Council to sell car park and public toilets?
We've just spotted something in the Cabinet Committee papers that has made us ponder. It appears the Council is going to sell the car park at the Waterfront Leisure Centre to Berkley Homes. This was agreed in principle it seems in 2004 and now it's time to do the deed. What has sparked a little debate in our office is where the new car park will actually be. According to the Cabinet papers,
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They could of course develop on top and make it an underground car park, but then those spaces would have to be required for the people living above in any planning. We think the Council is either trying to con Berkley homes into buying land with impossible conditions set to raise funds in its ever dwindling budget; or Berkley Homes are diversifying into car park management.
That might mean an increase in parking charges to use the decaying leisure centre, but on the plus side if a private company is in charge of the toilets maybe it will stop them being Cottaging Central for Woolwich
A sale of the Council's freehold of the car park site to Berkley homes unconditional upon a planning consent being granted but conditional upon the replacement of the public/Leisure Centre car park and a public convenience within any re-development scheme together with temporary parking facilities, with not less than 210 spaces, whilst development takes place.So the current car park capacity is 210 spaces, Berkley Homes can buy it and don't need planning consent in advance, and if they re-develop the area they must provide temporary parking for the same number of cars as well as a public lavatory, and must include a car park for 210 spaces and a public lavatory in their re-development scheme. So our little debate is "where could another Lesiure Centre car park go"?
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They could of course develop on top and make it an underground car park, but then those spaces would have to be required for the people living above in any planning. We think the Council is either trying to con Berkley homes into buying land with impossible conditions set to raise funds in its ever dwindling budget; or Berkley Homes are diversifying into car park management.
That might mean an increase in parking charges to use the decaying leisure centre, but on the plus side if a private company is in charge of the toilets maybe it will stop them being Cottaging Central for Woolwich
posted by greenwich.watch at 7:59 am
7 Comments:
From the aerial view it looks like the only place they could put a car park is right on top of the skate-park and adjacent area.
That would be a real shame for the people who like to skate but hey, how can they compete with people like Berkley Hunts.
We probably should have said that those gardens are also a "protected area" as it were, so they can't.
Perhaps they will force them to use the car park that they have by Firepower on the estate - however I can't see how it would meet the demand of the sportcentre as it is already full most days.
They will probably want everyone to come by public transport. Quite how that's supposed to work I don't know. And what about coach parking?
How many cars can one get on the spare Woolwich Ferry (the one laid-up on the Woolwich Arsenal side of the river)?
I suspect leisure centre users will have to use the new woolwich triangle development carpark. The idea of seeing 'just another tower block' on this prime riverside location really doesn't appeal to me. I would much rather see the royal arsenal gardens extended and turned into a proper riverside park for everyones enjoyment.
I saw the plans for this site today & the parks will be built on, they may be protected but the developer can offer other land to offset the loss. This whole site goes up to the Arsenal & main road, the small road & roundabout will dissapear.
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