80 more flats near Abbey Wood Crossrail and £10m upgrade to Thamesmead-Abbey Wood link

Another 80 flats look to be coming to Abbey Wood. Property consultants Kingsbury have tweeted about the sale of a car wash site a short distance from the rail station for £2.8 million, at the corner of Eynsham Drive and Harrow Manorway, which is itself in line for a major upgrade (more down the page).

There’s not much to go one at the moment, but discussions with Greenwich Council state that around 80 homes should be suitable here. A sizeable tower looks likely. Given the proximity to the station this seems about right.

It faces onto a roundabout which like many in Greenwich borough is not pedestrian friendly. Anyone heading east-west, or north-south, must take sizeable detours around barriers, as this image shows:

This is viewed from Yarnton Way, near where the new library, shops and amenities will be built. Over the roundabout is the site of this proposal.

The large roundabout also wastes land that could be better organised so more space is available for development. A junction instead of a roundabout would free up additional space around the perimeter alongside benefiting pedestrians.

Newham changes

Over in Newham at the Royal Docks, Newham Council have launched a program to replace large roundabouts with junctions to increase land availability and improve connections for those on foot. They’re also removing one by Maryland station as part of Crossrail related improvement work. Greenwich Council would do well to take this into account.

Harrow Manorway

Harrow Manorway is to see £10 million on an upgrade but unfortunately keeps the roundabout in these early renders (on the left below) seen on the YourAbbeyWood site:

The plans look promising in regards to widening the road to enable dedicated bus lanes in both directions. Much needed as this is the main route from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood station. Segregated cycle lanes are mentioned. There’s ample space for these.

It shows hard standing materials for the central reservation. Hopefully they do not make the the same mistakes as in Plumstead and Woolwich. Landscaping became clogged with crap in no time, and council cleaners (at a premium anyway) are prevented from these area due to safety restrictions. The new one in Woolwich became messy in weeks:

Bus Lanes

Unfortunately the bus lane from Thamesmead would possibly end at the Sainsbury’s supermarket, leaving one general traffic lane in each direction and a pinch point. The road could accommodate one bus lane but it seems feasible to make one in each direction here:

Allowing Sainsbury’s (opened summer 2015) to be built so close to the road edge seems a mistake. The petrol station on the right will go, and the render shows a grass verge here, so presumably that could instead provide a bus lane now Sainsbury’s prevents widening on that side.

Generally the plans look very good with just a few issues which should be possible to work through. Various developments will bring in much money to help. Next to the 80 flat site is a single storey vets. It serves a crucial service but can easily be accommodated in commercial space on the ground floor of a housing development. Next to that is a single storey Lidl and car park. Again, they can be included within a mixed use scheme with housing.

Lidl did try to rebuild recently with another low density building, wasting land close to a forthcoming Crossrail station, but Greenwich Council wisely objected.

This again raises the question of the Travellers Camp. With huge population growth, severe housing pressure and demand how long can it hang on, being located so close to a major station? Housing pressure is getting to the stage where radical action is needed in many areas. Is it wise to have such a low density site there?