Greenwich Council has admitted that it may need to scale back its ambitions to revive Woolwich as a shopping destination as it asks residents for their views on the future of the borough.
The council is asking residents to contribute to its local plan – a legal document that outlines how its planning policies will develop in the coming years. The last one came into force in 2014, this one is expected to begin at the end of 2025.
Residents are being asked to comment on “big themes” to help determine what infrastructure the borough needs for the future.
Among those themes is one dealing with the local economy – and the admission that Woolwich may never again be the retail and business hub it was until local industries closed in the 1960s and 1970s.
Greenwich, along with City Hall, classes Woolwich as a “major centre” – putting it on a par with Eltham, Lewisham, Catford and Bexleyheath.
The two bodies have long wanted to develop the area so it becomes an “metropolitan centre” – one step down from the West End or Knightsbridge, but on the same level as Bromley, Stratford and Canary Wharf.
Typically a metropolitan centre would serve a wide catchment area “extending over several boroughs and into parts of the wider south east [of England]”, according to City Hall.
But in a discussion paper for the local plan, Greenwich concedes that it may now struggle to develop the quantity of retail in Woolwich – including the big stores – that would qualify for metropolitan centre status, because of the continuing presence of retail parks in nearby Charlton.
“Woolwich is underperforming as a major centre relative to its growth potential,” it says. “The London Plan continues to identify Woolwich as a centre with the potential to become a Metropolitan Centre over the plan period, however the growing competition from the out-of-town retail park in Charlton would make achieving the additional floorspace needed in Woolwich town centre extremely unlikely.
“It may be appropriate to remove this aspiration for Woolwich to become a metropolitan centre and instead focus on ensuring its function as a strongly performing major town centre is achieved by improving the quality of the retail offer available and expanding leisure and cultural uses.”
The document describes Eltham, rather than Woolwich, as the borough’s “main shopping location”.
Woolwich, it says, “lacks [the] scale and quality of comparison floorspace and anchor stores needed to increase footfall and become [a] metropolitan town centre”. It also lacks a night time economy, the document adds.
The retail park cluster in Charlton, which has grown steadily since the 1980s, has long been partly blamed for Woolwich’s decline as an important shopping hub.
When Wilko’s store in Woolwich was taken over for the coming leisure centre development, the retailer – which hit financial difficulties this week – opted to open a replacement store in the Charlton retail parks instead.
However, the discussion paper contains no strategy for dealing with the retail parks, some of which are infamously difficult to reach for those arriving by foot. While in the long term the council envisages housing replacing some of Charlton’s big-box stores – as is happening in Lewisham and on the Old Kent Road – plans to redevelop the Charlton Riverside are struggling to get off the ground.
Greenwich says that it may consider encouraging more pop-up businesses in its town centres to encourage new uses, while town centres themselves may have to become smaller as a reaction to the drop in demand for bricks and mortar stores.
Two years ago the council gave permission for Berkeley Homes to remove some shops from its new arcade in the Royal Arsenal, Windsor Square, and replace them with housing. Berkeley said it was reacting to market conditions.
While Greenwich is scaling back its ambitions for Woolwich as a commercial hub, Lewisham Council is pressing on. Its own local plan, which is not yet approved but is at a later stage than Greenwich’s, states that “Lewisham town centre is undergoing significant transformation and offers the potential to be reclassified as a metropolitan centre in the future”.
Greenwich’s wide-ranging consultation lasts until September 5 and deals with issues including urban design, housing, climate change and transport. It is the first in a series of consultations, with a public hearing to be held in summer 2025.
Anthony Okereke, the council leader said: “Our Greenwich, the council’s corporate strategy, sets out our vision for the borough. We want to create vibrant, inclusive and healthy communities, where our residents and businesses can flourish.
“The new local plan will allow us to bring that vision to life, giving us the planning framework to encourage sustainable, well designed and well connected development throughout Greenwich for many years ahead. We can deliver the right kind of development in the right places, whilst preserving the borough’s distinctive heritage and green spaces.”
Aidan Smith, the cabinet member for regeneration, said: “Since our current plan was written, there has been significant population growth in Greenwich and across London, along with major changes in national and regional planning legislation. We have also adopted our carbon neutral plan, committing to becoming a carbon neutral borough by 2030.
“This is the start of the process that will bring our local plan up to date, helping to protect everything that makes Greenwich such a special place to live, work and visit. I would encourage everyone to take part in the consultation to share their ideas and ensure it genuinely reflects what local people want for their borough.”
The Greenwich local plan consultation is on the Commonplace website.
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