Seen that new tower from across Greenwich? A look at it here
In recent weeks the first occupants have begun moving into a new tower named Union Wharf on the banks of Deptford Creek.
When first proposed there was much criticism of the height though now its complete I’ve barely heard a whisper about it. A sign that it’s not as bad as feared?
Certainly there’s some positives to this new build. It opens up parts of the creek and creates a welcome public space.
From here we can see another stretch of creek-side path that has never opened to the public. It’s in front of a development seeing flammable cladding being replaced:
In fact more than one development with flammable ACM cladding being replaced can be seen. Turn to the left and New Capital Quay is covered in scaffolding. Walking around Greenwich at the moment sees similar at numerous sites.
Anyway, onto the tower itself. When it initially emerged from behind scaffolding I thought green tiles may have been dropped but they’re present and correct.
I was less concerned with the height of the tower than the massing. It’s a big boy with some girth which could have appeared lumpen and intrusive, though it doesn’t feel particularly overbearing to me. The expanse of the creek greatly helped.
It includes 249 flats in total with 22 floors in total.
Even tacked on balconies – a pet hate – didn’t really detract from a nice little stroll through the site along the creek.
This block is build-to-rent and far from affordable to many people, including many on decent wages. It’s £1,777 for a one-bed flat. They’re still advertising flats and one wonders how many are left unlet. A single person in a £35k job will struggle to afford that after tax, student loan repayments and the like. Around 75% of income would go towards rent. Have a partner and baby and want a 2 bed? That’s £2,058 a month.
Build to rent is not a viable mass-market proposition as things stand.
Affordability issues are not going away and those who see this sector as a solution to the housing crises note these high costs. It’s hardly much different moving out from Zone 2 towards the suburbs.
A taller tower is proposed next to this site on the Laban centre car park and former Lewisham Council debot. It’s had a bumpy ride through planning.
Just over the creek in Greenwich are plans for another taller tower. I wrote about that two weeks ago. Unlike most boxy high rises this shows a bit more design flair though it’s location directly beside a working aggregate wharf will inevitably cause issues.
To say there are no objections now that both towers have been completed is a little naive. What are people going to complain about now that this has been finished?
This building is being used as excuse to raise the bar in terms of mass and height in all new projects and this has to be objected strongly.
There is a very serious risk of fire engines not being able to access copperas street with the parking there. People are abusing the restrictions, it could be lethal in the event of a fire. Union wharf can’t even get their rubbish emptied and the bins have sat on the road smelling for over a week due to the fact the cars are blocking access to the dust cart.
I was there a few days ago and saw the bins at the bottom of the street. That said, all the parked cars had acquired tickets.
OMG I have never seen anything look so ugly. They should stop with these horrible looking places they are clearly not worth the money being asked for them! Inside is just as bad, like a Dr’s waiting room!
I wish the whole lot would slip into the river.