Cross Quarter in Abbey Wood Approved

The application to build a new Sainsbury’s superstore, hotel, and housing in Abbey Wood was approved by Greenwich Council’s Planning Committee last Thursday. Detailed permission was granted for the Sainsbury’s, a hotel, and 31 flats, whilst outline permission was granted for the rest of the scheme, which is mostly the main housing element comprising a couple of hundreds homes adjacent to the supermarket.

The scheme looks to be decent, though I would prefer to see flats above the large supermarket. I’m dubious of how the hotel will turn out with randomised brightly coloured cladding and small windows. Also I’m not sure who will take on the hotel site initially. If it is built alongside Sainsbury’s during the initial stage then it will be a few years before Crossrail arrives, and Travelodge (the most likely candidates) are going through a period of rationalisation and selling some hotels after ownership changes. It has recently opened hotels by Deptford Bridge DLR station, Sidcup, Woolwich, and is supposed to be opening one at the site of the ‘movement’ development next to Greenwich station, along with one in Charlton near to the new Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer site on Woolwich Road.

Another intriguing element of the scheme is Greenwich council’s desire for a library to be included. This has now appeared on the website. This would in all likelihood mean the existing Abbey Wood library closing, and it moving a fair walk away to a site close to Bexley Library’s new Thamesmead library, which is replacing the existing Newacres library which is being demolished and replaced on almost the same site.

The design and access statement in the planning documents for Cross Quarter also show images of the planned Crossrail station.

I have not seen these images before and presumably they are the most recent designs. There has been years of back room negotiation on the station plans. Both Bexley and Greenwich council’s have been reportedly unhappy with the plans that have previously been drawn up. Dates for planning applications have come and gone. It is crucial that a good design is implemented, as it will connect the major bus interchange on the dual carriageway alongside, as well as integrating with the existing parade of shops one side and Sainsbury’s the other, and facilitate crossing the railway. The existing station is a good design dating from the 1980s, with a heavily slanted roof and much glazing. The web of walkways crossing the railway and dual carriageway alongside however are a mess. They are a result of previous station costcutting and are a blot on the environment.

The image above is not too clear but it could show the current road on the flyover, with two lanes in each direction, reduced to one. Hopefully not, as with the number of buses stopping there, what is currently a free flowing road will become grid locked. In future there will be more buses serving the station as Crossrail arrives, along with new developments and infrastructure. There is already a bus lane so it would be unnecessary.

Ideally, the two lane section of Harrow Manorway from the flyover next to the station, to the roundabout by the redeveloped Tavy Bridge (where the new Bexley Council library and more homes will be) would be widened to two lanes in each direction, with a new lane each way exclusively for buses with segregated cycle paths alongside. This could be achieved with minimal demolition as the road is mostly lined with grassland which will in all probability disappear as redevelopment of Thamesmead moves south. It is the only single lane section in the miles of road from Thamesmead to Abbey Wood station and could become a real bottle neck.

Without it traffic problems will surely increase, with greater bus numbers in future, and hopefully some cross river routes serving Crossrail heading to Thamesmead. Long term a tram could be a possibility. The large Sainsburys’ car park and hundreds of homes will be accessed via the single lane section as things stand. Widening roads is difficult politically, but this would benefit public transport by providing a dedicated lane on an increasingly busy stretch.

Demolition of the former Siemens factory starts on site soon, and the buildings are scheduled for completion in 2014-15.

The Future of Woolwich Arsenal and Crossrail

The next stages of Berkeley Homes development of the Royal Arsenal site are coming to light. Quite a few reasonably tall buildings will line the riverside, replacing the Waterfront leisure centre car park as well as the park next door.

The plans see a main thoroughfare leading through the site towards the river. The density will be high as Berkeley homes seeks to capitalise on its investment in the Crossrail station box. Greenwich Council’s Woolwich masterplan also envisages closing the existing leisure centre in future and moving to a site closer to the town centre. The site would be replaced with a mixed use development, shared space where the dual carriageway currently is, and Hare Street extended and continuing to the riverside, as it existed before the ferry moved to its existing site and the Waterfront centre built. The planned closure of the ferry would also free up riverside land. However these are aspirations, and with the planned towers next to the current ferry site not showing much sign of progress don’t expect this all to happen quickly.

