Controversial plans to redevelop Greenwich Market and build a new boutique hotel have been given the green light.
The proposals were orgininally rejected unanimously by councillors on the Greenwich Council Planning Board but landowners, Greenwich Hospital took their revised plans to a public appeal.
Following a public inquiry, with hearings held at Woolwich Town Hall last September, the planning inspector has recommended that permission be granted. His conclusions have now been backed by Local Government Secretary of State, Eric Pickles.
The Planning Inspector considered both the original application and the revised scheme, designed by Hopkins Architects, put forward by Greenwich Hospital. He agreed with many of the objections to the original proposals and stated that they would have been harmful to the character and appearance of the conservation area.
But in looking at the the revised plans, which dropped plans for a canopy roof and retain the market’s cobbles, the Inspector concludes that the “universal value, integrity and authenticity of the World Heritage Site” would be conserved by the regeneration. He adds that the scheme would “preserve the setting of nearby listed buildings”.
The banana warehouse and stable buildings in Durnford Street will be demolished as part of the revamp. The inspector admits they have a “degree of charm and character” but points out listed building building consent for their demolition has already been granted.
The 99 bedroom hotel, split across two buildings with the market in between, will be run by Bespoke Hotels, who also operate the Bermondsey Square Hotel, and is expected to create 86 full-time-equivalent jobs.
A new crescent street will be created leading from Durnford Street to the market which the inspector describes as as “imaginative and acceptable additional chapter in the market area’s evolution” that would provide “variety and interest”.
The redevelopment of the market, which has been strongly supported by the Greenwich Society and local MP, Nick Raynsford, will not begin until January 2013 at the earliest and traders will move to a new temporary market at Monument Gardens whilst the redevelopment is undertaken.
Martin Sands, Director of Greenwich Hospital, welcomed the news as a “a positive result for Greenwich Hospital and for the centre of Greenwich.” He added, “The Hospital believes that the approved scheme, which includes minor amendments, will maintain the character and atmosphere of the current market within a refurbished environment.”
Speaking to Greenwich.co.uk, Nick Raynsford MP said he was “delighted that consent has been given”. Although a supporter of the original application, he praised Greenwich Hospital for its “pragmatic decision” to “amend the scheme in response to genuine concern.”. He added that the redevelopment would “protect and ensure the long term future of the market”.
The Chair of Greenwich Council’s Planning Board, Cllr Ray Walker, has hit out at the decision and labelled the development as a “scheme totally out of keeping with the history and architecture of Greenwich Town Centre … which simply is not of a sufficiently high standard for a World Heritage Site.” He attacked the Government’s decision to back the scheme and their pledge towards greater “localism” carried “little actual meaning.”
For critics of the scheme, options to fight the ruling are limited to an appeal in the High Court or a Judicial Review. Ray Crudgington, head of Commercial Property and Managing Partner at Grant Saw Solicitors LLP in Greenwich commented, “I suspect this decision will be very, very, difficult and expensive to appeal against.”
Once built, the Greenwich Market Hotel will be operated by Bespoke Hotels.
REACTION IN FULL
Martin Sands, Director of Greenwich Hospital
This is a positive result for Greenwich Hospital and for the centre of Greenwich. The Hospital believes that the approved scheme, which includes minor amendments, will maintain the character and atmosphere of the current market within a refurbished environment. This decision recognises the standard of design employed by Hopkins Architects and their success in creating a scheme that responds to the constraints of the site yet remains sympathetic to the surrounding architecture.
Greenwich Hospital will consider the detail of the consent granted with its professional advisers to decide how best to take matters forward. In any event Greenwich Hospital will not consider starting the market regeneration before January 2013, following the first Christmas after the Olympics.
More immediately, Greenwich Hospital will continue working with Greenwich stakeholders, traders, retailers, Greenwich Council and all those involved in
the future of Greenwich, to make the market and Greenwich a continuing success, particularly in the key pre Olympic periodWe will also continue promoting the market and the town centre working with our retail PR consultant, to communicate the unique shops and market
stalls in Greenwich to key local, regional and national lifestyle and shopping editors, as well as promoting the seasonal events that Greenwich Market hosts
for the local community.Our programme of planned maintenance will continue this year as planned with the redecoration of the Hospital’s properties in Greenwich Church Street and all other refurbishment projects will continue as planned.
