London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has declined to intervene in controversial plans to build 800 homes and a 30-storey tower block at Deptford Bridge.
The developer RER London wants to demolish the old Lewisham College campus, which straddles both Lewisham and Greenwich boroughs, and build flats, retail and new education facilities.
Lewisham councillors rejected the proposals inside their borough, which included the 30-storey tower, in September. But their counterparts in Greenwich resolved to approve their side of the scheme, where the tallest block was 19 storeys, on October 13.
Before Greenwich’s meeting, RER London asked Lord Khan of Tooting to step in and make the decisions himself, but City Hall said there were “no sound planning reasons” to intervene.
Planning officers at the Greater London Authority (GLA) agreed with Lewisham Council’s concerns about the size and design of the development, but not on the effect on residents of houseboats in the creek – a reason for refusal inserted by Green councillors.
The scheme – called Deptford Reach – could now be decided by Angela Rayner, the communities secretary, either through the minister calling it in herself, or through RER submitting an appeal against Lewisham’s decision. Greenwich councillors were told that an appeal was likely.
Should Lewisham’s refusal stand, the whole development would be unable to go ahead because of a clause inserted by Greenwich councillors. The only road access into the site would be from Deptford Church Street, on the Lewisham side of the border.
What does the developer want to do?
Lewisham College has left the site but some Goldsmiths University courses are still taught there. Those students will move to the main campus in New Cross next year.
The current college buildings replaced a mill which was destroyed by a fire in the early 1970s and are built around a weir where Deptford Creek becomes the River Ravensbourne, while the Docklands Light Railway snakes through the site.
On the Lewisham side, the scheme included 548 homes, a tower of 30 storeys facing Deptford Broadway, an 11-storey block facing Deptford Church Street, and as well as 15 and 18-storey blocks by the creek. There would also be space for educational use.
The Greenwich side included 254 homes, a 19-storey tower and two ten-storey blocks, along with a single-storey row of commercial units on the east side of the creek and a public square next to the historic Mumford’s Mill.
Across the whole scheme, just 16 homes would be for social rent – seven in Greenwich, nine in Lewisham, and would be available to residents on each borough’s waiting list. There would be three shared ownership homes in Greenwich, five in Lewisham.
Together, this counted as 3 per cent “affordable” housing by unit, which is Greenwich’s preferred measure, or 5.1 per cent by habitable room, which is used by Lewisham and the GLA.
Greenwich, Lewisham and City Hall all accepted RER’s statements that it could not build any more “affordable” housing. RER emphasised that the main public benefit of the scheme would be public access to the creek, which has been off limits for more than a century.
What did City Hall say?
City Hall’s planning officers agreed with Lewisham that there were concerns with “the form, massing and architectural quality” of the 30-storey block, while the scheme could harm views from The Point, off Blackheath, with buildings merging into one big lump that could dominate the skyline.
The GLA added that there would be harm to local heritage buildings on both sides of the border, including in Deptford High Street, Tanners Hill in Deptford and the Ashburnham Triangle in west Greenwich. These could be outweighed with a package of public benefits, they said, but because no agreement had been reached with Lewisham – unlike Greenwich – that scheme failed to comply with the London Plan.
But City Hall rejected the notion that the scheme should be rejected because people on houseboats in the creek would lose daylight. They said that because Deptford Creek is in an “opportunity area” – somewhere earmarked for development by City Hall – taller and bigger buildings should be supported.
“From a strategic perspective, GLA officers consider impacts to neighbouring residential properties (including residential moorings) to be acceptable in this case,” the report said.
The full report can be found on the Greater London Authority website.
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