A public exhibition showing the Arsenal masterplan can be seen at Royal Carriage Mews, Duke of Wellington Avenue on the Arsenal on 16th February from 12-4pm and 18th February from 3-8pm.

One of the next stages to be built is the snappily named ‘block C1′ as part of stage 5. This building is just west of the Heritage centre. The building follows the design principles of many of the previous buildings as can be seen below.

Also on the Arsenal site the Crossrail Station Box has recently been completed.  The box is 256m long. It seems like just yesterday that the car park was closed off and the hoardings erected. 400,000 working hours and 200 jobs were created in the process of construction.  Impressive work. There will be an open day on February 27th from 3pm to 5pm to visit the site. There will also be a charity run held within the box raising money for children’s hospice charity Demelza. To register interest you can contact woolwichstationbox@berkeleygroup.co.uk

Click here for crossrail’s page with further details, a timelapse video and photographs.

Tunnel boring machines are currently in the process of burrowing from Plumstead portal, as seen above, to reach the station box soon. The construction of the station box has been paid for by Berkeley Homes. Funding for the fit out of the station has yet to be agreed, and is still subject to discussions between the Department for Transport, Crossrail, Greenwich Borough and Berkeley Homes.

One of the most striking stages of the Arsenal development will be the towers above the station box. This is stage 4 of the Arsenal masterplan. Two of the buildings can be seen below. The most striking features compared with previous stages are the usage of yellow brick, the height, penthouses and glazing on the top of the buildings, and the style of balconies on the tower.

The image to the left shows the towers behind the two buildings shown above, and are in the same style. From this perspective the design appears overly ‘busy’ and quite cluttered. The image below shows the tower from the opposite angle. It appears quite lumpen. The balconies on the corners add to the bloated appearance. A better solution may be a continuous row of buildings below 10 stories with varied facades to break up bulk and monotony, with retail at ground floor level, rather than a number of stumpy towers with fussy facades and detailing.

 

In some ways in reminds me of the Holiday Inn in Brighton as seen below.

Directly opposite the proposed phase 4 buildings, and very close to the proposed Crossrail station, are a row of buildings in a neglected state on the other side of the road. Some are in appalling condition and appear to be falling apart having been empty for years. The indoor Woolwich market is part of this neglected row. It would not be a surprise to see many of these buildings purchased, demolished, and new proposals for redevelopment arriving in coming years.

Flawed Plan For New River Crossings

The latest plan for solving the perennial problem of river crossings to the east of Tower Bridge is the flawed Silvertown tunnel scheme next to the Blackwall Tunnel, heavily backed by Boris Johnson. Greenwich Council have recently launched a big campaign pushing for it, along with a bridge at Thamesmead (which seems to be taking second billing). They have splashed the campaign across their weekly propaganda ‘Greenwich Time’ newspaper, their website, as well as displays in local libraries. Below is a map of the proposals.

There are many flaws with the Silvertown idea, and a petition has been launched to stop the plans. You can see it here. The tunnel would cost £600 million, yet would add to the already long queues approaching the tunnel area each rush hour. There may be a new tunnel but the approach roads would not change. It would be tolled, with users possibly being asked to pay £2 each journey, and fees would be introduced on the existing tunnel. This would no doubt have the effect of making the Rotherhithe tunnel gridlocked, and do nothing to ease congestion as queues build up at toll booths on the crowded approach. The plans would be pretty much useless for buses, pedestrians and cyclists. It would increase pollution in Greenwich where thousands of homes are planned in the coming years.

The plan is being pushed by Boris Johnson. He cancelled the planned Thames Gateway bridge shortly after his election in 2008, which would have run between Thamesmead and Beckton. He also ignored his election promise to re-introduce the Blackwall tunnel contraflow which Ken Livingstone had removed.

