Campaigners against the against a 27-storey tower block planned for Woolwich town centre have launched a crowdfunding appeal so they can have legal representation at a public inquiry into the development.
A six-day hearing will be held from 19 November into Meyer Homes’ proposals for the tower, which would be entirely for private sale, in front of the Tesco superstore. The plans also include three other blocks of between nine and 16 storeys behind the store, with the entire development comprising 804 flats in total, including up to 17% for social rent, all in the blocks behind the store.
Greenwich councillors threw the scheme out in November 2018, but Meyer lodged a last-minute appeal last month. Planning officers said the proposal was “unacceptably dominating and overbearing to General Gordon Square and the surrounding townscape”, Greenwich’s chair of planning, Sarah Merrill, said the development would cause “substantial harm to Woolwich town centre and Woolwich as a whole”.
Speak Out Woolwich, which has been campaigning against the scheme, has been granted Rule 6 status for the inquiry, meaning it is a formal participant alongside Greenwich Council and Meyer Homes, which will both have their own legal representation.
The group – which gathered a 1,700-signature petition against the scheme last year – is now urgently trying to raise £1,000 to pay for initial help from a barrister.
It says: “We need to urgently raise an initial £1,000 to enable us to get legal advice for aspects of our case. If we could raise £8,400 we could instruct our own barrister to represent us throughout the six-day inquiry.”
If you can help the group, visit www.crowdjustice.com/case/planninginquiry-rejectthe27-storeywoolwichtower/.
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