Greenwich Council have announced an agreement with Hyde Housing Assoication for 3,000 homes just before consultaion into new homes began this week in Charlton.
Hyde revealed images of future phases of a 1,212-home development named Herringham Quarter as covered earlier this week. The first plots were approved six years ago but little has happened since, save for some site clearance.
Shortly before consultation on further plots commenced this week Greenwich Council leader Anthony Okereke revealed an agreement with Hyde at the London Real Estate Forum on Wednesday. The Council also own a number of sites across lower Charlton which are part of the Charlton Riverside masterplan site adopted a decade ago.
Though whilst buying some plots in 2021 they were looking at selling others in 2020. It’s been lacking in any real direction since talk started around 15 years ago.
Overall homes on the Charlton Riverside site have jumped over the past 15 years from 3.500-5,000 up to 7.500 and now 8,000, but only now are we seeing the first plot complete and second commence.
Momentum
Greenwich Council and Hyde working together should certainly help give a bit more drive and enable stronger overall guidance given fragmented land ownership, yet already some core tenants of the prior masterplan have been lost.
Last year Greenwich planners approved a distribution warehouse near Bugsby’s Way that will hinder and impede a previously proposed east-west public transport link across the masterplan area and serving 8,000-homes, as well as thousands more on either side including those in west Woolwich and Charlton peninsula.
Compounding that are new plans for a data centre which could render a direct, fast public transport for thousands of proposed homes dead and buried.
Transport
Greenwich Council have stated they’re pushing for better transport and announced an agreement with TfL but no details have emerged and the chipping away at a proposed direct, fast, efficient link does not bode well.
Adding to that we’ve also seen TfL recently cut buses serving the area when the SL11 replaced the 472 in a move supported by Greenwich Council.
Whilst the 3,000 home plan announced this week isn’t yet underway, plenty more new homes nearby are impacted by those bus cuts as is the Royal Greenwich Trust School. Local MP Matt Pennycook visited it this week. He has been silent on bus cuts in the area inpacting the school and many new homes, yet in the past has been vocal on the need for public transport to support new housing and services.
He was also rather louder when the Tories cut local rail services. A different story of course when it’s his own party doing the cutting.
Other sites that will see fewer buses since recent cuts include 900 homes being built at the ‘Triniy Walk’ sites plus 250 in Charlton at sites near the Thames Barrier. There’s also the Albion pub site which looks like it could start soon as reserved matters are submitted.
All round it’s a rather odd scenario whereby TfL and Greenwich have very recently supported reduced buses in the area beside a large number of homes currently under construction, yet now put out press releases about signing agreements for better transport in the very same spot.
One wonders if there’s any sort of strategic knowledge.
All that while agreeing developments such as a warehouse and potentially a data centre that will seriously impact on a crucial public transport link for new homes and its long-term viability.
Back to the start
So what can we expect in terms of public transport for new homes?
Perhaps more buses stopping – on a potentially slower route – though that is likely to merely bring overall levels of buses stopping in lower Charlton back to what they previously were.
No doubt that’ll be heralded as a great success by TfL and Greenwich. Yet it’s possible extra buses won’t even run through to the both east and west, with the 301 possibly extending to Charlton from Woolwich. That doesn’t make up for recent cuts in buses heading to North Grenwich tube and areas of employment to the west.
As for truly transformative transport changes – as TfL once proposed in the 2000s via the Greenwich Waterfront Transit – to support 8,000 homes in lower Charlton and 20,000 in Greenwich? No real sign of that.
It’s a bit like areas of Thamesmead with major growth plans that would have once been served by Greenwich Waterfront Transit. Instead what we see now is relative penny change allocated (see the extremely weak proposed improvements from North Thamesmead to Woolwich Elizabeth line station) as the North Thamesmead DLR plan instead sees billions, while key areas seeing thousands of new homes miss out on any substantive investment and flounder.
The flawed Thamesmead DLR plan (most in Thamesmead would still seek the Liz line not the slower, less frequent DLR which won’t link to Abbey Wood for interchange) is where almost all money and effort is going – while other major areas of growth across south east London see little.
Overall this announcement of joint working is welcome but until Greenwich and TfL announce some real transport improvements – after supporting recent bus cuts – it’s all a little odd on the transport front. And without that, it won’t succeed.