How Woolwich’s Callis Yard development is shaping up
Earlier this week the site looked at large blocks going up on Wellington Street, and in a sort-of follw up looking at changes in Woolwich today looks at the tower and new-builds over at Callis Yard near Lidl and the Waterfront Leisure Centre.
The main tower is a little taller than adjacent Riverside House which has recently been sold by Greenwich Council.
Building heights drop from the tower down towards MacBean Street.
The site was formerly a council yard and the stables building has been retained and renovated.
Here’s how the tower should look upon completion.
As reported last week, it could soon see another neighbor at Mortgramit Square:
This building looks like it could strip away characterful buildings and backstreets.
Hopefully revisions will see a more considerate approach, with the facades and lane retained and new building set back. Active frontages could see this as a permanent area for bars and food stalls.
Thanks for reading. Some more posts on Woolwich will be inbound soon.
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I seriously doubt the area will retain its lanes and backstreets, to consider it would take too much foresight and creativity to develop something of character and beauty in Woolwich!
Indeed. The old Thames Poly buildings aside Woolwich was extremely pleasant to look at, from the old Coronet and RACS building through to Mortgramit Square and the Woolwich building itself.
With the exception of the redeveloped square, everything built in the last decade or so is designed to wipe out the existing small shops and whats left of the market. In a year it will be indistinguishable from West Greenwich or Deptford – giant towers that block out the sunlight in-between.
I agree these large blocks are ugly. West Greenwich/Deptford and bits of North Greenwich have started to look like a cheap version of Canary Wharf – bland, glass, concrete, plasticky.
Woolwich will end up going the same way if locals don’t object to planning applications. Callis Yard is going to be a really threatening building due to the height.
The author of this site warned that the Royal Arsenal towers would be ugly and he was right. The outsides have these odd blocks on them that look like polystyrene, but interspersed with fake brick cladding (trying to make them look less plasticky.) Has anyone been round Canning Town lately? They tried to make some of the Island Village towers look better by covering them in bright blue and red tile/brick. Certainly um… eye-catching I guess? But the opposite side is more beigey plasticky towers.