Bexley Council were strongly against the Thames Gateway bridge plan, which would have done much to regenerate the deprived and run down north of the borough.  They were, and are, closely aligned with the Mayor, and have been heavily involved in campaigning for him. They were strongly against and helped kill off the plan. The other three boroughs in the area that would be affected (Greenwich, Newham, and Barking and Dagenham) supported the bridge, but none were as close as Bexley is to Boris. Bexley Councils leader at the time was made Boris’ Deputy Mayor after he was elected, until he was forced to resign for fraud.

I wrote a post a while ago about the benefits of a bridge. The plans would have seen a dedicated bus lane, which could possibly have been upgraded to trams or the DLR in future, which would have been a massive boost for Thamesmead as well as Erith, Slade Green and Abbey Wood. It could also have included a cycle lane and pedestrian access. It would have been tolled, but the level could have been set to manage demand, and spread the load along the Thames. For example HGVs could have been banned at certain times. With the rising population in the area the need for crossings only gets stronger, and has already been recognised for 50 years. The bridge should be the first of a number of crossings as it offers the most immediate benefits. More bridges, or extending the life of the Woolwich ferry, should be planned in addition to a proper crossing.

Instead of the bridge plan, Boris and TfL have come up with a proposed ferry at Thamesmead to replace the Woolwich one. This would come at a ridiculous cost of £150 million, and would also likely be tolled. West London has many free crossings whilst SE and E London would end up with none if Rotherhithe follows, as it probably would as more head there. Like the Silvertown tunnel, a ferry is no good for public transport, and is a poor form of transport. They need heavy maintenance, and are hampered by fog and limited capacity. Me and a friend recently had to get to a shop quickly, and the only one nearby to SE London with the product was at Beckton shopping park. Not far from SE London as the crow flies. But even using the ferry at midday it took an age to get there. A huge amount of business and job opportunities must be lost with the poor crossings. No one who lives in Thamesmead would be able to get to work there reliably, though if there was a bridge they would be able to get to work in 10 minutes.

A bridge could have an express bus route linking major public transport interchanges north and south of the river, which would massively help out Thamesmead and surrounding areas. It could quickly run from the new Abbey Wood Crossrail station heading north, with limited stops, through Thamesmead and across the bridge, then onto Barking with it’s Tube lines (District Line and Hammersmith and City Line), fast c2c trains to Fenchurch Street, and London Overground line. Both Abbey Wood and Barking would be accessible in minutes, and it would run along existing dual carriageways for almost the entirety of the route. Different routes through Thamesmead could be used for speed or proximity to housing estates. Here’s a map to show the idea.

A bridge can offer this. A tunnel can’t. A ferry can’t. The tunnel plan is expensive, offers limited scope, and still funnels all traffic down the crowded A2 and A102. The ferry only replaces the flawed existing one, will be expensive to build and also tolled, yet offering few  improvements. The newest TfL consultation can be viewed here

Next Stage of Rebuilding Thamesmead Approved

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from the blog recently as I havn’t been around SE London much to keep an eye on what’s new. However I have recently found a PDF on my PC from  a couple of months ago, which is a Design and Access Statement from a planning application to demolish and redevelop the Tavy Bridge area in Thamesmead. I was looking through it, and then found out that the plan for ‘Southmere Village stage 3′ has just been approved by Bexley Council. With funding in place and demolition teams on site, this is very much in motion.

Thamesmead’s fame and notoriety spreads beyond SE London, and much of that comes from its portrayal in the media. Some of the famous parts of the original estate surrounding Southmere lake were heavily featured in Clockwork Orange and Misfits, and are synonymous with the town’s image. It is those parts of the town that will shortly be levelled and then rebuilt. The area has been re-branded as ‘Southmere Village’ by Gallions Housing Association. It’s a pretty big scheme, and it also raises an interesting issue with the planning application for the new Cross Quarter scheme in Abbey Wood (see previous post) which is very close by, and also about the lack of cross-council communication.

