Flats plan at former Greenwich police station submitted
Final plans for new flats on the site of Greenwich police station have been submitted. The site faces onto both Royal Hill and Greenwich Town Hall.
In February I looked at revised plans under consultation. The final scheme now submitted doesn’t appear too different as expected but documents contain some interesting info.
A reduction in flats from 63 to 59 is apparent.
The “affordable” home total is 30% which is below Greenwich’s guidelines of 35%, which should be split 70% social/affordable rented and 30% intermediate housing. This fails that test, with half the planned “affordable” homes being shared ownership units and half being London affordable rent units.
Once again we have a publicly owned site sold to a developer who will only provide “affordable” housing after a 20% profit margin is gained. The state building directly would help save on ever increasing £25 billion annual housing costs the taxpayer pays out, not to mention benefit many buyers and renters. Short term income through selling land is a false economy for public finances.
In terms of income to the council, council employment agency GLLaB will see £59,000 and while some welcome news is apparent in terms of discussions to allocate some towards Memorial Park, this is not confirmed. Nothing is allocated to deprived estates or other streets in Greenwich.
As I covered yesterday, Greenwich Council are firmly at the bottom of the table when it comes to allocating income from new developments towards improving public space and better streets compared to other London Labour Councils with figures in the public domain. They may claim a climate emergency but on the ground they are generally not spending the money on encouraging walking and cycling through improved public space – and where they do take will income that could go towards housing, health or education.
As expected in the area it is a car-free development. Greenwich Council however will need to be aware of parking pressures. Will the 10 extra parking staff they’ve hired be enough? And will many cycle given so little investment in better streets? Maybe if heading west but if heading east? Not likely.
The police station closed in 2016 after approval was given from then Mayor Boris Johnson and his Deputy Mayor for Policing Stephen Greenhalgh. It’s interesting to note that when sold it was stated it was surplus to requirements, yet as the past week’s protests have shown a relatively small number of people can almost cripple the Met who had to call in officers from as far afield as Manchester.
Reduced custody space to hold those arrested appears to prevent action on a large scale. They seemed unable to arrest more than around 120 protesters a day given the time and space needed to hold and process people. If the 2011 riots happened again, or a larger protest, would they cope?
I’m running an appeal to help with the site. Info here. Many thanks to those who have helped.
Why is there no car park incorporated? On the assumption of one car per unit on average that will be another 59 cars trying to park on the streets of West Greenwich. I am already struggling to park my car near my home at certain times of the day.
Parking takes up space that could otherwise be filled with more units. In any event, the site is close to both Greenwich stations and bus routes.
As a car owner living on a bus route in a controlled parking zone I know the frustrations of coming back and finding my habitual spot taken, but car ownership in a busy town is a privilege and being able to park outside your door is reserved only for the disabled.
Seeing as the Police Station was developed on a former WW2 bomb site which saw the obliteration of the corner of the line of fine town houses along the two streets, it is a shame something more in keeping with the local architecture could not be proposed.
It is also falling foul of the sadly all too common ‘build up to the pavement’ ethos many of the modern blocks going up in London seem to follow. It creates an uncomfortable line of sight along the roads it stands on.
If the development was set back by even six feet from the pavement it would not feel like it was spreading over the pavement. A shame because with a bit of imagination the potential for a nice block of flats in a good location seems to have been squandered.
Totally agree with this comment on building right to the edges of the plot. A pretty uninspiring design and a missed opportunity. It amazes me that Greenwich council have allowed so many uninspiring new build buildings in west Greenwich conservation area. I also agree it should have included some car parking or the council should ensure the development is truly car free by refusing parking permits for street parking to residents of this development ( and potentially provide a number of car sharing spaces outside (or within) the development). Car parking spaces are already very limited in the area.
Pingback: Greenwich Ikea car park to see 1,200 homes built above? | Murky Depths