Developers want to demolish part of a Victorian terrace to build new ‘high quality’ homes and commercial space in Woolwich Road.
Local property owners, the William Hatcliffe Estate, have applied for planning permission to knock down the former council offices at 17-23 Woolwich Road which are on the corner of Hatcliffe Road
They propose replacing the building with new commercial space, for use as shops, restaurants or offices, on the ground floor, and 9 new apartments above.
The new property would be in a similar style to the existing terrace with the addition of a new mansard roof to provide another storey of accommodation.
Developers say they considered other options such as refurbishing the property, or retaining the original frontage, but opted to demolish the properties and rebuild in a style that would match the neighbouring terrace.
See the planning application on the Greenwich Council website here.
How it looks now
Developers’ illustration of how it would look if their plans get the go ahead
Is this the same developer who wants to demolish the pub on the opposite corner (Old Friends)?
I had to look twice at the ‘artist impression’ to see any difference. But then after the impression I saw when they did The Old Jet Garage development I would believe anything!
One last point, what is the idea of creating all those new Shops when not one of them has been ‘opened’ as such all along Woolwich Road? Surely the rules of supply and demand have been forgotten. Should make for very cheap rents though…….or is it just a ploy to get planning permission in the first place?
Cynical, me, no surely not…….
More empty ground floor units along Woolwich Road then. While I am glad to see something being done with these derelict buildings, I do not understand the Council’s policy of insisting on these ground floor “commercial units” for all new residential developments along Woolwich and Travalgar Roads. Between the Blue Building and Blenheim Court. The units of the latter currently consist of an(other) estate agents, a table tennis table storage unit, and a bed and mattress storage unit. The others all have blinds concealing what is going on inside, but Im pretty sure they are not being used as commercial units.
What else can you do with the ground floor, if not commercial?
Would you want to live on the ground floor?
They did the same thing in Moscow for many years – demolish old buildings and replace them with bigger ‘replicas.’
THey claim it’s too expensive and difficult to retain the Victorian buildings, better to replace them with a pastiche (and have a good look at that roof design, it’s cheap and nasty). Then they claim that bulldozing, and replacing with a new building bristling with MDF, plastic and concrete, is more environmentally conscious. Yeah, right.
As for the shops, great. As long as the rents are affordable, to encourage start-up retailers and businesses.
Steve – I do live in a ground floor flat, on Woolwich Road. And I love the little place. I agree with Pedro though, if they are going to turn these into commercial units then they need to be affordable. I would just like to see the council be a little more imaganitive. It hasnt worked for either of the similar developments (mentioned above) so why do they think commercial units will be successful here?
Dazza do you, or anyone else, have the pictures of the proposals of what was built at the old garage site? The final building is one of, if not the, worst developments I’ve seen for a long time and I am intrigued to see what it looked like when proposed.
It seems to use just about the cheapest materials they could get away with, and all that unpainted steel is ugly. The street furniture outside is pointless and seemed to be chipped as soon as it was put in.
Do the developers have an image of the proposal – head-on? This picture is very unhelpful – the predominant building is The Old Friends and it worries me they don’t want to show us clearly what they’re planning.
Well we all know what the ground floor developments will become, more fast food outlets.
I have not been to Greenwich Market etc., for a Sunday afternoon browse for many years because as the odd and unusual shops close down all we get are more fast food outlets. How many fast food outlets can this very small shopping area sustain? Especially as many are those found on all high streets throughout the land.
If this policy goes on, there will be nothing worth visiting Greenwich for except the museum etc. Greenwich needs more shops to complement any visits by tourists to the Maritime Museum etc. I always enjoyed shopping here for the odd and unusual gifts for friends and family. Now all you can smell is the greasy tang which lingers in the air.
More old tat being flung up then. At least the new residents will get a nice view of the derelict ground where the Hospital was, before it was knocked down to become a new heart for Greenwich (ironically, empty derelict grounds and building sites just about sum Greenwich up these days so calling this waste land the heart of Greenwich was oddly appropriate)