storeys tall, with seven parking spaces for wheelchair users. It is calling the development Evelyn House. Its red brick and rounded corners, the planning blurb says, are a nod to the Victoria up the road. It looks like the small cash and carry warehouse between the old pub and the new development is due to remain. (See the application and comment / read the design statement / search 20/2186/F on the council website< if these links don't work)

Aitch Group scheme — The Aitch Group development and Penhall Gardens

Secondly, on the next-door site – closer to the Barrier – developer Aitch Group wants to build 192 flats in blocks of up to ten storeys on land bounded by Eastmoor Street, Westmoor Street and Mirfield Street, currently in industrial use. 65 per cent of the homes will be private, 10 per cent for shared ownership, 25 per cent for affordable rent (as above). A public courtyard will be provided in the middle. Again, blue badge parking is provided only, although Greenwich Council told the developer “a car-free scheme cannot be supported until local infrastructure is improved” – a reflection of the issues described above. (See the application and comment / read the design statement / search 20/1924/F on the council website if these links don’t work)

The five other schemes planned are:

1,500 homes from developer Montreaux on the industrial estate containing the Stone Foundries plant behind the Stone Lake retail park. The land was sold last year and the scheme has not yet entered planning.
Hyde housing association wants to build nearly 1,300 new homes at what it calls Herringham Quarter, using a number of sites including Maybanks Wharf.
500 homes are planned by developer Komoto at what it calls Flint Glass Wharf, the former Johnsen and Jorgensen glassworks which closed in 1981, between the Tarmac works and the Thames Barrier;
U+I plans 500 homes on the old Siemens glassworks site on the Charlton/Woolwich border, along with a co-working hub for local businesses and space for light industry. A planning application for Faraday Works was made earlier this year;
771 homes off Anchor and Hope Lane from developer Rockwell, thrown out by a planning inspector earlier this year.

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Charlton Bakehouse planning to open up in The Village

September 3, 2020September 3, 2020Darryl Chamberlain

The team behind Charlton Bakehouse, which has been delivering to doorsteps across SE7 and beyond during the pandemic, are hoping to set up shop in a former estate agent in The Village.

A planning application has gone into Greenwich Council to convert the former Samanthajane office by installing an extraction system including an odour control system and silencers. (See the application and comment or search for 20/0517/F)

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A post shared by Charlton Bakehouse (@charltonbakehouse)

With Charlton Village blighted by shop closures and in its possibly its lowest-ever ebb – and with no sign of a plan to revive its fortunes – the proposal is likely to gain a lot of support.

The application actually first went in before the lockdown – but as with other local businesses, word spread about the Bakehouse while people were stuck at home.

It still offers free deliveries on Tuesdays in SE7 and on other days in SE3 and SE10 from charltonbakehouse.com. We recommend the cinnamon buns.

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Water pain: Roadworks to close Charlton Church Lane for a week

August 29, 2020June 19, 2023Darryl Chamberlain

Water main works will close Charlton Church Lane just south of the junction with The Heights for up to a week from Tuesday. Traffic will be “diverted via Charlton Road, Victoria Way and Wellington Gardens and vice versa” (that’s nice of them – Ed) while buses will naturally face more inconvenient diversions. The news has only been published in the back of an hardly-seen freesheet, so we thought you might like to know here.

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St Luke’s Church roof vandalised by metal thieves

August 27, 2020Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

St Luke with Holy Trinity, Charlton — St Luke with Holy Trinity has been targeted by metal thieves

The roof of St Luke’s Church has been vandalised by thieves who stole a small quantity of metal, smashing up parts of the roof and leaving ancient timbers open to the elements.

Recent heavy rain revealed the extent of the damage, with water pouring into the church. Volunteers now face the hard work of patching up the damage, which is believed to run into thousands of pounds.

The damage comes a year after Charlton House’s summer house was targeted by lead thieves – an attack which followed another bout of vandalism a year earlier.

St Luke's Church gutter — Damage to the church’s valley gutter

Churchwarden Rick Newman told The Charlton Champion: “We’re not sure when the theft occurred in the days before it came to notice with the first rain in weeks and water pouring into the church. In ripping out galvanised metal from the central valley gutter and some ancient lead that ran the length of the south gutter, the thieves have broken countless tiles and exposed roof timbers to the elements.

“The lead in the south gutter had been anchored in place by the parapet. In order to steal the lead, several of these parapet blocks were smashed by the thieves. One massive block was toppled into the churchyard, causing further damage.

“Much of the metal was worthless. As scrap, the small quantity of lead would be worth a couple of hundred pounds at most; the cost of repairs will run into many thousands. Remedial work will require extensive and expensive scaffolding to say nothing about the cost of replacing tiles and masonry.

“Meanwhile, part of the churchyard has been cordoned off as a precautionary measure as parapet stones have been loosened. Temporary covering has been put in place as far as possible and we can only hope the weather is kind to us.

St Luke's Church south gutter — The work will cost thousands of pounds to repair

“The work that results from having to put right the extensive damage falls to volunteers. They would far rather be giving their time to things that are about building up and serving community at times of great need, rather than giving time to repairs that should never have been necessary.

“We are hopeful that most of the cost of repairs can be covered by insurance, but that results in ever increasing insurance premiums for all and a community unsettled by the actions of the few who seem to have no regard for others. Whether you regard St Luke’s as part of our local heritage or the house of God, or both, it is an important place for many who feel upset and unsettled by this crime. We pray for those responsible.”

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Pizza developer tries again for takeaway and flat at Charlton’s Victoria pub

August 21, 2020August 21, 2020Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Victoria pub plans — The latest plan for the Victoria

Developers have returned with new plans to turn Charlton’s derelict Victoria pub into a pizza takeaway with a three-bedroom flat alongside it.

Proposals to turn the pub, famed for its sloping floor, into a Domino’s Pizza outlet and build four flats behind it were thrown out by Greenwich Council officers last year because the new flats would “appear as an incongruous addition which would fail to preserve the character and appearance of the locally listed host building and Thames Barrier and Bowater Road Conservation Area”.

Previous plans for student flats have also been refused.

Now the Gillingham-based Zaan Group – a Domino’s franchisee – wants to covert the pub into a takeaway and add a smaller extension instead. The pub is locally listed but has been unused for over 20 years, and has been damaged by fires.

“Given the poor structural condition retention of the building requires creative thought and use. This is an isolated building that does not relate to any existing use in the area. Therefore, new uses are required,” a submission from architects Cook Associates says.

“The A5 [takeaway] use will generate little footfall traffic as most orders will be by phone or online, for delivery by scooter and electric bike,” it adds.

“This proposal brings back into use a locally listed building that has fallen into a poor state of repair and which is rapidly becoming an eyesore. This scheme follows previous planning refusal for the site for student units and a larger extension containing more residential units than the single unit now proposed.

“The extension of the commercial ground floor area to A5 creates a viable and sustainable use which ensures that the original frontage and shell is restored and preserved which is the desire of the local authority. The alternative re-development option available to the applicant for this site remains to serve a Section 80 demolition notice on [Greenwich Council] to demolish the existing public house.”

The new plans have emerged as developers take forward schemes for flats on the sites behind – including the Beaumont Beds warehouse – as part of the major Charlton Riverside development scheme.

Members of the public can see the documents and submit comments on the Greenwich Council website.