Knight Dragon reveal plans for future Greenwich riverside tower near o2
Greenwich peninsula developer Knight Dragon have revealed plans for a forthcoming riverside tower.
This tower will be close to the Intercontinental Hotel at the north west of the peninsula and include 450 units, which is somewhat or a rarity now. Almost every plan is student accommodation or co-living. The mix 110 studios (24%), 196 one-bed (43%), 125 two-bed (28%) and 21 three-bed (5%).
A pavilion is located near the Thames alongside green space. It sits beside approved plots 1.02 and 1.03 with 866 homes.
Other nearby sites
Numbered plot 1.01, it’s not to be confused with another tower currently rising on the eastern side of the peninsula.
That one took 12 years after being approved to commence so hopefully future plots aren’t as slow.
Since the 2015 masterplan was approved, Knight Dragon have built 3,479 homes out of more than 17,000. Not exactly rapid progress.
Infrastructure delays
Developer Knight Dragon were supposed to upgrade the bus station when 3,000 homes were completed though Greenwich Council and TfL let them push that back to 6,000 by altering the previous Section 106 agreement.
For all the talk of encouraging public transport from the authority, many actions suggest otherwise. See also yesterday’s news that a large data centre in Charlton may hinder if not outright prevent the supposed main public-transport link through an 8,000-home masterplan site. If Greenwich allow that it’ll speak volumes.
As for Knight Dragon’s slow build-rates, that ensures vast amounts of the peninsula still remain tarmac or vacant land almost 30 years after billions in public funds were spent on land remediation for development, the Jubilee line extension and road network including a dedicated busway.
Ah, the bus way. Once there was grand plans for a tram from Greenwich to Thamesmead, then a trolley bus before it became just buses as most of the idea was scrapped by Boris Johnson.
More recently a spine road through 8,000 Charlton homes was also supposed to improve public transport links between Greenwich and Woolwich. It would then hep services reach north Thamesmead (to facilitate new homes) via a £23 million Bus Rapid transit which was supposed to open this year, then through Thamesmead to Abbey Wood station.
The BRT element so far appears to amount to little more than some slightly altered kerbs in parts of Thamesmead and it pushed back to 2029, while in Charlton if the data centre is built as proposed there may not eveb be any dedicated public transport route to serve 8,000 homes.
As for the spend on infrastructure at Greenwich peninsula, after much public money went into it acres of land passed to private developers, who’ve built at a staggeringly slow pace for more than a quarter of a century while the capital’s population grew rapidly.
As for the tower proposal at plot 1.01, a planning application is expected in coming months before a decision in 2027. Then the customary 10+ year wait to build? We shall see.
Hi
Greenwich Council hive off the land then take no responsibility for its development
And when asked, use the excuse, that it’s no longer belongs to them so therefore development and timescale is some one else’s decision..
Abrogation of Responsibility is how I would describe it
We desperately need housing suitable for families. Student housing is not required so much in the future – schools are already closing due to lack of pupils and the numbers of foreign students is also reducing.
I was going to say the same thing!
There will be a reduction of international students (I know 2 entities of a huge educational group that was based in the borough that have closed in the last few years).
Nothing for families and big open space to roam free and relax etc.
Public transport is another huge problem.
I travel through various boroughs and the system simply can’t cope during rush hour with another big population increase.
Then there’s other infrastructure like water/sewage, hospitals, GP’s and public parks and spaces (far too much anti-social behaviour), police etc.
These developments are not conducive to a stable long term community (not to mention sky high service charges I would bet), as there’s will be a constant turnover of residents….