Bliss Crescent

What we're thinking about building on this site

On this site we are proposing to build a three-storey apartment block which will provide seven council homes for social rent. 

All of these homes will be made available to local people on our housing waiting lists via the Choice Based Lettings system. 

The development will consist of:

  • Two one-bedroom flats
  • Two two-bedroom flats
  • Three three-bedroom flats
  • Cycle storage
  • Three car parking spaces
  • Landscaping and public realm improvements

The mature London Plane tree at the centre of the site will be retained, as will the electricity substation. All the flats will meet zero carbon standards.

Ground floor flats will have private gardens, while upper floor flats will have balconies.

Due to flood risk, the building is elevated approximately 1.2m above the lowest ground level and accessed via a ramp and steps.

The top floor steps back on the north-western side and the north-eastern end, to avoid any overlooking onto Servite House to the north and 30-44 Coldbath Street to the north-east.

Current status
The designs below have been approved by the Planning team, and our homes are now under construction.
How can residents have their say on our plans?

Residents were invited to view our plans and share their views via our online consultation from 4 to 13 February. Details of the approved design can be viewed via our Planning Portal.

Planned completion date
2024
Images

A computer generated image showing the proposed three-storey block of flats in red brick,

Other information

Key points from our online resident consultation in February 2022

  • Overall feedback to our proposal for this site was positive
  • The most popular landscaping tags – ‘trees’, ‘biodiversity & wildlife’ indicated a desire from the local community for us to incorporate as many natural elements as possible in our plans

Our responses to queries raised in the consultation

Question: Why don't you increase the number of homes, considering the current housing shortage?

Answer: Whilst we are committed to building as many Greenwich Builds council homes as we possibly can, we also have to take into account things like constraints on the height and size of our developments in relation to neighbouring areas, as well as the need to maintain enough distance between between buildings to avoid overbearing and overlooking issues, whilst also achieving sufficient outdoor space. When those factors are taken into account the number of homes proposed for Bliss Crescent is the most appropriate for the site.

Q. Why are there so many parking spaces, considering the proximity to the DLR and town centre?

A. The number of parking spaces has been calculated in reference to London Plan standards, which indicate how near homes are to public transport (this is known as a Public Transport Accessibility Level, or PTAL for short). For the number and type of homes in this location, given its level of public transport accessibility, one parking space per home is the recommended level and this is what we have proposed for our scheme.

Q. Won’t these homes put a strain on local infrastructure?

A. The site at Bliss Crescent is relatively small, and after a detailed assessment which included an analysis of additional demands on local infrastructure, Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Planning team decided that our new homes would not cause a strain on local services, declaring the development acceptable in principle.

Q. Is there a lack of natural light in flat 6?

A. Flat 6 is a single-aspect, one bedroom apartment with generous windows down to floor level in both habitable rooms. This ensures sufficient natural lighting is achieved throughout the property.

Q. Why are you building on green space?

A. Our development will occupy an area which is only slightly larger than the demolished laundry building which previously occupied this site. Therefore we are maintaining the majority of existing open space on the site.

Q. How are you ensuring privacy in relation to surrounding properties?

A. We have taken care in our proposed design to maximise the distance from neighbouring properties. We have also made sure the orientation of the development and position of windows in habitable rooms has been carefully considered to avoid overlooking issues.

This page was last updated on
07/07/2023