A pair of Woolwich tower blocks earmarked for demolition will be allowed to stay standing, a Planning Inspector has decided. Greenwich Council had ordered developer Comer Homes to knock down the buildings in September 2023, claiming there were 26 material deviations from the planning permission it had granted in 2012.
The two buildings, at 23 and 15 storeys respectively, sit on Woolwich Church Street and contain 204 flats. Comer appealed against the ruling and an inquiry was held between July and September last year, with the decision notice being published on Thursday, January 9.
Planning Inspector John Braithwaite said Comer accepted that the original scheme had not been lawfully implemented and the existing buildings did not have planning permission. However, the Planning Inspector stated that the council must have known the construction of the development was proceeding given the number of amendments to the scheme accepted until January 2023.
The approved plans for the buildings in Mast Quay alongside the current development
(Image: Upchurch Associates / Comer Homes Group / Greenwich Council)
The decision notice said: “Given the size of the development and the location of the site next to Woolwich Church Street, it would have been visually obvious that development was proceeding.”
The inspector issued planning permission in their decision for the development as it currently stands. They claimed the 204 flats in the scheme, including 28 affordable units, would be beneficial in a borough with a ‘woeful’ undersupply of housing. Aspects of the current buildings were also praised on their own merits regardless of the previously approved plans, such as the lack of wrap-around balconies creating a ‘pleasing slenderness’ to the 23-storey block.
However, Comer must make 11 material deviations to the buildings within three years or else the council’s order for demolition within its enforcement notice will be upheld. Changes for the scheme include replacing the bright orange panels on the blocks with a more appropriate colour, agreed with Greenwich Council to achieve a neutral appearance alongside the nearby Mast Quay Phase I buildings.
The decision notice said: “Unlike the render panels in Phase I, the bright orange colour of the panels will not fade over time and they will remain visually intrusive and uncomplimentary.”
Planning permission for the buildings was originally given in 2012
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
Other changes included adding fire resistant glass to balconies, methods for adapting properties to make them wheelchair accessible and marketing the residents’ gym to be used as a commercial unit as it was originally intended. A timetable of detailed works for the buildings is to be submitted to Greenwich Council within three months of the decision.
The developer is also required to pay £2.3 million to the council to support local facilities under the community infrastructure levy. Furthermore, Comer must make an affordable housing contribution of £4.4 million to justify only 13 per cent of units in the blocks being affordable. A partial award of costs was granted against Comer given its decision to withdraw one of its grounds for appeal after the inquiry began, running up wasted expenses for the council.
The Planning Inspector said that the views of residents were taken into account, with those in Mast Quay Phase I largely supporting the proposal for demolition while residents living in Phase II wished for the buildings to remain. A residents’ association for the buildings, called the Save Our Sails Action Group, told Comer and the council in July last year that they felt the blocks were well built and the proposal for demolition was not appropriate.
A Comer Homes spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We’re happy with the decision made by the independent inquiry and pleased that a satisfactory outcome has been reached for the good of the residents of Mast Quay Phase II. We look forward to now working closely with Greenwich Council to move forward and bring this situation to a positive end.”
Greenwich Council was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
Have a story you want to share? Email joseph.coughlan@reachplc.com.
Don’t miss out on the biggest local stories. Sign up to our MySouthLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more.