Charlton’s 771-home development rejected by Mayor Sadiq Khan
The Mayor has rejected a proposed development to build 771 homes on the first major site within Charlton Riverside’s Masterplan.
Sadiq Khan rejected the scheme based upon poor quality public realm and criticised poor consultation with local residents, businesses and landowners.
Greenwich Council rejected the scheme last year. Many councillors claimed the plan was too tall at 10-storeys.
The Charlton Riverside Masterplan (or SPD) does permit buildings at 10-storeys but with transport improvements. In recent weeks and months it has been revealed that a number of bus routes nearby will be cut in frequency. 222 car parking spaces were planned.
The hearing today heard that future public transport improvements are expected yet the Jubilee Line upgrade is to all intents and purposes scrapped and buses are being cut.
£2.1 million will be spent on a new road yet there’s no guarantee any additional buses would serve the route. Over £800,000 from Section 106 would have gone go to GLLaB.
That’s around the same as the entire sum going to “bus improvements”. Once again GLLaB is taking huge sums despite many pressing issues in the area.
In addition, the amount of money it would have brought to Greenwich Council through the Community Infrastructure Levy is £3,569,028.
A controversial aspect raised at the hearing was a “play street” doubling as access to industrial units.
Residents of adjacent Atlas and Derrick Gardens in Charlton argued buildings will loom over – whilst developers argue they have reduced heights from earlier plans after Greenwich rejected the scheme.
Now developers must re-work the scheme and come back again.
Again, WHY is GLLAB getting all this money? I’ve not seen anything done by them to justify it!
To be honest GLLAB is costing too much money at the expense of other Council Departments facing cuts in budgets and too many other projects around the Greenwich Borough. Funding to charitable Organisations was slashed in a private council meeting early this year, (Has reported on the 853 blog) meaning more vulnerable people around the Borough will not get the help and support they need in the next financial year.
Good decision though they will be back again no doubt.
GLLaB though. Seriously? wtf. How can Greenwich look at that area and say GLLaB needs as much as better bus services, safer walking links & more investment in health and education. It’s an absolute money pit! They’re obsessed. Anyone ever used it? It’s hopeless on the whole.
What now for the Charlton Riverside Masterplan?
Possibly fewer homes built with improvements to the public realm to give the residents some space.
As with any new developments public transport infrastructure also needs to be improved.However, Sadiq Khan Mayor of London is cutting public transport rather than improving it.Just have to look at recent cuts to local bus services with more planned including routes 472 and 486.with serve North Greenwich Station for the Jubilee Line.
More and more funds to GLLaB ? What GLLab is doing for the community and for the tax payers?
Here again how the council thinks of making the borough a better living enviroment for the residents? How do they think to attract new residents -tax payers- and therefore more attractiveness for new businesses, hight street flag ship stores, new investments, new restaurants and more income for everyone?
Other boroughs have been working on this direction and are being successfull in the change and their reputation is even getting better. You see boroughsp0 with bad reputation
changing thanks to making more attractive for new residents.
Greenwich borough is a very large borough…but aside the Greenwich Park and curry sark area, anything else is abandoned to itself. Some areas are day and night dirty , full of fly tipping, full of careless people, and these people in some areas are predominant.
For someone coming from outside the borough that drive through Woolwich and then Charlton (Woolwich road) ..what’s the picture does he get? A big sore eye..till u get close to Greenwich Park..
Question is :what the directors at the Council do about it?
just out of genuine curiousity, because I’ve read it more often the last couple of months (but can’t find it on for example the TfL website): is there genuine a plan to extend the Jubilee Line (new added connection from North Greenwich) to the SE?
No. Technically the third platform at N Greenwich was built with extension in mind but reality is it wouldn’t happen for 30+ years without massive change in governmental priorities