New Woolwich town centre car park opens – with no apparent permission
A car park has opened in Woolwich town centre with no apparent planning permission.
The site on MacBean Street saw work undertaken recently and signage appear, and now the gates have opened. The above photo was taken shortly before.
Plans for a car park on site had previously been rejected by Greenwich council and then on appeal. Another plan for a car wash was also rejected.
This time around – unless any planning application has not been uploaded and a rapid decision to agree made – there is no permission but the site owner has gone ahead anyway.
Vacant
The area was formerly Woolwich Polytechnic school before closure and land being sold to the private sector. Developers have sat on it for 15 years without building.
First it was Legal and General and now Re:Shape.
Latest plans see student housing and co-living units plus a smaller number of standard flats.
Public land is set to be offered to the developer by Greenwich Council in the form of the market pound on Beresford Street.
The market has undergone recent changes with traders now back on the revamped Beresford Square after some time spent on General Gordon Square.
Rather than positioned across the entire square as before, stalls are located in a strip along one side. They’ve also had their market pitch fees pushed up ten per cent.
As for the new car park opened seemingly without any agreement from the authority – despite Greenwich closely working with the land owner via the market pound land deal – attracting more cars right now is probably not the wisest with roads nearby narrowed due to building work.
Another car park is also located metres away beneath Lidl.
Well some of us do shoppin cars ave ealth problems n can’t carry them eavy loads. We aint all cyclists on ere either.
I’m disabled. I can’t cycle so I get online shopping. It’s a thing for many years now. Stop being an arse insisting on clogging up the roads ever more. Not even a cycle lane here so don’t blame them. Woolwich traffic is rubbish enough let alone attracting more cars. It has everything now with Docklands Light Railway, British Rail or whatever it’s called this week and the new railway line for people everywhere to get there who are able bodies. You don’t need to drive there. If so against the modern world with online shopping you can use dial a ride. End of the day people who drive just for shopping are choosing to and making life hard for others making more traffic.
Weird stuff. Are Greenwich making money from it? Why aren’t they shutting it down if dodgy. Can walk it in three minutes from their town centre headquarters
Suspect they are going to shut it down but gathering evidence and serving an enforcement notice probably takes a few weeks and probably needs them to start operating first (which they now are).
This of course assumes they bother to do so!
Saw another story suggesting the car park behind the hotel was closing, and this was taking over. Much to the disgust of hotel staff & guests.