Convoys Wharf planning proposal rejected by Lewisham Council as it fails to meet the needs of local residents

Convoys Wharf Proposal. Pic: Hutchision Whampoa

Convoys Wharf Proposal. Pic: Hutchison Whampoa

Plans for the £1bn regeneration of Convoys Wharf ignore the needs of the local community, Lewisham Council has decided.

At a meeting last week the Council’s strategic planning committee voted unanimously to reject the waterfront development plans on the grounds that “certain aspects of the proposed development are considered unacceptable in their current form.”

The parts of the proposal in question include the lack of sufficient affordable housing, the underestimation of the transport assessment, improved commitment to the creation of jobs and concerns over environmental issues.

Lewisham Council acts only as a statutory consultee in the planning process, after Mayor Boris Johnson made the unprecedented decision to call in the planning application at the request of the developer in October last year.

The planning committee have recommended that the Mayor withhold planning approval until “further amendments have been made,” however they continue to support the “principle of the development,” which would create 3,500 new homes and 2,000 jobs.

The development has faced opposition from groups including English Heritage and local campaign group Deptford Is, who set up a petition against the development.

The move to call in the development, which means the Greater London Authority will determine final planning permission, has been heavily criticised by campaign groups and the Council, who are worried the needs of the local community will be ignored.

Initial plans to redevelop Convoys Wharf, the former Royal Dockyard site on the Deptford riverfront, were put before Lewisham Council in May last year by Hong Kong-based investment company Hutchinson Whampoa.

The Mayor is expected to make a decision on whether or not to grant planning permission for Convoys Wharf in February this year.

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