BB Partnership have submitted a scheme to the Royal Borough of Greenwich to redevelop the Island site in the centre of Woolwich, located in the Bathway Quarter Conservation Area.
The scheme will provide 494 shared living (co-living) units and 20 self-contained London Affordable Flats along with a mixed use element providing retail, food & beverage, office and flexible office space along with educational uses.
Many of the buildings, which date back to the original 19th-century Woolwich Polytechnic, the University of Greenwich’s predecessor and include a number of Grade II Listed buildings, will be retained and extended.
Much of the site has sat disused for more than 20 years, one of the projects key aims is to unlock the existing site, restore the heritage assets that form it and allow these to be enjoyed by a wider audience. This will be achieved by providing a new public realm for the area and the creation of new public routes through the site and town centre.
The shared living accommodation will include shared communal facilities for the residents
including, 24-hour concierge, storage, gym, cinema, laundry, meeting rooms along with shared working spaces.
The scheme has been designed in accordance London Plan Guidance for Large-scale Purpose-built Shared Living, which amongst other things, for the first time, stipulates the minimum size for shared living units as well as the requirements in terms of size and area for the communal facilities to be shared by the residents.
The scheme will provide much needed flexible office space to the town centre, retain the
educational uses on the site and provide new opportunities for offices, retail and food &
beverage units to bolster the employment opportunities and variety of them in the area.
The introduction of the shared living scheme will also bring a vibrant community into the heart
of Woolwich that will help to stimulate the existing shops, café’s and bars in the area both during
the day and the evening.
The planning application was submitted after a detailed PPA [Planning Performance Agreement] was carried out between the design team and The Royal Borough of Greenwich.
