Improving a Greenwich open space – consultation now on

A consultation has commenced on improving a small area of greenery in Greenwich near Deptford Creek.

A number of homes were built beside the site in recent years and mature trees removed leaving a patch of grass. These plans would see landscaping with wild plants, flowers and trees planted.

And after:

It looks good though some comments raise the issue of future maintenance of the area as well as removing much of the existing grass.

Over the road we have a perfect example of why that worry has arisen. A failure to invest in public space at Thornham Street and Haddo estate will make the contrast pretty glaring.

Whilst funds for this the Low Emission scheme probably cannot be used on the estate, others certainly can.

And many, many new builds in the vicinity have provided funds to the authority.

That they havn’t invested money towards the estate whilst the Low Emission Neighbourhood scheme is underway will highlight glaring inequalities with estates – and particularly public spaces within them – all too often forgotten.

It can’t be said people aren’t trying to secure more for this area. The entrance is better than it was a couple of years ago thanks to some dogged work by local people who were brushed off many, many times yet stuck with it.

But the work is minor. It was cutting back overgrown bushes and rebuilding a small section of wall with dangerous cracks yet broken brickwork remains in many other places.

So then, some good ideas but a scheme which highlights a lack of focus on estates and exacerbate some stark differences. If the estate was particularly visible to tourists would it be so bad?

Click here to view and comment on plans.

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