Charlton Riverside

Greenwich borough archive to stay as Anchor and Hope Lane land sold for school

Darryl Chamberlain
Google image of Anchorage Point
Anchorage Point is to be sold to a government property agency (image: Google)

Plans to sell industrial land on Anchor and Hope Lane for a new primary school were approved by Greenwich councillors last night – but the borough’s archives will not be affected by the move, they were told.

The Anchorage Point industrial estate is to be sold to a government agency so it can be used as a school by the Harris academy trust. Councils are not allowed to set up new schools of their own so have to go along with government plans for academies.

Greenwich council’s cabinet last night heard opposition from an Anchorage Point business owner and a local councillor, but voted through the plans after hearing that not selling the land could saddle the council with a £30-40 million bill to build a new school elsewhere.

Plans submitted to the cabinet appeared to show that the borough archive – which moved out of its old base in Woolwich three years ago to make way for the Woolwich Works creative district – would also have to move. But Jeremy Smalley, the council’s assistant director of regeneration and property, said that the trust would be able to stay, although its site may eventually be needed for a new road.

“The Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust are unaffected by this decision,” he said. “They would be affected in the longer term should we find the money to implement the road improvement, and the discussion with the trust is about what and where they need to be not just in terms of the archive, but in exhibition and research space.”

The plans will see existing businesses relocated to new sites, but Richard Cunningham, the owner of Morgan Richards Garage, which is based on the industrial estate, said his business had already been forced to move from Woolwich to Brocklebank Road in Charlton, then to Anchorage Point when Brocklebank Road was sold for use as a retail park.

“Each time, it’s involved great personal expense and great effort to keep a customer base we value,” he said, adding that Anchorage Point offered good facilities and was full of long-term tenants.

Moving the businesses “would result in a definite loss of jobs during the worst trading period due to the Covid-19 pandemic”, he added, suggesting a site further along the riverside would be better for a school.

“The site is essential for a lot of businesses, close to the Blackwall Tunnel, M25 and A2,” he said.

Woolwich Riverside councillor John Fahy said the plan to sell the site was “in direct contradiction” with the council’s aims to keep the Charlton riverside as a location for employment.

“This particular school will be in the middle of a building site with all the health impacts that will bring,” he said, adding that the school would come too early for housing on Charlton Riverside and Morris Walk, with the risk that it would be already full when the new residents moved in.

Local resident Helen Brown said the plans “came as a shock” and that the businesses only found out just before Christmas.

“Economic development and jobs are really important to the council, and that’s one of the reasons that’s a really difficult decision,” Smalley said.

“If the council doesn’t accept the offer, then the council will have to find a site for a school, and will be left with a bill of £30-40 million to find the land and build a new school – and under the law it has to transfer it to an academy.”

Addressing Cunningham, he said: “We’re going to do our damnedest to relocate you close to where you are now, in purpose-built units. We won’t necessarily be able to do that to everybody, but we really want to and we’ve been clear about the need to work with business and find alternative premises.”

“The DfE and [its agency] Located are putting the council under pressure to make this decision, otherwise the money will be withdrawn by March, and the council will then be left with having to find £30 million – £40 million to make the school provision a reality.

Sarah Merrill, the cabinet member for regeneration, said the council was committed to a “holistic regeneration” on the riverside rather than “allowing piecemeal developments ad hoc”, and said she had met residents on site last month.

“We are working with the community and [resisdents’ group] Charlton Together at every single stage,” she said.

The new school could open as early as summer 2022 – before any housing on the riverside is complete, and Matt Morrow, the cabinet member for children’s services Matt Morrow said it was important to get the facility in place early so new residents did not have to send their children long distances to school.

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Primary school could be built on Anchor and Hope Lane industrial estate

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment
Google image of Anchorage Point
This site could host a new primary school (image: Google)

A 630-pupil primary school could be built on an industrial estate at the end of Anchor and Hope Lane – and could open as soon as September next year.

Councillors on Greenwich Council’s cabinet are due to rubber-stamp a decision next week to sell the Anchorage Point industrial estate so it can be used as a free school for the Harris academy trust.

A report to councillors says a new school is needed to meet demand in the north-west of the borough, with the Charlton riverside area due to see thousands of new homes in the coming years. The site is next door to where developer Rockwell had a 771-home scheme rejected by a planning inspector last year.

