Charlton Riverside

Hyde Housing to reveal more about its Charlton Riverside plans

Darryl Chamberlain
The Hyde scheme would see plots A and C built first, followed by D and E, according to papers filed with Greenwich Council earlier this year. The rejected Rockwell scheme is to the left, the Flint Glass Wharf proposal is the other riverside project

Hyde Housing is to reveal more about its plans to build new homes on Charlton Riverside at an exhibition to be held next week.

In May, the housing association filed documents with Greenwich Council stating that it wanted to build 1,350 homes on a series of plots close to the Thames Barrier, including Maybanks Wharf, currently home to a paper recycling site.

Now Hyde is to hold an exhibition on Thursday 11 July (4-8pm) and Saturday 13 July (10am-2pm) about its plans. It says it plans:

  • Circa 1,250 new homes, with a target or delivering 50% of homes as affordable (it does not elaborate on what “affordable” means)
  • The provision of new commercial space, including maker, retail and wider employment uses
  • Delivery of new pedestrian and cycling routes and a comprehensive programme of public realm improvements
  • The opening up and activation of the riverfront so it can be enjoyed by local people

The documents filed to Greenwich Council’s planning team in May state that the blocks will be between one and 10 storeys tall, and that it hopes to begin eight years of construction next year, starting from the river and moving inland.

The exhibition will be at St Richard’s Church Centre, 40 Sundorne Road SE7 7PP. Coincidentally, it will be held on the same days as the exhibition on the Faraday Works scheme on the old Siemens site the other side of the Thames Barrier, hosted by developer U+I.

Saturday 13 July will also be the first public meeting of the Charlton Neighbourhood Forum, which is hoping to secure a greater say for locals in schemes of this nature.

As well as the Hyde and U+I schemes, two other major schemes are at different stages in the planning process.

They are:

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Faraday Works: Developer to host updated exhibition on Charlton Riverside development

Lara Ruffle Coles1 Comment
charlton-riverside-september-2018-9-9
The Faraday Building, soon to be demolished, if U+I gets permission (photo: Neil Clasper)

Developer U+I is hosting a new exhibition for its Faraday Works development, next to the Thames Barrier, on 11 and 13 July. The exhibition intends to update local residents on U+I’s revised plans following a similar exhibition in February.

The developer intends to build 500 homes ranging from 6 to 13 stories, with at least 35% of the homes to be “affordable”, with a priority for housing at social rent (usually half of market rents). The scheme is reusing buildings from the giant Siemens cable works, which closed in the late 1960s.

The Wire Workshop element of the scheme would create 460 jobs as a co-working hub for local businesses, and the scheme also plans to keep light industry on site, with the Telegraph Works building being extended to accommodate industry downstairs and homes above.

The Faraday Building at 37 Bowater Road will be demolished as part of the development, with U+I stating that it has “reviewed ways to achieve full retention… but it is not possible to achieve the same levels of benefits without the removal of the Faraday Building. The replacement will replicate the materials and façade as faithfully as possible.”

bowater-v2
Artist’s impression of the restored Bowater Road (photo: U+I)

Feedback from the first exhibition, in February, included requests for retail and community space, and U+I now plans to include a shop on Bowater Road and discounted use of the Wire Workshops facilities for residents. It also proposes a new museum focusing on the history of the site.

If you would like to review the exhibition boards from February, they can be found on the Faraday Works website.

The dates and times for the exhibition, to be held at 25 Bowater Road, on the Westminster Industrial Estate, are as follows:

  • Thursday 11 July 2019, 8am to 10am
  • Thursday 11 July 2019, 4pm to 8pm
  • Saturday 13 July 2019, 12pm to 4pm

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Architects suggest Thames Barrier bridge for Charlton riverside

Darryl Chamberlain

Thames Barrier Bridge
The Thames Barrier Bridge could be positioned either side of the barrier

A firm of architects has unveiled a proposal to build a cycling and pedestrian bridge next to the Thames Barrier, with lifting spans to allow shipping to pass through.

Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ suggestion of a Thames Barrier Bridge would connect the Charlton Riverside with the Royal Docks, two areas undergoing huge redevelopment schemes. It would put many Charlton residents within walking distance of the Docklands Light Railway and, slightly further away, the Crossrail station at Custom House.

The proposal, worked up alongside Beckett Rankine, a marine engineering company, was unveiled this morning at the press launch of the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy on Piccadilly, Architects Journal reports.