We will continue to work alongside Greenwich stakeholders who maintain a close interest in the town centre. Greenwich Hospital will continue to be
fully engaged in the future of Greenwich. In fact, it is very much business as normal”.
Councillor Ray Walker, Chair of Greenwich Council’s Planning Board
“It is regrettable that the new Secretary of State, apparently pledged to a greater degree of localism, has chosen to overturn the unanimous decision of the Council to reject the planning application for Greenwich Market. Localism is a word which seems to be increasingly deployed but carries very little actual meaning for the Government. This appeal gives the green light to a scheme totally out of keeping with the history and architecture of Greenwich Town Centre and which simply is not of a sufficiently high standard for a World Heritage Site. It is particularly unfortunate that the application will permit the Greenwich Hospital Estate to demolish the heart of Greenwich Town Centre just as we have shown off all its charms to the millions of visitors in 2012 and who, instead of being encouraged to return, will avoid the building site that the Greenwich Hospital Estate will turn the town into”.
SEE ALSO
Reaction from 853
Reaction from the Greenwich Phantom
FULL DECISION NOTICE
What to say really except that this was sadly predictable. Despite all the big talk about consultations, listening to residents and the huge opposition to the plans in the area; when it comes to the crunch, money talks, and the “charitable” Greenwich Hospital were going to use their money to make this happen.
Sad and depressing
As per, the key thing here is that the parties concerned can say they listened to what people had to say on the matter. This apparently then allows them to ignore what was said and go ahead with what they were going to do anyway.
By way of consolation there is a twisted humour to be had from contemplating the fact that the eyesore they are going to construct is going to spoil the area and dissuade tourists from visiting Greenwich thereby rendering the hotel practically useless.
Such drama queens. They are only demolishing the rank 70’s stuff apart from one little old coach house which they are reluctantly relocating. everything else is being kept and improved including the cobbles. Have you actually looked at the Market recently, it’s falling down and needs an over haul. I reckon it’ll look great when finished and breath some much needed new life into the place which is looking shabby and tired IMO. It could be so much better so why not make it great?
Yes, good on the facts, Michael, D.
“THey are only demolishing rank 70s stuff” – they are demolishing buildings from 1950s and significant, attractive Edwardian buildings.
“They are reluctantly relocating… [the coach house]”. Where? To la-la land? Do you mean the stables and banana warehouse, which the Victorian Society and other amenity groups said were important buildings, and are being bulldozed? They’ve offered to keep the bricks. How kind.
“Everything else is being kept and improved including the cobbles.” THat was due to the work of the campaigners. GHE, and the Greenwich Society, wanted to rip up the cobbles and replace the roof with a plastic one.
“Everything else is being improved… including the cobbles”
Look at the entrance to the market – there are huge grantte slabs, that show wear from 100 years of cart tracks. GHE apparently wanted to rip them up some time ago, but were refused permission. However, look recently, and you’ll see one has been ripped up and replaced with a new granite slab. THey simply don’t care about the old fabric of the place, it means nothing to them. If that’s your idea of improvement, go and live in a nice new housing estate. (As I presume many of GHE do, I’m told none of the major figures actually live in the area).
“The market is falling down and needs an overhaul” – true, and that is often the strategy of dodgy developers. Let an important structure fall into disrepair, then claim it should be demolished.
“I reckon it will look great when finished.” However the hotel looks, and it might not be too bad, the likelihod is that once traders have been moved out for two years, and the hotel starts using the cobbled area for dining space, the market will go – and with it, an intrinsic part of the appeal of Greenwich. It will be just another neat, shiny, shopping centre and hotel, and the appeal of Greenwich as a destination will wane.
I think you encapsualate it perfectly Paul. The market does need some renovation. And most decent architects could have come up with something more sensitive and interesting than this ‘off the peg’ architectural solution. If Greenwich absolutely MUST have another hotel for the hordes of tourists who want to stay overnight and can’t get a room in the Ibis, Devonport, Novotel, Holiday Inn or one of the other newly OKd hotels about to be quickly thrown up, and, they absolutely CAN’T bear the thought of the gruelling, long-haul 20 minute train journey back to Central London then I suppose another hotel must be built. Why it has to be plonked down in the middle of the market and ruin the centre of Greenwich is beyond me.
