Greenwich.co.uk

Greenwich news and information

The news section of Greenwich.co.uk has been paused since 2018. Please enjoy browsing archive news articles below.

Council Names and Shames Shops Selling Knives To Children

By

Greenwich Council’s Trading Standards team, in association with the Met, undertook a number of undercover operations on Saturday 6 September and Saturday 20 September 2008 to catch out shops selling knives to children.

Sadly, B&Q and Sainsburys – both at Greenwich Peninsula – were found to have sold knives to the undercover Police Cadets, aged between 14 and 17.

Elsewhere in the borough, Avery Trumans, Pound Stop and Woolworths in Eltham, Poundland and Sainsbury’s in Woolwich, and Pound Shop, LouRoys and CK Builders Merchants in Plumstead were also found to have sold the knives.

Councillor Maureen O’Mara, Greenwich Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said:
 
“It’s appalling that so many stores appear to be flouting the law with underage sales – especially when selling knives to children. This disregard for public safety is totally inexcusable and will not be tolerated in Greenwich.
 
“The Council is continuing its efforts by testing stores, issuing advice where required, and prosecuting those who break the law with underage sales. However, tackling this issue requires support from members of all our local communities. We must work together, be vigilant, and send a clear message that illegally selling knives is dangerous and completely unacceptable in our borough.”

Visit London 2008 Awards Shortlists Announced

By

The shortlists for the Visit London 2008 Awards have been announced, with Greenwich beig well represented in a number of categories. The Royal Observatory Greenwich is nominated for “Best Tourism Experience”, the National Maritime Musuem is up for “Visitor Attraction of the Year” and the O2 is nominated in several categories including, “Sports Tourism Award”, “Sustainable Tourism Award” and “Accessible Award”.

The Visit London 2008 Awards ceremony will take place on November 27th at the Royal Albert Hall.

Met Launches Crime Mapping Tool

By

The Metropolitan Police have launched a new crime mapping tool which allows you to see which neighbourhoods across London suffer from the worst crime rates.

The website uses colours to illustrate crime hotspots, and at the moment is measuring only burglary, robbery and vehicle crime.  The website says that crime in the borough of Greenwich is average. Zooming ino a ward by ward basis, Greenwich West has average crime, with there actually being only 28 crimes of this type in July 08 compared to June 08. The Peninsula ward, on the other hand, has a High crime rate, with 55 reported crimes of this type in June, increasing to 59 in July.

Interesting tool or pointless gimmick? Take a look yourself and the come back and post a comment with what you think of it.

Stockwell Street Development Approved

By

It appears that permission has finally been granted for a redevelopment of the site at 4-19 Stockwell Street. Currently the space is occupied by John Humphries House, and car parking space which is used as Greenwich Village Market at the weekends. Planning application 07/0897/F is still listed as “Decision Pending” on the Greenwich Council Planning website, but “Hi, Standard” has a report from someone who was at the council meeting where it was unanimously voted in favour of, and in the application’s supporting documents there is a letter filed last week which says permission has been granted.

The market on that space has been going for nearly twenty years and has a quirky charm which I think will have many supporters who will mourn its passing, but it is a weekend market, and for the rest of the week it’s just a car park used by businesses renting offices in the really, very dated John Humphries House.

The approved plans include a four storey block with 129 residential units, offices, retail spaces and an arcade area which will still provide for some market stalls. I believe the sensitivity of the area – with it being part of the UNESCO World Heritage site – and the proximity to the railway line, have been the cause of the delays over the years but with permission now seemingly given, what do you think about the decision?

Greenwich Park Faces Review as Olympic Venue

By

Greenwich resident, Andrew Gilligan, has a to re-assess some of the 2012 venues, including Greenwich Park. The report says that Tessa Jowell has asked KPMG to run a review of the sites in the face of criticisms that the too small or not suitable, as well as offering limited post Olympic legacy.

The controversy over Greenwich Park looks set to rumble on….

Poll: Do you think Greenwich Park should be used an an Olympic venue?

Tube and DLR Engineering Works This Weekend

By

Watch out for longer journey times this Sunday and Monday, as TFL carries out engineering works on the Tube and DLR networks. Replacement buses will be provided services between North Greenwich and Stratford underground stations, as well as replacing DLR services between Canary Wharf and Lewisham.

Greenwich Property Prices Take A Hit

By

RightMove.co.uk has published its monthly property price index report, which shows the average asking price in London falling by 5.3% in August as compared with July.  Greenwich was one of the worst performing boroughs, with an average drop of 6.6%. The only boroughs to perform worse were Kingston Upon Thames (-7.2%), Richmond Upon Thames (-6.8%), Brent (-7.5%) and Wandsworth (-7.9%).

“Destination Greenwich” Launched

By

With the Beijing Olympics in full swing, eyes inevitably start to turn to the next summer Olympics, in 2012. An exhibition was launched by Greenwich Council in Longtanhu Park, Beijing, yesterday in order to promote Greenwich as a major, worldwide destination.

To coincide with that, DestinationGreenwich.com was launched with information in English and Chinese, extolling the various benefits and potential of Greenwich.

Whitbread To Open Premier Inn Hotel in Greenwich

By

Hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread is to open one of its Premier Inn hotels in Greenwich. The 194 room facility with integrated restaurant is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics. Another new hotel in Aldgate will take the company’s London rooms total to 8,500.

Mark Anderson, Property Director for Whitbread Hotels & Restaurants, said:

“This is bright news from Whitbread in increasingly gloomy economic times.  We have disciplined targets for growth.  These investments demonstrate that we are well on our way to delivering them.  For us, it’s more a case of opportunity bites than credit crunch.

Find out more about hotels in Greenwich.

Will Greenwich Park Be Shut For 10 Months?

By

The choice of Greenwich Park as venue for equestrian events at the 2012 Olympics continues to cause concern. Contract Journal has reported that large swathes of the park could be closed for up to 10 months in order to prepare for the Olympic events. Some historic trees may face pruning back also.

Many local residents will obviously be asking the question: is the loss of access to the park and possible damage a worthwhile cost to pay in order to host these events, or should they be held at a venue already capable of holding them?

Find out more about all this on the Greenwich Phantom blog

Poll: Do you think Greenwich Park should be used an an Olympic venue?