Major plans to redevelop the area around Woolwich’s covered market have been delayed again – with work now not due to start until at least next spring.
Work had originally been due to start on the Woolwich Exchange scheme last year, before construction delays pushed the start date back to May this year.
The scheme is due to include a new cinema and new shops around the Public Market, as well as 801 homes in five tall blocks of up to 23 storeys.
Now Greenwich Council is writing to businesses in the area to tell them that they can continue trading until the end of February, after which they will have to give up their premises so they can be handed over to the developer, Notting Hill Genesis.
Details of the delay were revealed after a freedom of information act request was submitted to the council by a local resident.
“Due to continuing delays, vacant possession of properties will not be required now before February 28, 2026,” the council said in its response.
After The Greenwich Wire asked Notting Hill Genesis for more details about the delay, its representatives posted an update to social media rather than respond directly. The hold-up is being blamed on new fire safety regulations and increased costs.
“These challenges have contributed to a slowdown in development across London, including at Woolwich Exchange,” it said.
“We are proactively exploring various ways with Greenwich Council to overcome these challenges and make progress on site as soon as possible.”
The delay is a further blow to the troubled project, originally known as Spray Street Quarter. Greenwich Council hopes the scheme will bridge the divide between the upmarket Royal Arsenal and Woolwich’s traditional town centre.
One of the developers, St Modwen, pulled out of the scheme in 2023 leaving Notting Hill Genesis in charge of the project. The cost was put at £400 million four years ago – a sum that is likely to have grown substantially since then.
Seven years ago the original plans led to anger after proposing the mass demolition of shops and workspace mostly belonging to ethnic minority businesses. There were also plans to demolish the public market, which opened in 1936 and is unique because of its German design, more commonly found in military buildings.
Those plans were scrapped after Historic England listed the public market, which was briefly used as a street food venue before the pandemic.
A revised scheme was approved in 2021, but with councillors voicing strong reservations about the scheme because of its height and cuts to “affordable” housing to pay for the retention of the market. Only 14 per cent of the homes will be available for people on the council’s waiting list, with a further 5.7 per cent for shared ownership.
Greenwich Council has been contacted for comment.
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