The ‘Southmere Village stage 3′ plan is to continue the demolition and redevelopment of the Tavy Bridge area of Thamesmead, including the area which was the retail centre of the original Thamesmead development dating from the 1960s and 70s. Stages one and two of the redevelopment have resulted in two of the 1960/70s tower blocks re-clad and their original concrete exterior removed, along with the building of new flats and a health centre. The new flats are pretty dull and not much to write home about. Progress has been slow so far on the next stages of the overall rebuilding project, but funding for stage 3 has recently been secured.

The plans will see 296 homes built, many in a new tower, as seen above (a tower in a ‘village’…) The new building will be constructed on a corner site (bottom left on image below) facing the roundabout, and a square will be created behind the tower along with an opening up of access to the lake. New shops and a library will front the square. The raised walkways and pedestrian bridges will be removed. Despite the images in the Design and Access Statement all containing ‘to be updated’ I believe these images are of what is approved.

The plans include the demolition of the existing Bexley Council Newacres library, and a new library constructed. Interestingly the plans for ‘Cross Quarter’ in Abbey Wood by the station also contain a possible library, which is being pushed by Greenwich Council to the developers. The ‘Cross Quarter’ development is just inside the Greenwich Council boundary on the border between itself and Bexley Council. The two sites are very close together – a couple of minutes walk. It appears each council are not talking to the other by planning brand new facilities very close together. A new Greenwich Council library would presumably replace the existing Abbey Wood library which is 10-15 minutes away. Greenwich has a history of not talking to its neighbours but surely they must be aware of the plans just over the borough boundary, which have been around for a few years.

The existing Abbey Wood library was on a leaked Greenwich Council report earmarked for closure four years ago, despite being well used and in an area with very few other facilities. It has survived but if a new library opens its days are surely numbered. Abbey Wood estate, where it is located, is pretty much forgotten and ignored by Greenwich Council. The central shops would have one less amenity, and quite a few people left with a longer journey to a library.

This potential duplication of facilities and the lack of communication also raises questions over the redevelopment of the parade of shops in Abbey Wood by the station, planned for when Crossrail begins in 2018. The borough boundary runs right next to the station. Possibly because of being on the periphery of both boroughs, the shopping parade and the wider area have had almost no improvements in many years. Hopefully the two councils can work together to improve the area so it no longer feels quite so forgotten.

Big Plans for Abbey Wood

It seems that big changes could be afoot in Abbey Wood. A large site near the railway station is in line to have a Sainsbury’s superstore, hotel, new public square and hundreds of flats as part of the Cross Quarter development. The prospect of a hotel does seem pretty astounding in a place like Abbey Wood, but then again Travelodge seem to be just about everywhere these days, and one of their documents did list it as a potential location a few months ago.

I wrote a year ago about the site being purchased. Here’s an image of what the plans looked like then -

The renders looked quite attractive and reminded me of the impressive replacement of the Ferrier estate. However the announcement of a large supermarket, hotel, public square and flats mean in all likelihood it will be a completely new masterplan.

Behind the development are Gallions Housing Association, property developer and investor Development Securities & Berkshire Investment Capital. I’m a bit wary, as Gallions have built some very poor developments in Thamesmead in recent years. Developments that are not just ugly but inapproriate, such as the circular building and slab like block near an elevated dual carriageway and major roundabout in Thamesmead. The ugly frontage of the block looms over the carriageway. Pollution must be an issue for residents.

Development Securities are behind the ‘movement’ development next to Greenwich station. They have also been involved in some hotel developments which are less than inspiring. It’s pretty much a given that the hotel proposals will be quite dull with miserly small windows. The majority of new budget hotels springing up across the country are, whether in urban areas or by motorways. All too often budget hotels are motorway service station architecture dumped in towns and cities to the detriment of the environment. Just because its a budget hotel, doesn’t mean it’s neccesary to have a blank, dull facade occasionally punctuated by small cell-like windows as happens so often. I’ve seen some half decent looking budget hotel buildings, and some that even have the small square windows along with more interesting facades using depth, decent materials, and resulting in  something even approaching attractiveness. They are in a minority though, and developers and hotel chains wont do anything decent unless pressed. I hope Greenwich Council are paying attention.

