Revamped plans for the controversial Morden Wharf development on the Greenwich Peninsula have been rubber-stamped by councillors – with the developer hoping to finish the scheme by 2032.
But councillors were unhappy about having to accept just 20 per cent “affordable” housing for the scheme after London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan cut targets in an attempt to kickstart building in the capital.
The new scheme features different designs for the towers, with the leading tower cut down to 35 storeys to ease the impact on views from the Greenwich world heritage site.
And the new owner of the scheme admitted that one part of the project that councillors had been impressed by when it was originally submitted – a new home for a barge built for Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee was unlikely to materialise.
Plans for 1,500 homes in towers of up to 36 storeys on the site of the old Tunnel Refineries works, near the Blackwall Tunnel, were narrowly approved in September 2021, giving councillors in 2026 little leeway when deciding upon a revised scheme. Five years ago, local MP Matt Pennycook – now the minister for housing – was among those criticising the scheme for its impact on views from Greenwich. The original plans included 35 per cent “affordable” housing.
But the original developer, U+I, was bought out and the project sold on to Galliard Homes and Singapore-based City Developments Ltd, which has reworked the project because of rising costs.
It first attempted to cut “affordable” housing to 10 per cent, but a decision was deferred in February. The latest scheme comes after emergency changes to London’s planning rules that mean the mayor will back projects with just 20 per cent “affordable” housing, rather than the usual 35 per cent.
The changes also drop two reviews of schemes that examine if the developer can afford to add more “affordable” housing later on, keeping just a review at an early stage.
The revised plan means 168 flats for social rent, up from 120 under Galliard’s first proposal, and 82 “intermediate” homes for either discounted rents, discounted sales or shared ownership.
Nasser Farooq, Galliard’s senior planning manager, said work needed to take place on the river wall before construction started, which could only take place at certain times of year. “We’ve probably missed this October, so it’ll be next October,” he told councillors at the planning board meeting on Tuesday.
“When we’ve worked it out, we’re looking at probable completion by 2032,” he said.
Only the four councillors present when the changes were previously discussed could vote. Maisie Richards Cottell, an East Greenwich Labour councillor, said while she welcomed the change from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, she was “quite uncomfortable” with the loss of mid- and late-stage reviews.
Tamasin Rhymes, the Green councillor for Shooters Hill, echoed her concerns. “I do also welcome the change from 10 per cent to 20 per cent but again, I would agree that’s not 35 per cent and there was some difficulty in accepting the previous proposal at 35 per cent,” she said.
“I particularly worry about the mid and late stage reviews, because, you know, if we’re talking about [completing in] 2032 there’s potential for the market to have changed a lot, and to lose that ability to discuss adjustments as the market changes is really concerning and quite a precedent-setting move.
“There’s absolutely a need for social housing, I don’t necessarily think that means we should build every application that comes to us.”
“I think none of us are comfortable with this,” said Labour councillor Dave Sullivan, acting as stand-in chair of the meeting. Conservative councillor Pat Greenwell said she was also unhappy, as “so much could change” by 2032.
Those changes passed with two votes in favour – Sullivan and Greenwell – while Rhymes voted against and Richards Cottell abstained.
Changes to the design were discussed separately, with Galliard reducing the number of buildings by one, making the towers octagonal and placing them 18 metres apart rather than nine metres as planned under U+I.
Greenwich Peninsula Labour councillor David Gardner said he was “concerned at the use of metal cladding” on the four tall riverside towers, comparing them with the “disaster” of metal-clad blocks at the western end of Berkeley Homes’ Royal Arsenal development in Woolwich.
Jo Cowen, the architect, said she “couldn’t agree more” about the Berkeley towers, which used metal rain-screen cladding, but said the Morden Wharf blocks would use a unitised system that was commonly seen in the City and was “much more high quality”.
“These are significant buildings,” she said. “They need to be designed to the highest level of quality. The octagonal nature of these towers is slightly different, and we wanted to look at something that actually did stand out and did have its own identity within Greenwich.”
Cowen said that the reduction in height was agreed with the management of Greenwich’s world heritage site, after a similar agreement was reached with the developers of Enderby Wharf next door.
One element of the original U+I scheme will not be taking place – the first set of developers had planned to build a boathouse on the jetty for Gloriana, the rowboat built for the late Queen’s jubilee in 2012.
“The previous applicant sought to locate the Gloriana on a boat house there,” Farooq said. “However, subsequently, they were advised that due to the tides, it wasn’t suitable there, and that’s now been located at St Katharine Docks.
“The Gloriana is still part of the application that’s been consented because under planning [law], we can’t amend the description to take it out. We’ll do the maintenance and works to the jetty, and then we’ll have to have further discussions with officers about an alternative use for the jetty.”
Farooq said there was still scope for a Thames Clippers pier to be located on the jetty, which was planned as part of the Enderby Wharf project next door. Sullivan said he believed a riverboat stop would be “vital to the success of this scheme”.
Both Greenwell and Gardner said they liked the idea of the octagonal buildings. Gardner said: “If you’re going to have a high building, it should be iconic, and it should really stand out.”
Councillors unanimously passed the changes.
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