In short:
- Plans for new homes on once-derelict Maryon Grove Estate in Charlton expected to emerge at the end of the year.
- Homes had been left open to the elements and some had been destroyed by fire.
- The blocks are now being demolished.
- Maryon Grove is being redeveloped as part of a complex deal to rebuild three estates that has been plagued by disagreements.
Plans for new homes on the site of flats in Charlton that had been allowed to fall derelict are expected to be submitted by the end of this year, Greenwich Council has said.
The Maryon Grove Estate has been earmarked for redevelopment for more than a decade, but was only fenced off a year ago after a fire gutted two empty properties.
Plans for a replacement estate, Trinity Rise, had been originally due to be brought forward in January 2023, but now look to be running about two years late.
Most tenants and leaseholders moved out in the mid-2010s but the estate had been used for temporary accommodation until March last year, despite the deteriorating conditions.
When the final residents moved out, it was possible to walk into some of the 172 flats off the street – many still with residents’ possessions inside. Flytipping was only cleared after The Greenwich Wire contacted the council for comment about the state of the blocks.
Now the 16 four-storey blocks, on the border with Woolwich, are being demolished and the developer behind the replacement homes, Lovell, will bring forward detailed plans after the summer, a report to Greenwich Council’s cabinet says.
“Maryon Grove has been handed over to Lovell for demolition with outline planning permission granted and a detailed planning application expected in Q3 2024/25,” the report says.
The estate is due for redevelopment as part of a scheme that was originally called One Woolwich. Up to 165 homes are eventually planned for the site, according to a planning brief submitted ten years ago.
The deal with the developer Lovell, signed more than a decade ago, led to the notorious Connaught Estate in Woolwich being demolished and rebuilt as the Trinity Walk development.
Morris Walk Estate – which is next to Maryon Grove and straddles the border between Charlton and Woolwich – was to follow, and renamed Trinity Park.
But the project stalled after the completion of Trinity Walk, with Morris Walk also left derelict for a spell. It was rescued two years ago when Greenwich bought back the rights to build 265 council homes for £87.5 million, including 90 at Maryon Grove.
Work began on 175 council homes at Morris Walk/Trinity Park began in November 2022, with the first residents due to move in next year.
The One Woolwich deal, signed under former council leader Chris Roberts, has been plagued by disagreements between Lovell, the council and PA Housing, a housing association.
News of the long-overdue progress at Maryon Grove comes in a council document seeking approval to set up a joint company with PA Housing to manage communal areas at Trinity Park, which hints at those disagreements.
The company would have to be 50-50 owned between the council and PA, despite the council being responsible for more homes, because PA would not accept having just 43 per cent of the firm, the document says. An independent adjudicator would be called in to resolve disputes between the two.
The council’s cabinet will discuss the paper next Wednesday.
Updated on Friday to fix a broken link to the planning brief.
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