Halsbrook Road

What we're thinking about building on this site

We have been given planning approval to build 18 high quality and characterful homes each with their own private garden.

Our homes will be truly affordable for the local residents on our housing waiting lists, as well as being built to sustainable zero-carbon standards, with quick and efficient modular construction.

The approved development is comprised of:

• Eight two-bedroom houses, with private garden
• Ten three-bedroom houses, with private garden and terraces on the second storey.
• Seven new on-street parking bays
• 38 new cycle spaces

 

Current status

This site is under construction

How can residents have their say on our plans?

We held consultation meetings in November 2019 and January 2020, as well as our online Planning Exhibition in July 2020 to take on board resident feedback. Visit the  Planning Portal to see details of the approved scheme

Anticipated start date

Early 2021

Planned completion date

Phased completion from late 2022 to late 2023

Images

Downloads

Presentation from 22 January consultation meeting

Minutes of 22 January consultation meeting

Other information

See photos and information about the construction of these homes in the developer case study.

The Brooks FAQs

• Why has the number of homes changed?

  As part of our design and consultation process we are taking on board feedback from planners, an independent design review panel and residents in order to make sure we build the highest quality homes we can, get the best value from each Greenwich Builds site and deliver much-needed accommodation for the 19,000 people – over 1700 of whom are in the Kidbrooke and Hornfair/Eltham West ward – on our housing waiting lists.

  This means that numbers are liable to change as our plans develop. Designs are only confirmed once we submit them for planning approval, at which time the planning team make an independent decision on whether or the build can go ahead or whether further changes need to be made.

• What will RBG do to improve the local environment and air quality, and how will access to green spaces be affected?

  We’ve decided to commit an extra £750,000 to transforming the public spaces around these three sites, and are currently carrying out investigations into how we improve air quality in the area. We are very keen to hear from residents about their ideas for enhancements we could make to the local environment.

  We have also amended our original designs to include improved green spaces on and around all three sites, and while we accept that there will be a loss of green space on the sites themselves, residents are still within a few hundred metres of Kidbrooke Green Park, Kidbrooke Playing Fields, Penford and Winchcombe Gardens and Birdbrook Nature Reserve. In fact Eltham and Kidbrooke have the highest provision of publicy accessible green space per 1000 people in the borough, with 3.4 hectares per 1000 people, compared to 2.2 hectares in Greenwich town centre and 2.37 hectares in Woolwich and Thamesmead.

• What is the design review panel?

  After our first meeting with residents we presented our plans to an independent Design Review Panel made up of experienced architecture and design professionals. They were able to suggest improvements we could make to ensure the three Brooks schemes are designed to the highest possible standards.

• What will the impact on parking and public transport access be?

  In recognition of residents’ concerns about parking we’ve increased the provision in our plans for Bournbrook Road and Ridgebrook Road to provide nearly one space per home (60 spaces to 63 homes). Census data shows that only 25% of residents in the south of the borough own two or more cars and 31% don’t own a car at all, so we believe our provision will meet demand.

  We’ve also carried out a study of public transport in the area, and found that according to TfL’s criteria all three Brooks sites have a Public Transport Accessibility Level score of 3, which is classed as ‘moderate’ (a previous study by TfL which had resulted in a lower score of 1b or ‘very poor’ had mistakenly left out Kidbrooke Train Station). In the draft version of the New London Plan, residential parking standards for Inner London sites with a PTAL of 3 or ‘moderate’ is 0.25 spaces per home, which our plans exceed. Even when measured against the incorrect TfL survey our plans provide adequate parking, with 0.75 spaces per home required, and our plans providing 0.85 spaces per home overall.

• What about increased pressure on local services and amenities?

  These housing numbers are part of the boroughs housing commitment in the Local Plan. Health and school provision is forecast and provided, based on these numbers. Our plans now also include a commercial unit (Ridgebrook road site) in response to resident feedback about the lack of a shop in the area.

• Was there a historical commitment made to not build on the Ridgebrook site?

  Some residents have asked whether this site was awarded protected (or ‘Open Space’) status following a historical planning application that was made then withdrawn in 2002. Our legal team looked into this and discovered there was never a specific commitment made by the Council not to develop this site, nor was there it ever given an Open Space designation that would prevent development.

  There was a provision under the old Unitary Development Plan for “other open spaces” under which this site may have qualified, however this was never formalised and the Unitary Development Plan has now been replaced by the Royal Greenwich Local Plan which does not offer this same provision. There is therefore no legal restriction on building at the Brooks sites.

• Is road safety going to be improved?

  Road safety is a concern that was raised by a number of residents, and in response we’re in discussions with TfL regarding the possibility of adding a new road crossing on Rochester Way.

• If trees are removed as part of the building work will they be replaced?

  Our plan is for there to be no loss of existing trees, 25 small trees that need to be moved will be transplanted to new locations, and 180 new trees will be added as part of the new development, removing an additional 3.88 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.

• How much disruption / pollution will construction cause?

  The homes on this site will be built using modular construction. This means the structure will be built elsewhere and only needs to be positioned once it arrives at the development site. The result is that our homes can be built with a minimum of disruption and in much less time than when using traditional construction methods, whilst also causing considerably less air and noise pollution.

• What are you doing to manage subsidence / ground movement?

  We will be carrying out soil investigations, to make sure construction does not cause subsidence or ground movement. A full site investigation will be undertaken to determine foundation design.

• Are these designs final?

  No - we are still in the middle of what is known as a ‘design development’ stage, which involves a dialogue between architects, planners and neighbouring residents to create new homes and make improvements to the surrounding area.

• Will this be the final public meeting before a planning application is submitted?

  No – before any planning application is submitted we will hold a hold a public planning exhibition. All neighbouring residents will be invited to attend and comment.

This page was last updated on

22/07/2022