First homes revealed at Lombard Square on Plumstead/Thamesmead border
Construction work is nearing completion on the first homes within a 1,913-unit development at Lombard Square.
Scaffolding is down at homes facing a one-way system around Plumstead bus garage and a McDonald’s drive through on what was once the first ground of Arsenal football club.
Many more homes are rising to the rear in the above image, and those blocks are probably best glimpsed on a train between Abbey Wood and Plumstead station.
Blocks are currently rising along Nathan Way as well as other beside prisons next door.
The image below gives an overview of the general layout. Since this was drawn up housing totals increased from 1,750 to 1,913.
Peabody and Berkeley Homes are behind the project. This site has criticised Peabody many times for glacial progress on many plots in south Thamesmead close to Abbey Wood station, but credit for faster progress here in west Thamesmead/Plumstead.
On the issue of location I tend to think of this as West Thamesmead. Some say Plumstead. It was formerly part of the Royal Arsenal and latterly Royal Arsenal East when the site was divided which included construction of the bus garage and warehouses.
Public realm around the development site is very poor as things stand. There are due to be improvements made this year on a route heading towards Plumstead station, Plumstead High Street shops and many bus routes.
That includes the grotty underpass below the one-way system.
Still, even when that’s s undertaken it’s pretty grim in other spots which you won’t see in the adverts.
This includes a road layout designed for when this area was residential rather than with 1,913 homes built next door. It’s all a bit Greenwich peninsula.
Homes are also due to rise within the gyratory with taller blocks set for that spot (on the right in the above image).
This is just one of three sites here in pretty close proximity which will see 2,600 homes. Another is a redeveloped college site including 300 homes while 333 homes have been built beside the Broadwater canal.
So with limited public realm work (and what is happening is funds from a 2015 Housing Zone announcement) what about transport? Well, Greenwich Council ignored TfL requests for improved pedestrian links at some sites while in others allocated less funding for bus routes than asked.
At Lombard Square TfL requested £1.8 million for improved bus services. Greenwich and Berkeley/Peabody’s Section 106 agreement in 2020 went with £1 million.
When homes were revised up TfL asked for an extra £167,657. Greenwich went with £85,000 in the S106 agreement with Berkeley and Peabody.
Perhaps it’s not the worst thing as a Bus Rapid Transit is due to head past the site and that saw TfL given £23 million under an announcement from the previous government. Consultation on that is due shortly.
Mind you, money to convert the often crowded 244 bus into a double decker would’ve been much welcomed.
The new homes are now well under construction. It is a real shame though that Gteenwich Council have no major plans to improve the public realm in the area which Is pretty dismal and in need of being upgraded and new lighting along with the subway.