Greenwich Park bosses object to 35-storey riverside tower at Enderby Wharf

The charity that runs Greenwich Park is objecting to plans for a 35-storey tower block that it says would spoil views across the Thames.

Greenwich’s planning officers are recommending that councillors approve the plans for Enderby Wharf at a meeting next Tuesday. 

The site was originally earmarked for a cruise liner terminal accompanied by a housing development. Those plans were scrapped in 2018 after campaigning by local residents concerned about pollution from ships forced a rethink by the council, for which it had been a pet project.

Now the property giant Criterion Capital is planning a 35-storey tower and two 23-storey blocks. The site has now been rebranded Enderby Place.

Next door is Morden Wharf, where blocks of up to 36 storeys and another 1,500 homes were approved nearly three years ago on the casting vote of the chair of planning at the time, Stephen Brain. Galliard Homes bought the Morden Wharf site last year, which is expected to lead to changes to that scheme.

Criterion is promising that 20 per cent of homes at Enderby Place would be for social rent, with a further 12 per cent for shared ownership – just short of Greenwich 35 per cent target for “affordable” housing, but it reaches that percentage when counted by habitable rooms.

The council has received 92 objections to the scheme, with Royal Parks leading opposition to the plans. 

“We believe that Enderby Place will be highly visible from Greenwich Park, most notably the view from the General Wolfe Statue, which is a designated strategic view,” the charity said.

“The Royal Parks is concerned that the additional massing of the proposed development would be detrimental to the views and visual amenity experienced by visitors to Greenwich Park.”

However, objectors will have limited room for manoeuvre as the original cruise liner terminal – which also included tall towers – still has valid planning permission. 

Peter Marsden, the co-ordinator of the Maritime Greenwich world heritage site, supported Royal Parks’ objection, saying: “We are concerned that, if consented, the height of 35 storeys could be used as a precedent for any subsequent amendments to the Morden Wharf scheme resulting in an even taller and visually obtrusive cluster. 

`’Alternatively, if Morden Wharf is not brought to fruition, Enderby Place would stand alone as an intrusive building complex on the landscape.”

He suggested that changes could be made to the heights of the buildings “to provide a more effective stepping-down effect” that would be less intrusive.

East Greenwich Labour councillor Rowshan Hannan has also objected on grounds of the buildings’ height, while the East Greenwich Residents Association said Criterion had not “taken any notice of comments made at their single consultation session or learned anything from the history of this site”, and dismissed plans for green space as “ a small area of grass/dog toilet”.

Serving the relatively isolated riverside site by public transport has also been seen as problematic, with plans to route a bus along Telco Way towards Enderby Wharf and Morden Wharf written off as unfeasible because of the cost and the two sites being at different heights.

Bus improvements now look to be restricted to a single extra peak-time bus each morning on an existing route on Blackwall Lane, at a cost of £500,000 for five years. TfL is proposing to reroute one of those services, the 188, via the north arm of Tunnel Avenue to serve Morden Wharf, although that is not part of this proposal.

Council officers propose limiting the number of flats Criterion can sell at Enderby Place until a Thames Clippers pier is built. The original developer of Morden Wharf, U+I, had promised a pier which would be shared with Enderby Place. Together, the two schemes would contribute nearly £3.2 million towards a pier, but a report to councillors says “costs have risen… and therefore additional financial contributions/funding will be required to make this pier deliverable”. 

There would also be £250,000 aimed at improving walking and cycling routes in the area. The transport assessment admits that the dingy flyover at Blackwall Lane – where many children may walk to school from the development – “may feel intimidating for some, particularly during the hours of darkness, due to its vehicle dominance, lack of greenery and lack of active surveillance”.

A £711,270 payment would be made to local NHS services if the plans are approved, while the council’s Greenwich Local Labour and Business employment service would get £578,450.

Councillors on the planning board will discuss the plans next Tuesday.