social enterprise

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

Plans to redevelop London’s Greenwich Market have been unanimously opposed for a second time after councillors deemed them ‘completely out of keeping with the architecture of the town centre and not fitting for a World Heritage Site’.

The original application by site owners Greenwich Hospital Estates involved new shops, offices and a 104-bedroom hotel alongside a redeveloped market.

But the proposals for the market, which dates back to the 1800s, were unanimously rejected by the planning board in August last year amid fears the ‘scale and bulk represented an over-development of the site’ and would have an ‘unbalanced and dominant relationship with the existing urban fabric of the area’.

Greenwich Hospital appealed and in June this year submitted modifications including retaining and re-covering the market roof and changes to pavement surfacing and cladding the new hotel.

At a meeting last night councillors agreed that, while the alterations would mitigate some of the reasons for opposition, the revised scheme would still ‘result in substantial harm to the character and appearance of the West Greenwich Conservation Area, to the settings of a number of Grade II listed buildings … and to the significance of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site’.

Council leader Chris Roberts said: ‘The minor changes that the developers have proposed do not alter the council’s view that the scheme is completely out of keeping with the architecture of the town centre and not fitting for a World Heritage Site.’

Greenwich Hospital director Martin Sands said the developers were ‘very disappointed’, but would continue to work closely with local stakeholders and will meet professional advisers ‘to assess the next step’.

‘Despite this setback, we remain committed to Greenwich Market and will continue to support our stallholders and shops in the market through our Shop Greenwich campaign and in other ways,’ he said.

The planning appeal and the revised application will be considered at a planning inquiry overseen by an independent planning inspector starting on 7 September. Once the inquiry has concluded, the inspector will make recommendations to communities secretary Eric Pickles who will decide the appeal.