Council officers have recommended that plans for a new riverboat pier and restaurant on the Greenwich Peninsula are approved by councillors when they meet next month.
The pier would be placed on a jetty next to the InterContinental hotel next to the O2, on the west side of the peninsula. It would be built to serve Thames Clippers services, however, there is no agreement in place for riverboats to serve the pier. It would be the second pier on the Peninsula, after North Greenwich Pier on the east side which opened 20 years ago.
Greenwich planners have suggested that councillors insert a clause allowing them to refuse permission if a deal for riverboat services is not secured within three months.
The jetty, which was built in the 1950s, has been covered in shrubs, weeds and silver birch trees since 2000 to attract nesting birds. The Environment Agency has objected to the plans, saying the plans “fail to assess or mitigate the loss of habitat for protected species”. A “biodiverse roof” which would be larger than the current jetty space would be installed.
The restaurant and bar, which would be operated by the hotel, has also met with concerns from residents north of the river, with Tower Hamlets Council noting that noise from the premises could disturb residents on the Isle of Dogs. Greenwich officers say they expect “a minimal number of night time boat movements” have recommended that the restaurant should not be allowed to open beyond midnight.
Council officers say that the new pier “will result in the redevelopment of a redundant jetty of limited ecological value to provide water-related infrastructure capable of being used to promote increased passenger transportation on the River Thames”.
Councillors on the planning board will decide on the proposal at their meeting on 3 March, where they will also be asked to approve plans for a new council house on the borough boundary at Southspring, off Halfway Street in Sidcup.
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