The market, even in it’s current condition is still a popular venue that attracts tourism, is popular with locals and supports small local businesses. Quite good things for a local economy. The greed monster that is Greenwich Hospital have long known they were sitting on a cash cow – but all that cash isn’t going directly to them! Yet. And thereby lies the real reason for this, allegedly, much needed hotel
And am I being cynical but did last weeks market have less stalls than usual? The central aisle certainly seemed much wider. A good week, then, to take a snapshot of the market and, when it re-opens with limited stalls in a couple of years time, they can compare back to this weekend and say “But its only 10% less stalls than we had there pre-closure”
What people seem to forget is that people like Greenwich because its quirky and characterful. If people want to walk around a shopping mall and look at a hotel they can probably do so pretty much anywhere. The problem soon will be that Greenwich is so bland, so compromised, so Inc-ed, that it will be something people quickly pop through on their way to the National Maritime Museum. Greenwich Hospital and their friends like Nick Raynsford and Inc may all tell us how much we need these changes to accomodate tourism but are blind to the fact that what they are bulldozing through all adds to the visitors experience of the town and the visitors quite like it. (I mention the visitors experience as opposed to residents as the big boys like Raynsford and Inc don’t actually bother about locals. For evidence look to Bar DuMusee – it used to be lovely and always busy, a place where local people would go regularly. Now most evenings the front bar is empty and the cavernous hangars at the back await the onslaught of drunken teens on a Saturday night. How does that contribute to local people’s lives?)
Localism, community, small business support. All great words. But they remain just that. Words. And the march onwards to bring Bluewater to Greenwich continues apace
When Greenwich town has disappeared completely the tourists will start seeing Greenwich as no more than the National Maritime Museumand Observatory and will plan their trips accordingly – I can see in a few years how the guide books will recommend you “go to the charming village of Blackheath and then walk down through the park so you dont have to bother with the generic and much spoilt town of Greenwich itself”
If only the people with the money had the same love of Greenwich as the people who visit it or live here!
A truly awful result. There is complete lack of respect for historical context. It would have been easy to develop the 50s buildings as an asset to the central site while, refurbishing the historical part. This gross overdevelopment can only spoil the whole area. If you want a horrible warning just look at the vile, already crumbling building built for the DLR and remember that London Transport buildings used to win architectural awards and listed building status. Indeed, local opinion matters for nothing and the new government has been shown to be as much a bunch of philistines as the last. World heritage site? Is this best the 21st century has to offer?
So what happened to the Tory’s Big Society and the idea that local communities could govern their own affairs? The bulldozing of the clear wishes of the people and council of Greenwich proves what empty words these are. Who says money doesn’t talk? Oh, and if you live in Greenwich remember our constituency MP’s enthusiastic support for this act of vandalism when you come to vote next time.
So, can this latest decision be appealed?
If so, will it be?
Truly sad. I’ve lived in London for 15 years, 7 of them in Greenwich. The market has had a very important standing in this community and is a unique example of our heritage at its best. People come from all over the world to experience the charm of this very British place so changing it so radically will remove the exact reason that people come. I’m all for progress and modernisation but not when it comes at the loss of something so wonderful and important – why change what isn’t broken? What they build in its place will be a pastiche of its former glory and only the memories of those who were there will lbe left. Unfortunately the next genearation will only be able to experience this in photographs. I’m off to live in Australia for a few years and I’m not sure I want to return. I’ll live with my memories, thank you very much.
Oh Michael D, “Have we seen the market recently?”, hard to see it very well because at the weekend its rammed packed full of people, I wonder why?
Clearly that won’t be a problem come the hotel and boutiqueification, there’ll be no people to obscure the view, certainly nothing for the people of Greenwich who Nick Raynesford is meant to be representing.
Ever wondered why the place is run down, why is it that so many of the shops lie vacant, who is responsible?
Well maybe the glorious Greenwich Hospital have been charging prohibitive rents to keep them empty and limit resistance when the bulldozers turn up.
Still it’ll be good to know they didn’t get their hotel in time for the olympics