It would feature four lifting sections with each 61m span capable of being individually opened or closed to allow river traffic to pass.  It is anticipated the bridge would have to open and close 10 times a day.

A proposal was submitted to Transport for London in late 2017 and both practices are currently engaged in “exploratory conversations” with a number of “relevant stakeholders”, according to Architects Journal .

The bridge could sit either side of the barrier “so impact on the flow of the river would be minimised”, the firms said. A bridge just west of the barrier, could affect the plans for 500 homes at what the developer Komoto is calling Flint Glass Wharf on the old Johnsen and Jorgensen factory site, but would lead directly to Thames Barrier Park on the other side of the river. Designs showing a bridge on the west side show it landing at the Thames Barrier control buildings on the south side and slotting into housing developments on the north side.

Thames Barrier Bridge from above
The bridge would have to open and close 10 times per day

Alex Lifschutz, founding director of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, told Architects Journal: “There is really only one location in east London for a relatively low bridge suitable for cycles and pedestrians.

“Construction would take about 18 months and phasing would mean that at least two of the barrier openings are always open for navigation, so no river traffic would be stopped. And because the majority of the construction can be done from the river, it will minimise disturbance to residents.”

While both Charlton Riverside and the Royal Docks are both designated regeneration areas, there have been no official plans made to link the two – despite the claims made for the Silvertown road crossing a mile west. Greenwich Council’s Charlton Riverside masterplan contains no plans for linking the area with its docklands counterpart.

Three years ago, another architecture practice, Farrells, suggested a series of six low-level crossings of the Thames, with designs showing one linking Anchor & Hope Lane with what would now be the Royal Wharf development on the north side of the Thames.

Four major development schemes for the Charlton riverside are on the cards, with plans to eventually build 7,500 homes in total – a figure which will likely increase. After years of delay, the Royal Docks has already seen development alongside the Docklands Light Railway, with the giant Silvertown Quays development yet to come.

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Fourth Charlton Riverside scheme plans 1,350 homes

Darryl Chamberlain2 Comments

The Hyde scheme would see plots A and C built first, followed by D and E. The rejected Rockwell scheme is to the left, the Flint Glass Wharf proposal is the other riverside project

Hyde Housing has revealed details of its plans to build 1,350 homes between the Anchor & Hope pub and the Thames Barrier – the fourth major development scheme to be planned for the Charlton riverside.

The housing association plans to build blocks on the river on the site of the existing Westminster Waste works at Maybank Wharf as well as blocks further back on other industrial sites on New Lyndenburg Street.

Hyde says in documents filed to Greenwich Council’s planning team that the blocks will be between one and 10 storeys tall, and that it hopes to begin eight years of construction next year, starting from the river and moving inland. The documents filed are for a scoping opinion – a request for early feedback from Greenwich planners ahead of a full planning application.

Plans for a new river wall are included in the scheme, along with open space and 7,000 square metres of business and retail space.

One site not included in the proposal is the Tarmac aggregate plant – while Hyde has bought the land, the application says the site, which is on a protected wharf, will continue to operate, leading to the possibility of some of the new blocks having to be screened off from the site, just as has happened in the newer phase of Greenwich Millennium Village, which is next to Angerstein Wharf.

Hyde promises a “cycle friendly” layout, although just how “cycle friendly” a development next to a site which uses HGVs can be is open to debate. It also proposes an extension to the new Bexleyheath to Woolwich 301 bus service, which starts on 15 June, to serve the new development, which would link the scheme to the Crossrail station at Woolwich – although nudging commuters to use a zone 4 station merely underlines how cut off some of the early Charlton riverside developments could be.

Two of the other three Charlton riverside schemes have not yet gone to planning, while one has already been rejected by both Greenwich Council and City Hall.

They are:

More details can be seen on Greenwich Council’s planning website.

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Hyde Housing to unveil fourth Charlton Riverside housing scheme

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Maybank Wharf
Hyde bought Maybank Wharf last year

Housing association Hyde Group is to hold an exhibition next month on plans to build new homes on Charlton Riverside – the fourth scheme for the area to come forward in recent years.

Last month, The Charlton Champion reported how the recycling firm Westminster Waste was preparing to leave Maybank Wharf for Belvedere after 50 years of waste paper processing on the site.

Now Hyde is coming forward with plans to redevelop the land plus three other nearby plots stretching away from the Thames.

