Last month, London’s occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de
Pfeffel Johnson used the bully pulpit given him by the Maily Telegraph to rail at all those who are less than tolerant
with foreign investment in the capital’s property developments. At the time, it
was not clear what point he was making – no surprise there – but thanks to a
decision he has just made, we now know.
Bozza said
this at the time: “The answer to
house-price inflation is to build more homes – as we can, on London’s 33
brownfield opportunity areas. We can build hundreds of thousands of homes for
rent, for affordable rent, for market sale and for part-buy-part-rent ... But
we won’t get any of these schemes going if we are so demented as to tell
foreign investors to bog off”.
It now seems his comments were directed towards Lewisham Council,
who have been in discussions with Hutchison Whampoa, a company based in Hong
Kong, where Bozza made a well-publicised recent visit, about the redevelopment
of Convoys Wharf, on the Thames at Deptford. Hutchison have
written directly to the Mayor asking him to intervene in the planning
process, which
he has now done.
The impression given, by freesheet
City AM, and the
Standard, is that this is the
result of a falling-out between developer and council over Terry Farrell’s
masterplan for the site – so that the referral is for the gallant Bozza to bang
heads together and drive the project forward – and that this is some kind of
inevitable done deal (“when Convoys Wharf
has been redeveloped ...”).
But that’s not how the locals see it: as Deptford
Is ... pointed out, “the quantum
of units at 3,500 apartments, the typology of high rise towers of up to 48
storeys rising out of 12 storey blocks with their enclosed private green spaces
resting on the top of four storeys of car parking ... were all features of
the previous Aedas masterplan [from the previous year]”. And how was
the latter received?
It “was unanimously
rejected by the local community, English Heritage, Council for British
Archaeology, Naval Dockyard Society and Lewisham Planning and a number of
London amenity societies”. So what Hutchison appear to be doing is “the same number of Lego bricks in the same
size tin”. Moreover, on top of the lack of respect for the site’s history
are minor points like relatively poor transport links.
And what about those homes for “affordable rent”? We don’t get to find that one out. Like the West
Kensington and Gibbs Green saga, this gives the impression of Bozza
green-lighting a scheme for developers without giving a fig about mere locals
and those pesky heritage movements. They appear to be what the Mayor meant by “tell[ing] foreign investors to bog off”.
Money talks loudest, more glass stumps, sod the proles. What a man of the people.
The masterplan at this stage is irrelevent because the developers are not asking Lewisham Council to approve it - all they are asking approval of is the height and location of the 3 towers, and how to get into the site. The masterplan and all other matters are subject to later approval under reserved matters. However, I can't see how these can be approved without the context of a masterplan.
ReplyDeleteSo why have they gone crying to Boris?
It might be worth putting in a Freedom of Information request asking what conversations The Mayor of London had about Convoy's on his publicity trip to China.