The naval charity that owns much of Greenwich town centre is planning to sell some of the properties there it has owned for centuries – but says it is holding on to Greenwich Market.
Greenwich Hospital is looking for £80 million from the sale, according to the property industry website CoStar, which first reported the news.
But the charity has told The Greenwich Wire that the market, and retail units facing it, are not included in the sale.
Properties in College Approach, Nelson Road, King William Walk and Greenwich Church Street are being sold by the charity, the first time they have gone on the market since they were built in the 18th century.
They are being referred to as “The Greenwich Estate”. Because the news had until now only appeared on CoStar, which has a hard paywall with no way to immediately subscribe to see its news stories in full, some had believed that the charity was selling the entire block, including the market, due to the way the story’s first paragraph had been worded.
The sale also does not include the closed Star & Garter pub in east Greenwich, which is being sold separately after the expiry of a six-month moratorium because it is an asset of community value.
The 322-year-old charity, whose sole trustee is the secretary of state for defence, John Healey, was founded out of the original Greenwich Hospital, a home for retired members of the Royal Navy. The Royal Hospital for Seamen operated between 1705 and 1869 in what is now the Old Royal Naval College. Greenwich Hospital still owns the freehold to the site.
The charity now offers grants to help serving and former personnel in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and also runs sheltered housing, funded by its property holdings in Greenwich and elsewhere. Until last year it also operated a fee-paying school in Suffolk which had been originally set up for the children of service families.
A spokesperson told The Greenwich Wire: “We actively manage our investments in order to meet our enduring commitment to support the Royal Navy community.
“As part of our current strategy, we are seeking to diversify our property portfolio, and this sale of a portion of the Greenwich Town Centre Estate is part of this work. We are maintaining our presence in Greenwich town centre through our ongoing ownership of Greenwich Market.”
The Greenwich Society reacted with alarm at the news and wrote to Deirdre Mills, the charity’s chief executive, at the weekend to express its “real concern” and to ask what assurances would be in place to ensure that “this unique estate will continue to thrive”.
“The purchaser of the estate will have a heavy responsibility for maintaining the fabric to the standard that Greenwich Hospital has done over the years and also ensuring the continuity of the eclectic mix of shops in the town centre,” Tim Barnes, of the society’s executive committee, wrote.
“The concern of the Greenwich Society is that financial considerations will predominate in any sale negotiations over the crucial historical and heritage issues.”
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
You must be logged in to post a comment.