“We are proposing to redevelop this important site to deliver much-needed new homes of varying size, mix and tenure, including a minimum of 40% affordable housing,” Hyde says in a flyer distributed to residents. It does not elaborate on what “affordable” means.

“Our proposals also include the creation of new green space to improve access to the riverside, alongside commercial and retail space.”

The exhibition is at the Charlton side of Windrush Primary School on Thursday 9 May from 4.30pm to 8.00pm, and Saturday 11 May from 10am to 2pm. (Hopefully by then Hyde and its representatives K&A Consulting will have realised the school is not in “East Greenwich”, as claimed on the flyer.)

Residents who cannot make the exhibition but would like to know more are asked to email charltonriverside[at]kandaconsulting.co.uk or call 020 3900 3676.

The three other development schemes for the Charlton Riverside going through, or about to go through planning:

  • the Rockwell scheme for 771 homes at Anchor & Hope Lane was refused first by Greenwich Council last summer, then by the Mayor of London in January;
  • 500 homes are planned by developer Komoto at what it calls Flint Glass Wharf, the former Johnsen and Jorgensen glassworks which closed in 1981;
  • Another 500 new homes from developer U+I on the old Siemens cable factory site, a development it calls Faraday Works.

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    Fourth Charlton Riverside development inches forward as recycling plant gets set to leave

    Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

    Maybank Wharf
    The site has been used for waste paper processing since the 1960s – but will soon see new housing

    Plans for more housing development on Charlton Riverside have moved forward with one of the area’s biggest industrial concerns putting in a planning application to move to Belvedere.

    Westminster Waste, which operates the old Maybanks recycling plant by the Thames Barrier, has applied to Bexley Council to build a new site in Mulberry Way, Belvedere.

    The firm’s current base at Maybank Wharf has been bought by Hyde Housing for redevelopment and it has been given notice to leave. There has been a waste paper works on the site since the 1960s.

    Hyde has recently begun the early stages of consultation about its plans for the site, recently holding a meeting for community groups to discuss the scheme. As well as Maybank Wharf, it has also bought the Tarmac ashpalt plant and mixed industrial units along New Lyndenburg Street.

    There are currently three development schemes for the Charlton Riverside going through, or about to go through planning: the Rockwell scheme for 771 homes at Anchor & Hope Lane was refused first by Greenwich Council last summer, then by the Mayor of London in January; 500 homes are planned by developer Komoto at what it calls Flint Glass Wharf, the former Johnsen and Jorgensen glassworks which closed in 1981; and another 500 new homes from developer U+I on the old Siemens cable factory site, a development it called Faraday Works.

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    Faraday Works: 13-storey blocks planned for Thames Barrier live/work development

    Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

    18-32 Bowater Road
    The former wire workshop would become a new hub for offices and industry (pic: Neil Clasper)

    Developer U+I is planning blocks of up to 13 storeys and 500 new homes on the old Siemens cable factory site next to the Thames Barrier.

    The Faraday Works project, on the Charlton-Woolwich border, promises 8,000 square metres of employment space, with 40% at discounted rents to keep businesses in the area.

    U+I render
    U+I’s vision for Bowater Road, with the wire workshop on the right

    The scheme, the latest to come forward for the Charlton riverside, includes transforming a crumbling former wire workshop on Bowater Road – the street recently opened up as part of the Thames Path “missing link” – into an “exciting new co-working space promoting and helping young and emerging businesses in the area”.

    But U+I has confirmed plans to demolish another heritage block, the 1911 Faraday building, which it plans to replace with a similarly-designed block – although 13 storeys high – containing new housing, with a courtyard garden in front of it. It says the building is in poor condition with damage to windows and concrete.

    37 Bowater Road
    U+I wants to demolish the Faraday Building and replace it with homes (photo: Neil Clasper)

    The developer says it wants 35% of the homes to be “affordable”, with a priority for housing at social rent (usually half of market rents).

    It says the Wire Workshop element of the scheme will create 460 jobs, and will be similar to The Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes, west London, which was built out of the former EMI record-pressing plant.

    U+I development
    U+I plans to build up to 13 storeys on the site

    The scheme also plans to keep light industry on site, with the Telegraph Works building extended to accommodate industry downstairs and homes above.

    U+I revealed the scheme at a public consultation last week, and the exhibition boards can now been seen on its website, faradayworks.com, where it is also asking for public comments on its ideas.

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