Long-stalled Greenwich hotel changes set to be approved
Changes to a half-finished Greenwich hotel which has sat empty for five years look set to be approved next week.
The block was originally due to be a Ibis hotel until work stalled. In 2019 Radisson announced they would take on the site under its new “red” brand aimed at younger travellers.
The colour palette of materials have been changed to present a more drab exterior mainly comprising of greys.
This matches the bleak general area with the Blackwall Tunnel approach road directly next to one side – and some very poor streets for pedestrians in the area. more on that below.
Other changes in design include: “the construction of two additional part-storeys and extension of fourth and fifth floors to create a Part 4, Part 6 and Part 8-storey Hotel providing 68 Bedrooms”.
Two parking spaces have been removed with plans stating ample parking exists on Tunnel Avenue. However, public parking is commonly seen here.
Pedestrian access
The original Section 106 agreement for incoming funding to Greenwich Council allocated income to council job agency GLLaB but none to the local area.
It is one of the worst areas in London for pedestrians.
Greenwich Council has previously deflected responsibility to TfL for funding improvements in the vicinity and declined to use their own income from local developments. Once again this strategy has not worked, as no confirmed projects have been approved over the past five years and recent funding bids for emergency money from TfL have not been accepted.
The area presents a pretty awful introduction to London and Greenwich for tourists – and one that is dangerous. Walking here with google maps on a phone in one hand while trailing a suitcase in the other. What can go wrong?
A similar issue has recently been seen with another hotel approved earlier this year at the former Greenwich Magistrates Court. The most direct route from nearby Deptford Bridge DLR station has no formal pedestrian crossing. While nowhere near as bad as Tunnel Avenue, no income from that site will be used to rectify the issue there.
Earlier this week I also looked at how street clutter has been installed not too far from here which hampers pedestrians.
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Murky – this wasn’t originally an Ibis and it is all a lot worse than that. The original developer – can’t remember his name – but he was very small scale. The Council refused planning permission and it was allowed to go ahead by the Planning Inspectorate (famously he told them that it was walking distance from 5 stations). He disappeared – I think bankrupt – soon after and the site was, I think sold with the half built hotel, and remained empty for a long long time. Ibis later bought it.
The Ibis was merely branding and a franchise attached to a bunch of individual investors. I remember ads to buy each room promising a high return. Then it went under. It was brought by Radisson in 2019.
In terms of walking distance to stations that is a stretch of course – though it’s not that far from three but the walk is atrocious. How it can still be that way after so much S106, CIL and New Homes Bonus cash says much of how things operate in Woolwich Town Hall and the Woolwich Centre (and Peggy Middleton before that).
People can use the bridge (though it’s seen a few high profile crimes and many don’t feel safe) though again another hotel plan from Travelodge on the other side of the A102 sees barely any income to improve it. We aren’t talking huge sums to improve the area for people.
That’s just internal income. When it comes to TfL money I get tired of putting the same points again and again but what happened to £50k in 2011, £50k in 2015 and the latest in 2018/19?
Once again, Murky, I think you are overstating the danger of reaching this hotel from the ‘nearby’ stations. I will use Westcombe Park as an example since I grew up on Humber Road, went to Halstow Road school and used Westcombe Park Station to go to work.
A safe walking route to the hotel would be to exit the station from platform 2, walk through the alleyway onto Ormiston Road, down Kemsing Road to the main road, turn left and head for the zebra crossing and finally into Denham Street which leads to Tunnel Avenue. It’s a long walk and would need to be properly signposted. However, I wouldn’t want to do it on a dark, rainy night.
If I was the marketing managing for this hotel, I would specify North Greenwich as the best option from which guests can take a taxi or the 188 bus that goes down Blackwall Lane.
Strange – someone told me last year that her son (a local businessman) had bought the site. However – the Planning Inspectorate must have a report on their web site – but this all happened quite some time ago and I have no idea what happened to the original 106s, if they survived the Inspector. But things would have been very different then with road layouts still influenced by GLA and their mysterious peninsula based transport committee made up of developers and their agents. Its been sitting there half built a very long time.
It will be good to see the Hotel finished at last. I agree with Murky on many points. I think RBG are now missing out on a lot of funding from TFL as TFL are now fed up with RBG’s bad management over the years. Just as residents are with the way they have spent S106, CIL and new homes bonuses over the years.
As far as the public realm goes this area is in need of major improvements to the public realm along with improvements to the lay out of the angerstein roundabout. .