Creeking under the pressure? Another large Greenwich housing development proposed

Fairview D and A part 1

Another development is proposed along Deptford Creek. This one is from Fairview Homes, is 14-storeys high in places and located beside the listed Mumford & Co mill on the site of Booker Cash and Carry. The planning reference is 16/1792/F.

Consultation was held in March. Details of that can be seen by clicking here.

Since then advice from CABE led to changes. One of the main differences is the orientation of the pitched roofs. Roof gables are now facing the Creek. The use of red has also been reduced. It did look very 1980s but I was quite fond of it. Another change is an increased stepped effect effect down to its Greenwich High Road frontage.

Fairview 3

Of all the recent plethora of Creekside housing developments, this is probably the best. The proportions seem decent with both street and Creek frontages of a decent standard. Pitched roofs help a lot; many other nearby developments are boxy and flat roofed. Not too sure of the materials used though – it does make it look a bit like some cheap sheds plonked on top.

Kent Wharf is also now rising nearby and looks pretty generic and unsympathetic to its surroundings.

kent wharf 3

It’s also offers no interaction with the street at ground floor level if this render is accurate. Here’s the site taken from a passing train:

kent wharf construction

It also looked like the site in the foreground had recently been cleared. I havn’t seen any plans for this site but eventual use for housing seems very likely. The other side of the river shows the Jones furniture factory – or ‘Sun Wharf’. It looks like more housing will be built there with consultation in February.

Also now rising nearby is the new blocks at the Faircharm art studio site.

faircharm

It’s now above ground and rising quickly:

faircharm

It goes without saying that amounts of affordable housing is small across most schemes.

Some of these schemes are likely to complete before January 2018. Before then newcomers will experience gaps in peak time trains at Deptford station up to 23 minutes. Those alterations begin with the August timetable change. I imagine the DLR will be expected to pick up the strain, though it will very likely not see any additional stock until 2020.

 

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J Smith

I've lived in south east London most of my life growing up in Greenwich borough and working in the area for many years. The site has contributors on occasion and we cover many different topics. Living and working in the area offers an insight into what is happening locally.

0 thoughts on “Creeking under the pressure? Another large Greenwich housing development proposed

  • Great improvement. Less eye strain all round and the echoed gable ends was a sympathetic addendum. Planners rarely add aesthetic to the corporate money pot but here they did just that.

    Reply
  • Why do you link to some crazy hateful anarchists FB page calling for violence.

    Any building around the creek is only positive. These buildings also even look nice, that’s a big plus.

    Good there will be the thameslink trains from 2018 on..

    Reply
    • Whoops – sorry about that! It was supposed to link to Deptford Dame’s overview of the Sun Wharf development. Someone had linked to that Facebook page in the comments. It’s changed now.

      Yep on the whole housing there is a positive. Most are pretty poor though this is better than the others.

      Thameslink in 2018 is out for consultation soon. If it does happen, it’s not 100% it will be via Greenwich/Deptford and may just replace an existing service. But we will find out soon enough.

      Reply
      • lol

        Actually, although I like the building on the whole, the roof tops looks kinda like a silly isn’t it; more a farm shed than luxurious penthouses:)

        Thanks for the info

        Reply
  • I can’t believe the Kent Wharf development passed without offering any active frontage on the ground floor.

    Yet more evidence that the Greenwich planning department are stuck in 80s and have no clue how to plan a modern mixed use neighbourhood.

    The creek side area had the potential to be a vibrant, modern new district with a pleasant, active water side frontage full of bars, restaurants and small scale retail. Instead it looks like we’ll get the same old city worker dormitories that are as depressingly dull as most of the other new developments in Greenwich.

    I also wonder how BREXIT will impact the rash of new developments across the borough. Property companies and funds are taking a kicking in the markets this week and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these developments are paused or even halted.

    Not great from a housing shortage perspective, but at least it may lessen the strain on already crowded public transport which has had little/no investment to cope with the extra demand

    Reply
    • Although I agree it should have this potential, the new developments scaled down in offering commercial space as a result of the other places staying vacant. (NCQ and creekside) If you can’t get restaurants/bars to move at the thames, creek will be even harder.
      Of course this is a chicken-egg problem, but you understand their rationale. Hopefully it will get better over time.

      Reply
      • NCQ is actually doing quite well on the commercial front – there is a Waitrose, Costa, Architecture firm, Furniture company and best of all – a decent new pub in the Sail Loft.

        I think with a lot of new developments the commercial places stay empty because the rents demanded are too high and no-one wants to be the first mover into an otherwise empty area.

        With a bit of foresight, the council could have worked with the developers building on creek side to offer attractive initial rents, business rates relief and really pushed it as a vibrant new waterside neighbourhood – the sort of thing you see in Manchester and Leeds along the old canals

        Reply
      • Creekside is also doing well – we have a gym, IT company, Music company, cafe, and a new hotel is currently being kitted out…very little retail now left to rent.

        Reply
      • Not really..Both the architecture and furniture companies actually belong to Galliards; The japanese restaurant next to it has already gone bust, as well as the nursery in creekside. Creekside still has several empty places and the gym seems to be the only successful one. (I don’t think the store with the weird chairs on the ceilings has seen a living sole for example.)

        It has been respectively 3 years (NCQ) and even longer for Creekside now. I love to see the glass half-full but for Zone 2 London, with still the entire riverfront side empty, you can’t call that a success..

        I think it could have easily been otherwise by the way; I’m not sure if it is stubbornness from the developer (if they would have halved their prices they would have had a lot more income!) or incompetence by their agent but suspect both.

        Reply
      • I have to disagree Walt – Creekside does not have many void units now. The Cavatina block is now full as a 100 or so room hotel is being built as I type. Adagio has the gym and the chair shop (the latter being for trade showroom – hence no day to day customers) and the old nursery is now occupied by a music company. Atrium units have a cafe, and a couple of other businesses which I can’t remember off hand. The only units are in Vertex (the tower) and I understand the largest unit there is due to be occupied in the next few weeks. But yes, it has taken time to fill – not helped by the rents…

        Reply
    • ha ok, you know more than me. Good news then, these new occupiers, hope it encourages to fill up the rest of NCQ too

      Reply
      • For as far back as I can recall doing business in Creekside has always been a terrible gig. You were either mad or lost.

        Reply
  • All these extra people both here and in the Penninsula.
    Where are the extra primary and secondary schools?

    Doctors surgeries would be good too, unless these people never get sick. The architects pictures only show young people (plenty of slim women of course) but never this kinda stuff.

    These guys want a perfect world and it’s more than interesting children aren’t included.

    Reply
  • Pingback: A new look around Deptford Creek as towers rise – fromthemurkydepths

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