Greenwich.co.uk

Greenwich news and information

University to buy Stockwell Street “Village Market” land?

By

Has the University of Greenwich purchased the land at Stockwell Street where the Village Market is held? That was the question sent into me by Johanna, who heard this from a Cabbie – usually the best informed people in London.

The site in Stockwell Street, which includes John Humphries House and hosts the “Village Market” every weekend whilst being a private car park for the rest of the week has had redevelopments planned for it for as long as I can remember. In fact, I had an office in John Humphries House about four years ago and was told not to expect to stay too long as it would soon be demolished.

Plans by the developers – WestCity Plc and Capital & Counties Properties Ltd – for a mixed use development of flats, offices, shops and space for new market stalls were granted permission by the Council last year, and also got the nod from the Mayor of London and the Government Office for London.

But with new home building coming to a stand still, have the developers decided against going ahead with their plans? I contacted the University of Greenwich to find out if there was any truth in the rumour, and their spokesman told me:

“The university does have plans to move its School of Architecture & Construction to Greenwich and we have been looking for a suitable site for some while. Although we have been in talks with a number of landowners, we have not yet purchased a site.”

So, intriguingly, the Cabbie was half right – the University is looking for a site but no, it hasn’t purchased the land in Stockwell Street… yet!

What would you like to happen to the site in Stockwell Street? Would you like to leave it as it is – a private car park for five days a week and a market for two days – or do you think it could be more productively used?

Monopoly Competition: Whitechapel and Old Kent Road

By

So far we’ve decided all the green squares and all the blue squares of our Greenwich Monopoly board. I thought we’d go to the opposite end of the spectrum now and tackle the brown squares. I want to get through these a bit quicker so we’re going to double up on this one and play for TWO entries! (Calm youselves at the back!)

Whitechapel and Old Kent Road are the cheapest streets in the game. Hmm… I wonder how we can do this without sounding snobbish and passing judgement! Let’s just have your entries please for two Greenwich streets to take the place of Whitechapel and Old Kent Road on our bespoke Monopoly board. I’ll pick a winner and there will be two entries up for grabs for whichever entry or entries are in luck.

I hope this all clear by the way… running competitions is a skill in itself which I’m still learning the ropes for, so if anything’s not clear, just ask!

Greenwich in pictures – Then and Now

By

Thanks to DaveH48 who pointed me in the direction of the Greenwich Photo Wiki. In case you haven’t seen it, this is a street by street breakdown of West & Central Greenwich with fascinating photos giving a birds eye view of how it has looked in the past.

Being a Wiki, it means you can go along and contribute your own pictures, information or comments. Go check it out if you haven’t seen it – Greenwich Photo History Wiki.