Woolwich market traders move back to Beresford Square
Market traders in Woolwich have now moved back to their traditional home at Beresford Square following the completion of public realm works.
With the project now finished traders have relocated to a linear strip along one side close to a row of shops including Poundstretcher.
Formerly the market covered most of the square though much is now given over to new planting, seating and fountains. And very nice much of it looks too.
Stalls now exist along one side and extend onto Greens End. Food stalls appear to be based closer to the Royal Arsenal gatehouse and new café pavilion.
Fountains are looking good nearby and often being enjoyed by children, with the odd dog running over for a splash.
They put on a colourful show with jets rising and falling moving left to right.
All very nice. No sign of the uniform canopies though shown in renders before work begun.
Maintenance issues
Sadly cleaning around the area is still lacking.
There wasn’t enough bins installed when it opened a few weeks back so more were installed a short while later using the same bespoke design.
The use of a specific design of street furniture with public realm upgrades is commonly seen but often doesn’t last.
These appear low capacity and are aging badly already.
The stage of running out of specialised street furniture already seems to have been reached here so standard types of bin have popped up.
Many aren’t being emptied enough.
Walking through of an evening all are filled to bursting not just around the square but nearby areas highlighting issues across the town centre.
See also bins around the bus stops near the Elizabeth line.
Meanwhile rubbish is blowing about everywhere.
Cleaners may be able to clean up litter on paving the next morning but ever more is now strewn within the planting which takes a fair bit more time to pick out.
And judging by the state of some areas, not enough time.
Gravel installed has been dug out in places around the planters and now appears scooped out and strewn about.
Same story
These are pretty basic things that should have been considered but weren’t even though prior Woolwich upgrades have failed due to poor maintenance. Maybe they’ll just tarmac this bit of gravel over.
At Abbey Wood’s upgrade that’s what happened with resin surfaces covered over with asphalt.
Abbey Wood had the same issue. Bright, almost white paving and setts white stained easily and looked a mess in no time.
Woolwich has form too. A previous upgrade using bespoke lighting at the base of trees saw asphalt put down rather than maintain.
And not too far from Beresford Square, tarmac was placed down on the road surface which was breaking up.
The amount of times Woolwich has seen poorly thought through – and maintained – public realm works is huge.
None of this is unique in London of course, nor nationwide, but Woolwich must be near the top for continual projects that don’t last.
Powis Street
Powis Street nearby may also show us how it’s going in terms of cleanliness and appearance.
It was also revamped as part of the £21 million project, but bizarre design choices such as the use of bright white surface sin an area of high footfall ensure it’s looking ever worse.
It’s all looking rather grim and dirty. Basic design choices make little sense.
Couple that with internal strife in the council’s cleaning department (the authority are currently trying to save money and embarked on a reorganisation I’m told isn’t going well) and the project looks scruffy already.
Some will say of course that it’s ultimately people that are at fault which of course is true, but there’s always been selfish people about so the issue is how to mitigate. Enforcement and action to stay on top of maintenance. If that isn’t happening then it falls apart.
And in addition, bright white paving will end up a mess regardless due to accidental spillages or businesses having to put waste out.
Of course nowhere in London or on earth generally stays spotless, but Woolwich is already at a level of grime seldom seen so quickly in many places.
As stated before when covering this major upgrade if Greenwich cannot keep on top of it, something like a Business Improvement District could help. Dozens exist all over London including many town centres but Greenwich borough has none.
If one could be set up, funds can be used to keep on top of issues and support the town centre to ensure the current upgrades last longer than those that went before.
The bins don’t have cigarette stubbers. Poor design.
The new public toilets are too small and out of sight of the square.
Hopefully all this rain will help wash some of that grime away.
Where are the public toilets? I wasn’t aware that there were any. There’s no signage
Is there any news on the water feature in General Gordon Sq being reinstated now the stalls have moved back?
Hoping to see something happen in the cafe before too long as well. Seems like ages since the “to let” sign came down.
Massively impressed at the daily clean-up operation that’s managed every morning. A shame that it’s needed
My sister spat on the road once and got a £100 penalty. But here in front of the all shop it’s a complete mess — people, drivers, leave rubbish everywhere, and people are sleeping close to shops
, dirty and drunk, with cartons and bottles all around. Nothing is done about it.
Why punish some people but not others?