South East London Projects

[SF-02]

Looks great.

This isn't the development that was going to 're-create' the old canal is it? Would be a big shame to lose that.

[Officer Dibble]

From the architects' site

The 2.8 hectare Marine Wharf is the key site within the Surrey Wharves masterplan, and a key site in The London Borough of Lewisham’s wider aspirations to use the former Grand Surrey Canal to regenerate North Deptford. Marine Wharf was served by the canal and was historically occupied by timber mills. Although the canal was decommissioned in the 1970s, and left as waste land, its reinstatement is an essential repair of the urban form and a vital pedestrian connection in an area that had degenerated into large impermeable industrial plots and confused way finding.

Which does sound as if the canal is to be brought back. But I don't see any sign of it in the promotional material - so I think it may have got dropped. Planning documents would presumably reveal all.

The "linear park" with pedestrian walkway is, I think, roughly where the canal used to be, and it seems a reasonable replacement to me. Perhaps a canal might be more unusual, but I'm not sure it's particularly meaningful given it's been filled in once and wouldn't be navigable.

[Rational Plan]

the scheme with the canal, is just west/south of the pepys estate, on the site of that scrap yard

[Officer Dibble]

Standard (Homes & Property) article discusses the regenerative effect on Bermondsey of the London Bridge Quarter (incl Shard) and rebuilding of London Bridge station.

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/pr...esharpend.html

[SELondoner]

There's a launch event for the tower at Canada Water tonight; they've unsurprisingly kept up the Canadian theme they have used elsewhere, naming this Ontario Point: http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/Find-a...oint/Overview/

[Officer Dibble]

Ontario Point, I like it. Of course there's already an Ontario Tower (at Canary Wharf, part of Ballymore's New Providence Wharf), so that wasn't an option; the nearby ex-council towers in the Canada Estate are called Regina Point and Columbia Point, so the choice of name seems respectful to them.

The mid-rise part of the final phase seems to be called Brampton House (Brampton is a city in the greater Toronto area). Only Fairmont House (my favourite architecturally, though Ontario Tower may trump it) stands out as having a name that doesn't refer to a Canadian city or province. Meanwhile, since I'm currently a resident of Atlantic Canada I suppose I should point out that the east has been neglected - where's New Brunswick House, or Halifax House? Oh well.

http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/Find-a...ouse/Overview/

[Officer Dibble]

What the view from Ontario Point's roof-garden will look like:

[Core Rising]

I bet the view of CW would be even better!

[pmun]

Originally Posted by Officer Dibble

What the view from Ontario Point's roof-garden will look like:

I hope they're giving free binoculars - it's the only way to get such a view - or with a telephoto lens of course!

[Officer Dibble]

You mean you think they've zoomed in the view, but not the foreground? I wouldn't put it past them, but that would be very naughty.

From memory it looks more or less consistent with views of the City, Shard, Tower Bridge etc from Stave Hill (which is further east) or from the Thames path in Rotherhithe - but perhaps my memory is playing tricks?

[pmun]

Originally Posted by Officer Dibble

You mean you think they've zoomed in the view, but not the foreground? I wouldn't put it past them, but that would be very naughty.

From memory it looks more or less consistent with views of the City, Shard, Tower Bridge etc from Stave Hill (which is further east) or from the Thames path in Rotherhithe - but perhaps my memory is playing tricks?

Thinking about it - I'm probably wrong - I was getting confused with the view from Canary Wharf. Of course this is much closer to the City, so yes incredible view!

[Officer Dibble]

Originally Posted by pmun

I was getting confused with the view from Canary Wharf.

Originally Posted by Core Rising

I bet the view of CW would be even better!

Canada Water is a bit closer to Canary Wharf than to the City, but probably closer to both than many people imagine. Anyone who gets to hang out on that roof terrace will be in no doubt, and the views in both directions will clearly be the stuff that SSC dreams are made of. But the more I look at it, the more I think the render pointing towards the City is a bit unreliable. Not sure about the one of the Wharf (from a flat in one of the upper floors).

[potto]

only way to find out is to book an appointment

[Officer Dibble]

Stumbled across Barratt's London portfolio document (pdf) - it's from mid-2011, but I'd not seen it before: http://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk...olioLo-Res.pdf

Downtown Place (on which there's been silence for a long time now) is there as a future project, reassuringly, but under a different (and far nicer) name, Redwood Park.

And the final phases of Maple Quays have different names: Quebec House instead of Brampton House and Canada Point instead of Ontario Point - I suspect those were earlier suggestions. I think they made the right choices there.

[Officer Dibble]

There's been a scare story about Greenland Pier closing indefinitely. It was owned by Southwark council, who had promised to refurbish it (it's very run down), but then they decided to sell it instead; no buyer came forward and it looked like it might close at the end of February "until further notice".

Now Thames Clippers has taken a 3-month lease on it, and hope to carry out repairs themselves before buying it outright.

http://www.wharf.co.uk/2012/02/green...es-to-con.html

Meanwhile here's a recent pic (lifted from a property ad) of Vancouver House:

[Officer Dibble]

Travelodge planning a load of new London hotels, incl. at Canada Water, Bermondsey, Greenwich...

http://www.wharf.co.uk/2012/03/east-...t-from-tr.html

[Officer Dibble]

24dash.com has a story about Southwark approving several developments - including Quebec Way Industrial Estate which I've commented on here before. Not confirmed on the Southwark site yet, but presumably it's right. :tentative banana:

http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2...me-development

[bazzup]

The Deptford Project masterplan has been approved.

It's a really important project for the future of Deptford, which is benefiting from a lot of public and private investment at the moment.

Work should be completed in 2014.

Details here

[Core Rising]

What the hell is up with that colour scheme

Strange colours seem to be a feature of all the schemes in Deptford. We have the dull grey distillary tower, the puke green canal development* (which I quite like apart from the colour) and now a building that looks like its made out of smarties. Perhaps the council decided the area needed some colour to liven it up, but that is a little rediculous..

*Deptford creek development.

[delores]

so it's colours for cheaper housing and nice natural materials for the expensive knightsbridge residential schemes. I don't mind it but colours are very divisive and too prescriptive on residential schemes.