Woolwich town centre Grade II listed buildings to new homes

The scheme will see 20 flats and 485 co-living rooms being added to the site in Woolwich town centre across six blocks stretching up to six storeys.

The project, put forward by PPM Planning Limited, will incorporate several locally listed buildings including the Grade II listed former Woolwich Polytechnic Building.

A view of the site as seen from Wellington Street (credit: BB Partnership Ldt/ PPM Planning Limited) The structure, dating back to 1891, served as the original building for the University of Greenwich and has sat empty for 20 years since teaching on the site ceased in 2002.

The building is accompanied by two Grade II listed extensions, the Gymnasium and Rotunda. A new public square is also planned in the scheme which would connect Thomas Street, Polytechnic Street and Wellington Street.

The topic was discussed at a planning board meeting for Greenwich Council on November 12. Julian Williams, director of architects BB Partnership, said co-living rooms in the project would include en-suite bathrooms and kitchenettes.

He added that a shared kitchen and dining room will be available for up to nine residents to share, with larger amenity areas such as co-working spaces and a gym on lower floors.

Labour Councillor Gary Dillon noted that the authority had previously given permission in 2017 for 298 family homes on the site.

He asked the applicant to justify why they felt co-living rooms were needed by the authority more than family homes.

Cllr Dillon said at the meeting: “I would like to know why that application was allowed to lapse and why you haven’t come forward with something similar because we approved that and it clearly worked so family accommodation could easily be accommodated within that site.”

The applicant responded by saying the previous owners of the site obtained consent to ultimately sell the land and that the original scheme was not viable.

Mr Williams added that the new application preserved more of the listed buildings on the site than the previous application.

He said: “This scheme preserves a significantly greater percentage of the existing buildings, the existing heritage on the site because the co-living model fits into it really well.”