Elizabeth line boosted new housing say Transport for London – but has it?

Transport for London have released a report highlighting how the Elizabeth line has boosted access to employment as well as new housing around stations.

One key example highlighted is Abbey Wood station which now sees up to 12 trains per hour reaching areas such as Canary Wharf in 10 minutes as well as the City, West End and Paddington.

That boosted already good transport links of up to 10 trains per hour from Southeastern and Thameslink reaching zone one in 27 minutes that already existed.

New housing

However amongst the PR drive there’s curious elements in the report highlighting Abbey Wood as being a big beneficially of new housing in the vicinity of the station.

That isn’t correct.

It’s an odd suggestion as Peabody have built so very few homes in the area over the past decade despite previously good and now outstanding train service frequencies.

While failing to build on most plots The organisation have flattened numerous Thamesmead sites over almost 12 years since taking over from Gallions Housing Association.

In the process they’ve evicted many residents living within walking distance of Abbey Wood station as well as shopkeepers.

One such site is Phase 3 and 7 seen above. This was the site of many homes along Harrow Manorway before the wrecking balls arrived.

Peabody also flattened homes and shops at phase seven to the south to build themselves a sales centre, and again have no imminent plans to build homes or shops on site.

Phase 4 saw many residents evicted though homes are still standing. In total over 12 years of control across much of the area they’ve completed just one phase of seven in Thamesmead.

That was at the former Tavy Bridge site now rebranded as Southmere Village – while also failing to build on two nearby Abbey Wood plots.

Transport for London report

One reason the numbers for new homes near Abbey Wood are apparently “high” and it’s near the top according to TfL is because data ignored homes Peabody have demolished but are yet to rebuild.

A second phase of seven in Thamesmead is now finally underway beside Southmere lake and covered yesterday on a site where homes were demolished and residents evicted around seven years ago, but even that ensures five of seven phases in Thamesmead and both Abbey Wood plots have yet to see a single spade in the ground.

If Abbey Wood and south Thamesmead are being held up as one of the better examples of housing following new transport links that certainly encapsulates big problems with recent housebuilding levels.

Beside Peabody sites there has been changes elsewhere. Abbey Place has completed beside the previous Cross Quarter phase one site. Phase two is Peabody owned and gone nowhere.

Meanwhile plans are in for another tower from a private developer just over the road.

That’s beside the BP petrol station on an MOT site with plans now in to Bexley Council.

Car park site

Bexley Council also proposed new housing next door but instead decided a car park was a better use of the land.

Recently they appear to have decided to remove the proposal from the business plan of their development company BexleyCo.

The area beneath Harrow Manorway flyover remains litter strewn rather than commercial spaces with new homes to the east.

What the long term future holds remains unknown.

Missed opportunity

So what have we seen in the 15 years since Crossrail work begun and almost 20 since the project was approved?  Just three plots completed in the vicinity of Abbey Wood station (with just one from Peabody), one underway and eight with housing plans remaining unbuilt – and one now back to being a car park. Many sites flattened and then left in that state.

Of the almost 6,000 homes announced in a Housing Zone announcement a decade ago Peabody have completed less than 600.

The above image is taken from the now-closed Sainsbury’s cafe at their Abbey Wood branch. This is seconds from Abbey Wood station. Land either side of the road is Peabody owned.

On the left was a former Gallions Housing Association building before the takeover by Peabody. That has gone and nothing has been built. To the right all buildings have since been demolished with acres of now-empty land for some years.

The text on the above hoardings can only be an attempt at a joke by Peabody. The rising tower to the right is now complete (that’s Abbey Place) but no movement has been seen on the levelled site that contained hundreds of former homes.

It’s all rather unimpressive given the potential and timescales. At this rate much will remain unbuilt well into the 2030s and into the 2040s.

While the new line has been a great success in terms of access to jobs and of course acted as a trigger for new homes across the capital, putting Abbey Wood station near the top is far from the whole story.

It should have seen far higher numbers of much needed new homes than what we’ve seen, but despite excellent transport remains blighted by various plots of vacant and overgrown land in the midst of a housing crises.

And crucially, most of those vacant plots have no detailed plans to build submitted by Peabody.

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