Councils are banned from building new schools themselves, and Harris Federation had permission granted by the government in 2017 to build a free school in the borough. Greenwich plans to transfer the Anchorage Point site to the new school.

“It is proposed that Harris Primary Free School will open on a phased basis with 90 places in the reception year in September 2022 (subject to a site being secured and planning permission being granted) but will eventually have 630 pupils in the reception year through to Year 6. There is also the potential for the school to offer early years education provision,” papers for next Wednesday’s cabinet meeting state.

The industrial estate opened in 1999 to accommodate businesses that were displaced when council land on the Greenwich Peninsula was taken over as part of the project to bring the Millennium Dome to the area. Tenants include Tavern Snacks, which makes crisps and nuts for the pub industry. The council says it will offer tenants new sites in the borough – a process which could start the long shift of much of Charlton’s industry to sites in the Plumstead and Thamesmead area.

Another tenant is Greenwich’s borough archive – facing its second eviction as little as three years after being turfed out of the Royal Arsenal in 2018 for the Woolwich Works creative district project. When the possibility of the site being disposed of emerged before Christmas, The Charlton Champion contacted the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust to find out its plans; it received no response.

Provision for a new road cutting through part of the site will be included in any deal to sell the land.

Councillors will decide whether to go ahead with the sale at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

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What do you value by the river? Tell the council your views on Charlton’s riverside

Darryl Chamberlain
Cory boatyard, Charlton
The Cory boatyard is an important part of the area’s heritage

What do you like down by the river? Greenwich Council is asking people for their views on what they value about the two new conservation areas on the Charlton riverside – helping protect the area’s heritage as developers eye up the industrial land for thousands of new homes.

Two conservation areas – Charlton Riverside, and Thames Barrier and Bowater Road – were created two years ago as part of plans to make sure the area’s history wasn’t completely wiped out when the construction companies moved in, as has happened in other riverside areas of London.

Now Greenwich is consulting on the details – area appraisals – to work out what is of value to the area and what isn’t.

Places like the old Cory barge works and the modern homes at Vaizey’s Wharf are cited as having a positive impact on the area – but the old Watercoombe House office block on Anchor and Hope Lane and the McDonald’s on Woolwich Church Street are seen as negatives.

The council has prepared two detailed documents which are worth a look if you’re interested in the area – even if you don’t want to respond to the consultation – as they are full of details about the history of the buildings and their uses.

After the consultation, proposals will go to councillors on planning committees before being considered by the council’s ruling cabinet.

To see the documents and take part in the consultation, visit the Greenwich Council website.

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Council wants to see public transport for Charlton Riverside arrive soon

Darryl Chamberlain
Flint Glass Wharf
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
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:

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

Darryl 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.

Victoria pub plans
No getting away from badly-parked cars

“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.

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Rockwell’s Charlton Riverside development thrown out by minister

Darryl Chamberlain
Rockwell revised scheme
Neighbours disputed Rockwell’s images of what the scheme would look like

Plans for 771 homes close to Anchor & Hope Lane have been thrown out by the communities secretary Robert Jenrick, 17 months after they were rejected by London mayor Sadiq Khan and nearly two years after Greenwich councillors first turned down the scheme.

The huge development was the first to come forward as part of plans to transform the Charlton riverside to provide up to 8,000 new homes. The scheme was fiercely opposed by residents of Atlas and Derrick Gardens, whose homes would have been in the shadow of the proposed blocks, as well as community groups, councillors and local MP Matt Pennycook.

Greenwich Council officers had originally recommended approving the 11-block development – but councillors threw it out, with Sarah Merrill, the chair of the planning committee, calling it “reminiscent of Stalingrad”. It was feared that Khan would approve it after “calling in” the scheme to decide himself. But after he rejected it, Rockwell appealed to planning inspectors, who held a public inquiry last October. Speakers at the inquiry included Pennycook, Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe and Glenn Tilbrook, the Squeeze singer, who owns a recording studio next to the site.

A report went to Jenrick, who agreed with the recommendations to throw out the scheme. The decision came on the same day as plans for a 27-storey block in Woolwich were also rejected.

