Woolwich Exchange development with indoor market cinema plan delayed again
A major Woolwich town centre project many years in the making has been delayed yet further.
Woolwich Exchange is set to bring 801 homes alongside new shops and a revamped indoor market including a cinema when – or if – it ever finally begins.
After nearly twenty years of talk and 11 years after Greenwich Council chose Notting Hill Genesis and St. Modwen back in 2014 nothing has happened, save for parts of the site fenced off for years.
Now Notting Hill Genesis (St Morden bailed out in 2023) state building regulation changes have caused further delays meaning work may now start in 2026. Don’t bet on it.
Development deal
Whilst Greenwich Council selected a partner in 2014 for the site – having started that process in 2012 – I recall hearing talk about it when working for the council nearly 20 years ago. It’s another glacial project.
Add it to Woolwich DLR sites (16 years and counting), the former Woolwich poly school site on MacBean Street (10+ years and counting) and the plot above the eastern end of the Elizabeth line station (11+ years and counting).
The above image nicely sums it up from one vantage point. The blue hoarding surrounds Woolwich Exchange, the site to the left is one of three TfL DLR sites sitting vacant for 16 years whilst at the end of the road and just off camera to the right is the vacant plot above the Liz line.
While delays caused by a second staircase rule and problems with the Building Safety Regulator are hitting many schemes, at Woolwich Exchange it’s but the latest delay of many. Will another pop up in 2026?
Very few homes are selling in London now due to extremely high house prices relative to wages and issues around leasehold. Many are now aware that buying new homes at an elevated price puts them into negative equity from day one, and leasehold costs and service charges can spike substantially.
Ultimately the entire system is broken – and thus far government tweaks are not fixing far deeper and bigger issues. Trying to introduce greater lax and riskier lending – as announced this week – hardly solves the problem and merely repeats what happened leading up to the financial crises.
It’s under the guise of “helping” first time buyers but what always happens is prices rise above wages and so in time far fewer first time buyers than ever can afford housing, building rates halt while rents rise.
Indoor Market
The old indoor market is still there but cuts a forlorn figure on site since Street Feast vacated. Originally proposed for demolition it’s now listed and supposed to be converted into a cinema. Again, whether that now happens remains to be seen.
Whether it doesn’t simply crumble away before any work starts is also a concern. Buildings not too far away have done similar.
At one part of the site a former Working Men’s Club has been fenced off for years as stagnation took hold.
Going nowhere
Almost three years ago in the mistaken belief work may actually begin I took a look around the wider site earmarked for demolition. You can see that post here.
It’s a bit of a museum piece and the last twenty years of uncertainty have done nothing to help.
For those unaware the character on the poster is Buzby, launched in 1976 and retired in the 1980s.
As for the wider Woolwich Exchange site Notting Hill Genesis now state work will begin in May 2026.
Given they’re also blamed rising costs for the delay, expect another possible application that seeks to strip out the 14 per cent of homes set to be social housing, with claims that’s no longer viable.
I do not believe the Labour Government and certainly Labour controlled Greenwich Council are serious about their commitment to building new homes. Despite forever talking about the housing crisis.
We see developments delayed for years even decades. We have potential development sites in the Borough failing in to a state of disrepair. Building sites sitting empty for years. Planning permission given for more hotels and student accommodation rather than new homes to house local people on the local housing waiting list.
I really cannot see Labour reaching their target for new council homes each year. Despite the changes to planning process.
Thanks for the update. It’s very disappointing that this development has stalled yet again. Whilst the square overhaul and hopefully the Ordinance arms work blur the hard border between the Arsenal and real Woolwich, the Exchange will make crossing the road a lot more enjoyable. If this ever happens in my life time. On the plus side, Picturehouse does a seniors membership!!
The cinema is unlikely to happen. It was supposed to be a “Picturehouse” which are owned by Cineworld who are just about still in business with huge debts.
They should have built a theatre. When you look at The Churchill in Bromley and The Orchard. They bring people into the area. They spend money in the shops and eateries.