Greenwich (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The 204-home tower scheme’s developer, Comer Homes, has three years to remove the orange cladding. He has to pay the Greenwich council close to £7 million.
The Planning Inspectorate has decided that a 204-home tower project in Woolwich that was handed a demolition order after it was discovered to have violated its planning permission can remain but must make some architectural modifications.
Comer Homes has been given three years to address problems with the Mast Quay Phase II development. In September 2023, Greenwich council issued an enforcement notice after 26 “main deviations” from the approved plans were found.
The developer will also have to pay £2.3 million in community infrastructure levy charges and £4.4 million for low-income housing elsewhere because it was determined that the finished design didn’t have enough of it.
How was the 240- homes scheme designed by Upchurch Associates?
Upchurch Associates, a Southwark-based firm, created the plan for a development in Woolwich, Greenwich, which includes three blocks and a notable 26-story tower.
Three apartment blocks with a combined height of up to 26 stories are part of the development.
There are currently 204 homes in the development that are occupied by people.
Greenwich Council took enforcement action since the finished structures deviated significantly from the originally approved blueprints. Changes in facade materials and the absence of promised features like roof gardens and kid-friendly play spaces are among the issues mentioned.
This project was first approved in 2012 and finished in 2022 as part of the Mast Quay Phase II development. It has drawn criticism, meanwhile, for major changes from the initial planning approval.
What changes did the planning inspectorate require for the Greenwich Scheme?
After the original developer went into management, Comer Homes finished the project in 2022. In October 2023, the company disputed the demolition order, and the Planning Inspectorate opened an investigation last summer.
John Braithwaite, the inspector, has now instructed the company to install grey panelling under windows and replace the orange cladding on the plan that is “visually intrusive” with a hue that Greenwich has authorized.
Along with minor fire safety work and upgrades to the public realm at the base of the towers, accessibility features that were intended to have been included in supposedly “accessible” apartments will also need to be implemented.
The decision lowered the council’s list of 26 planning breaches to 11, but Braithwaite did not reverse the demolition order, stating that it should remain in effect if Comer failed to make the necessary improvements within the allotted three years.
Despite its planning violations, the inspector stated that there were “compelling substantial benefits” to continuing the scheme, such as the payment of an affordable housing contribution and the provision of 204 houses in a borough with a “woeful undersupply of housing.”
Why did Comer Homes alter the Greenwich Scheme after planning approval?
The developer, which doesn’t dispute that the proposal violated its planning approval, has previously attributed its decision to alter certain aspects of the plan while it was being built to the post-Grenfell fire safety requirements.
In their opening statement before the inquiry, the firm’s lawyers said that Comer Homes was “convinced it needed to build differently to the pre-Grenfell permission” and that they had notified the council of intentions to alter the scheme’s cladding in 2021.
However, Greenwich countered that the facade modifications were only one aspect of the proposal that violated its planning approval.
“We’re happy with the decision made by the independent inquiry and pleased that a satisfactory outcome has been reached for the good of the residents of Mast Quay Phase II,” a Comer Homes representative stated.
“We look forward to now working closely with Greenwich Council to move forward and bring this situation to a positive end.”
What led to the Enforcement Notice for Mast Quay Phase II?
Mast Quay Phase II, the Greenwich tower development, was initially approved in 2012 with plans that featured certain architectural elements and facilities meant to improve residents’ quality of life.
The project was initially developed by Mast Quay Developments Ltd., but after the former went into bankruptcy, Comer Homes Group took it. By the time the project was finished, the features and design had changed significantly from what had been approved initially.
The council noted 26 significant departures from the authorised designs, including changes to the buildings’ outward design that gave the impression that they were “more solid and bulky.”
Greenwich Council responded to these violations by issuing an enforcement notice requesting that the non-compliant buildings be demolished.
In cities like Greenwich, where there is a severe shortage of housing, this decision emphasizes the need to strike a compromise between upholding planning compliance and acknowledging the demand for homes.