The planned development would have been built here, behind Atlas and Derrick Gardens

The development “does not reflect the aims or vision” of the council’s masterplan for the Charlton Riverside, which was called a “considered and robust, and also to be a carefully crafted and well-informed document”, the rejection letter stated.

The rejection is a major victory for Greenwich Council’s plans to keep some level of control over the development of the Charlton Riverside, distinguishing it from Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich where developers have largely set the agenda – in particular, to keep buildings to a maximum of 10 storeys in height – and for tall blocks to be an exception – and to make the development less dense than its neighbours.

“The Peninsula, with its strong relationship to the high-rise development of Canary Wharf and increasingly metropolitan character, is, for example, very different to Charlton,” wrote inspector Mike Robins.

“Here the character to the south of Woolwich Road, including Charlton Hill [sic] and Charlton Village, is residential, comprising well-established communities in traditional or more modern, low-rise and family housing, becoming increasingly more open as you travel east.

“While the established industrial character of the Charlton Riverside must change, it strikes me that the aspiration of the SPD [masterplan] to enable regeneration that respects the character of Charlton, promote increased linkages between the existing residential areas and the new neighbourhoods and enhance the permeability of the site to allow access to the river and parklands, is entirely justified.”

The scheme would “materially alter the appreciation and experience of” Atlas and Derrick Gardens

High-rise developments across the area would “in my view, be likely to divide Charlton rather than achieve the integration sought, and extensive use of high-rise development would be unlikely to foster the community led, mixed-use character that was the concluding vision of the stakeholder engagement and consultation that informed the SPD”, he wrote.

In part of the proposed development, the buildings were written off as “oppressive” with warnings that they would block out sunlight. The development would also “materially alter the appreciation and experience of” Atlas and Derrick Gardens, two cul-de-sacs originally built for workers at the nearby Corys bargeworks.

“The offer of 771 units with a relatively high proportion of affordable housing could easily be considered as overwhelmingly beneficial. However, such an approach must consider the quality of the development proposed and the effect that it would have on the area both now and into the future,” he added.

“The proposal fails to take the opportunity to promote a high quality of design, particularly in relation to scale and massing, that responds to its location and establishes a benchmark that accords with the design aspirations and guidance set out in the SPD.”

Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matt Pennycook called the verdict “the right outcome, a victory for the local community and a clear signal to developers to honour the vision set out in the 2017 Charlton Riverside masterplan”.

Len Duvall, the London Assembly member for Greenwich and Lewisham, said: “This decision comes a huge relief for local people and is a testament to the campaigning efforts of community groups, such as Charlton Together, who have vigorously opposed the scheme.

“Rockwell’s plans defy the framework laid by the Charlton Riverside Masterplan, with the excessive height of the tower blocks threatening to loom over neighbouring residents. The scheme also fails to deliver sufficient affordable housing on a site where it could be maximised.

“The council and the mayor have been right to reject these plans. Urban development needs to work for the whole community and should not come at any cost.”

Rockwell can seek a judicial review of the decision, or it can go back to the drawing board and submit a revised version of the scheme.

Six other schemes for Charlton Riverside have been announced since Rockwell first submitted its plans – none have yet been approved.

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Charlton Riverside: 230 homes in 10-storey blocks planned for Eastmoor Street

Darryl Chamberlain
Aitch scheme render
Aitch’s plans, looking south: Barrier Gardens is to the left, with the Beaumont Beds (Optivo Homes) site behind and Mirfield Street at the front

Developer Aitch Group has launched a consultation into plans for 230 new homes between Eastmoor Street and Westmoor Street on the Charlton Riverside.

With the coronavirus lockdown, it has launched a virtual exhibition of its plans, which would see 10-storey blocks built on a plot behind the current Beaumont Beds warehouse and to the west of Barrier Gardens.

It is the latest in a number of proposals for the riverside, all at varying stages in the planning process. None have yet been approved, never mind built, making imagining what these developments will be like somewhat tricky. While Aitch says 35 per cent of the homes would be “affordable”, this would be a mix of “affordable rent” and the much less affordable shared ownership. 30 car parking spaces are planned. More details can be found at www.eastmoorstreet.co.uk.

In January, the housing association Optivo Homes held a very short-notice consultation about a development on the Beaumont Beds site.

Elsewhere on the riverside, five major schemes are still in the works:

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