Greenwich tower plan submitted again after nine years

Plans for a tower on Greenwich peninsula have been submitted for planning approval once again nine years after initial approval.

This time it’s plot M0121. Revisions now mean it could be Build to Rent with all “affordable” housing in the block removed. Total flats are up from 251 to 300.

The block sits within the “Lower Riverside” area of the Greenwich peninsula masterplan which has seen continual increases in planned homes and now stands above 17,000.

Slow progress

Like much else with Knight Dragon its taken an age to reach this point. It’s now eight years since approval was first given and a sister tower built.

If only housing was given as much priority by the developer as car parking in the area many more people would have a home. A car and coach park was built beside the Thames just to the north in recent years.

Nothing ever happened with this plot.

The prior 2014 approval saw 50 “affordable” units split two thirds between social rent and shared ownership. Now it’s entirely private.

That change was made possible by a new Section 106 agreement between Greenwich Council and Knight Dragon in August 2022.

As for getting around, that same 2022 agreement signed by Greenwich Council also looks to ensure pedestrian improvements are many years off.

This is an indicative timescale for improving links between new homes and existing amenities in east Greenwich. Nothing to improve the situation for pedestrians at some pretty awful roundabouts until 2037!

So much for their Transport Strategy.

The design is much the same as in 2014, except for “minor changes to the tower footprint to accommodate the addition of another stair core” and “Joining the two lower, podium buildings to provide a second means of escape for the whole building, while retaining the articulation between the blocks”

Plans can be viewed here.

Running a site alone takes time and a fair bit of money. Adverts are far from enough to cover it and my living costs as a private renter.