New 22-storey tower planned for Deptford at Arklow Anthology site

A former industrial estate at Arklow Road is to be the site of another large Deptford development. A tower up to 22 storeys is planned for the development, designed by Rolf Judd architects, and will feature a total of 336 new homes.

The site is surrounded by railway lines, and issues of intrusion from new towers seem minimal. With the housing shortage and population growth this sort of height is needed in zone 2.

Almost adjacent to Arklow Road is the former site of Deptford Green school. There are plans proceeding for 316 new homes, both there and at the former Tidemill school site in Deptford town centre. Details can be seen here.

Family Mosaic, Mulalley and Sherrygreen Homes were appointed as the preferred development partner in February 2014.

Also nearby, the ‘Deptford Project’ development beside the station is nearing completion. Work on the carriage ramp, housing block and retail units continues to come along well.

Though badly needed, the question as ever is whether services are keeping pace. In terms of transport, an issue is large increases in the numbers using Deptford station in recent years.

It saw 11.7% growth last year and 300% over the past ten. Services and capacity will be further reduced in August 2016 due to London Bridge rebuilding work, and a failure to procure extra carriages to lengthen the remaining trains to 12-car, nor fix the Woolwich Dockyard problem which will cause additional problems.

Staffing at Deptford has also failed to keep up, with ticket office opening hours based on lower user numbers. New Cross station also saw an increase of 6% on the year.