Abbey Wood Post Office redevelopment plan submitted
Plans for a new block of flats on the former Abbey Wood Crown Post Office site in Abbey Wood have been submitted to Greenwich Council.
If the scheme is approved 31 flats will be built on site along with three shops.
Similar plans to this were refused around five years ago. Will this stand a better chance? Back then the developer proposed the Post Office moving into a new unit.
The former Post Office building opened in 1962 as could be seen from a rather sorry looking emblem on the exterior. The Design and Access statement has it down, apparently incorrectly, as 1970.
The site is planned to be a car-free development which makes sense being so close to the station. No one would force those without cars to move there and the number of younger drivers has fallen sharply in London.
However it would require a step change in enforcement from Greenwich Council to ensure residents do not park in the area. Even accounting for more staff recently hired, cars are parked nearby all-day everyday in an area with a limit of one hour parking.
When it comes to local greenery, the application highlights Bostall Gardens as “an attractive park”. Well, in part. Some looks like this:
Will the ruling Labour council break the apparent habit of a lifetime and invest income from this scheme towards deprived areas of Abbey Wood?
The authority havn’t allocated much at all from large schemes recently approved at Eynsham Drive and Felixstowe Road.
Opposite this site are plans for a large block from Peabody
That specific site is over the borough boundary in Bexley. We have to wait to see how incoming developer cash from that scheme is to be spent.
It will be interesting to see how Bexley Council will spend income from developers compared to neighbouring Greenwich Council. Will also be interesting how Bexley Council deal with the public realm around the development on their side of the boundary.
The flats and three shops planned on the old Abbey Wood Post Office site could work. Mixed retail and housing developments have been successful in other areas including Welling. Also the three shops being close to Abbey Wood Station should see more footfall with more people using Abbey Wood Station when the Elizabeth Line opens.
Eventually opens……
Wouldn’t like to live in one, they are ugly!
DW..and massively overpriced!
To be fair all properties under construction or due to built in the Borough of Greenwich are massively overpriced and unaffordable for the average person who works locally. Many locally people earn less than £30.000.