So it seems as though Crossrail will make a big difference. There’s plenty of scope for more flats and shops nearby in the Village area by the station. The Harrow Inn pub was demolished a couple of years ago and the site has lain derelict ever since. Also, the main row of shops next to the station has a few single story buildings. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Tesco Express or similar with flats above in place of the single story buildings there soon.

As an aside, I was just browsing the Times Digital Archive. It’s available online through most library accounts I believe, and I was browsing using my Greenwich log in details. I searched for Abbey Wood while having a browse. One of the first results was a letter from 1849 regarding the new railway line, around the time the line through Abbey Wood was first built. The letter begins ‘Sir, what grumblers the public are’ in reference to comments about the line – some things don’t change! It also describes Abbey Wood as ‘densely populated with the vice-chairman of the line’, and ‘pleasantly studded with one barn and some trees’. Not sure how a barn made the place densely populated. I also recall reading a couple of years ago on a digital archive, possibly The Times, that the woods near the station was used a Cold War drop off point for Soviet agents. The archive is well worth a browse.

Growth of Travelodges Across SE London

I read on twitter a couple of days ago that Travelodge are looking to open up a hotel in Plumstead. Surely not I thought. So I had a look into it and found a story from The Wharf, and also found that they have recently extended the list of sites where they are looking to open. And it only includes places such as Abbey Wood, Plumstead, Blackheath, as well as many other locations. In fact it’s very extensive, covering many towns across SE London. See here. This is rather eye opening news as it’s hard at first to understand just how they would be viable, and just who would want to stay at many of the places listed. But then Travelodge are pretty much situated almost everywhere across the country now, and have entered the London area quite late, and in particularly SE London and thus see a big untapped market. And who thought that Bexleyheath would have a Hilton before that opened? Also it’s important to remember the list is only of areas they are looking at if the right conditions apply, and if other developments are forthcoming. They often link up with developers and largish schemes such as at the Movement scheme in Greenwich (details below), so I can see Abbey Wood being feasible in a few years with Crossrail arriving and the concurrent big housing plans next to the station.

They are also currently preparing to open at Woolwich in the next couple of months, and have announced plans for Charlton, and also have just opened a hotel near Deptford Bridge DLR. So I was surprised to see they are planning another hotel just 5 minutes away. Travelodge have formally signed an agreement with Cathedral Group to open up a hotel on the site of ‘The Movement’, which is Cathedral’s new development planned for the sight next to Greenwich train/DLR station that was the Greenwich Industrial site.

Cathedral say they are planning to start on site in summer 2012, and with this deal just being struck that looks more likely. Having looked on Cathedral’s site they have a record of submitting many plans and applications over the past 5 years plus, but of getting very little done. They are behind plans in SE London for the Deptford Project, as well as in Bromley which goes before planners in the next couple of days, and two in Eltham. One being the former Coronet cinema, and the other ‘The Grove‘.

House Price Variation Across London

The new house price index came out today from the Land Registry. It’s probably the most reliable index as it covers most transactions. One thing it shows is the divide between central London prices and outer London. I’ve noticed than whenever major news outlets report on house price figures they invariably report that London is rising (and report that as good), while the rest of the nation falls. They rarely delve further into the figures and the divide between central London and much of outer London. Having looked at the figures it’s the very wealthy central London areas that are skewing the numbers. For example, last month Greenwich declined 2.3% which was the most in London, against a rise in Westminster of 0.9%. However monthly figures can be erratic, especially given the low sales currently, so it’s best to look at annual figures which show drops outside the wealthy inner core -

Annual declines -

Greenwich -2.1%

Bexley -0.9%

Barking & Dagenham -2.2%

Newham -2.5%

Then there’s the wealthy central London boroughs which show big rises -

Westminster +8.9%

Kensington and Chelsea +7.2%

Hammersmith & Fulham +5%

Islington +5.4%

Despite constant proclamations that London is bucking the trend it seems there is a divergence within. The wealthy areas are doing fine, and wealthy foreign buyers and ‘investors’ being allowed tax breaks and enjoying the devalued pound. However the figures don’t seem too convincing that other areas of London are doing too well.